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tech talk

July 2006

ComCompressedAirpressed Air Wags This TAIL

edited by Robert H. Williams

The Navy is the recipient of a safer, quieter, and more capable grappling gun that is pneumatically powered. The tactical air initiated launch, or TAIL, features a titanium hook and Kevlar line.

The traditional system relied on gunpowder for propulsion.

Designed by Battelle, of Columbus, Ohio, TAIL has multiple uses, including vessel boarding and fire and rescue operations. An official noted that the hook can “clear an obstacle up to 100 feet high and 60 feet away.”

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