Warfare at the speed of light

Oakland Tribune ^ | 2003-10-19 | Ian Hoffman

[truthandjustice1]

Thank you.

[.cnI redruM]

Having worked on mortar tests for the past year, this would revolutionize the types of smoke rounds developed and used. In about 5 years, the typical FA/Mortar battery would have ammunition designed to airburst with a cloud of smoke that would scatter or extinct most of the light comprising the beam. The FA smoke round would become cover as well as concealment.

[archy]

Would you please add me to these lists?

Click *here* and bookmark.

-archy-/-

[archy]

Having worked on mortar tests for the past year, this would revolutionize the types of smoke rounds developed and used. In about 5 years, the typical FA/Mortar battery would have ammunition designed to airburst with a cloud of smoke that would scatter or extinct most of the light comprising the beam. The FA smoke round would become cover as well as concealment.

That being the reason for the addition of titanium and aluminum particles in the smoke mixtures. It also degrades the ability of thermal viewers that sense heat rather than light to penetrate the smoke.

-archy-/-

[archy]

Nobody gets "pinged" on posts to bump lists.

We both *ping* and keyword index for the Stryker/SCBT ping list.

We're a versitile lot, we are, we are!

-archy-/-

[archy]

Combined with automated voice recognition software, this technology could be used to instantly mete out the death penalty to speech code violators.

Hopefully with a synthisized voice first announcing *You're terminated....*

-archy-/-

[truthandjustice1]

Thank you!

[archy]

free-electron lasers (FEL) is a Direct Energy Weapon ...Million times more powerful than a supermarket laser scanner

You mean that when they use one to scan my groceries in the checkout lane, the ice cream is gonna melt? Bummer, man!

-archy-/-

[Pyro7480]

I'm surprised no one has caught the irony of someone named Yamamoto building high-tech weapons for the U.S. military.

[webstersII]

"The Navy is all over this. They are going to electric-drive ships, where giant electric generators are used for propulsion, or the full juice can be diverted into their huge beam weapons."

Either propulsion or Weapons. Hmmm. . . sounds familiar. Oh, now I remember.
"Mr. Scott, I need Warp Speed."
"I can't give it to you, Captain, the shields are draining all of the Main Engine power".

[fat city]

"In the first order, lasers are not going to work on bad days," Campbell said.

Then they'll be useless in Cleveland. I guess they'll have to bring back the Nike sites.

[GeekDejure]

In Bob Yamamoto's lab, light devours.

Yeah . . . but everybody knows that light comes from a switch on the wall.

Up-click . . . DEVOUR

Down-click . . . PUKE !!!

.

[archy]

They're thick and don't cool well in chilled water or gases. Livermore's laser designers had a simpler idea: Build two or more of the compact lasers in cassettes and rotate them when hot.

Sweet! A sort of laser Gatling gun....

Check out the armament described by Sci-fi writer David Drake in his novels of future armored force warfare in such novels as his The Tank Lords.

Or on a little grander scale: Keith Laumer's Bolos....

-archy-/-

[Travis McGee]

Treadhead Wet Dream!

[Matthew James]

Very nice!

[FreedomPoster]

Future main gun in development here.

[FreedomPoster]

Should have looked / should have figured you were already on the tread. Err, thread.

[Rebelbase]

Other posters have commented on weaponizing space, which we have alreday done and that is what is driving the Chicoms to exel in their space program, IMO.

They know that the only way to defeat such weaponry and the US is to be able to attack our space based assets. Without our satellites we are blind.

[Junior]

Sounds pretty, but...

The enemy will know of the existence of the lasers (really no such thing as a "military secret" -- hell if we know about them, so does he). He'll take them into account when he does his planning. Troops will assemble in small groups in inclement weather to prevent easy targeting. Maybe most of the assembling will be done under cover, or in some manner to camouflage the activities. Communications will be done by land lines as often as possible to prevent intercepts. Major attacks or counterattacks will be made during those periods of inclement weather, as will any artillery barrages. Area-denial weapons (read "mines") will become even more popular as laser weapons are completely useless in these regards. Also, one tactic we used to use in SF tabletop games was to overwhelm point-defense lasers with massive rocket and mortar barrages; the weapons can handle only so many targets and they do have a tendency to overheat.

Lasers are simply another weapon in the arsenal. They are not some invincible magic bullet that will make wars "too horrible to contemplate."