Posted on 05/08/2006 6:51:57 PM PDT by blam
Thank you sir. That's the pic I knew I have somewhere...
First is the MULE UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) which will have a gun/missle system in the ARV-L model.
Thes UGVs range in size from the small I-Robot Packbot to vehicles as large as a tank. Kinda like the "Bolos" from the Sci-fi books series. UAVs range in size now from papaer airplane dimensions with a small camera, to Helicopters, to the Global Hawk.
We can make fun of its appearance, but it it saves just one from serious injury or loss of life, it will be worth it.
Why not just put a bulletproof glass bubble with a machine gun over the hole. Kindof like those machine gunners in the B17's during WW2. I think they were B17's, I have no clue what plane that was.
the point is that would protect the soldier from bullets and roadside bombs and if the vehicle was disabled and he had to exit quickly he could just jump out and be able to fight with average Marine efficiency.
I always though a revolver was the most effective anti-rape device.
A Scott AirPak on an EOD suit...I could see doing something real delicate - like cutting the blue wire...when the bell starts to go off...
If they work, who cares what they look like? Better to look goofy than to be dead.
I think it's a pretty good idea if it has a good fuctional cooling system and can stop bullets effectively enough . Fragments from a roadside bomb or other explosive elements ( IE. RPGs , grenades ) do not seem to be a problem for a suit like that . High powered rifle / machine gun rounds are a different story ... snipers suck ! By the way , could a Humvee mount the Crow system ok without losing too much interior space ? They don't seem to have much room to spare .
"These are not the droids you are looking for...."
Rat Patrol!
"There's no limit to what he could do. He could destroy the Earth. ..."
Maybe with a bigger codpiece they'd be more intimidating?
ping
But will it protect against bears?
There is a problem with the suit in the sense that it distances soldier from the civilians in a SASO/SOSO operation. This is important as the soldier has to be approachable to win the "hearts and minds" of the people. We are having tremendous success in Iraq in this area. So much so that the terrorists are losing safe havens in many areas. Winning the support of the people saves more soldiers than anything else.
Issues the Army/USMC had to work through were the use of NVGs (the Baathists and hate mongers told Iraqis they were X-Ray goggles) and the "Terminator" style sunglasses. Without eye-contact, it is hard to be perceived as human. Taking off the glasses when talking was a simple lesson that took a while to learn for some.
So now, what will happen in a few years when something like this comes out:
Both of these are renditions of Powered Armor from the book (not the movie) Starship Troopers. These are not that far off, as this picture shows.
Another rendition is this:
The cartoon is a DARPA depiction. The picture is an actual prototype. So the futuristic Powered Armor Suit looking somewhat like a cross between the EOD model and that Bear Suit may not be that far off.
Just like they used to call the standard issue eyeglasses "contraceptive devices" becuase you'd never get any action wearing those fugly things. ;-)
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