Posted on 12/19/2006 1:12:48 AM PST by ajolympian2004
As any battlefield commander will tell you, getting troops to the fight can be as difficult as winning it. And for modern-day soldiers, the sites of conflict are so far-flung, and the political considerations of even flying over another country so complicated, that rapid entry has become nearly impossible. If a group of Marine Corps visionaries have their way, however, 30 years from now, Marines could touch down anywhere on the globe in less than two hours, without needing to negotiate passage through foreign airspace. The breathtaking efficiency of such a delivery system could change forever the way the U.S. does battle.
The proposal, part of the Corps’s push toward greater speed and flexibility, is called Small Unit Space Transport and Insertion, or Sustain. Using a suborbital transport—that is, a vehicle that flies into space to achieve high travel speeds but doesn’t actually enter orbit—the Corps will be able, in effect, to instantaneously deliver Marine squads anywhere on Earth. The effort is led by Roosevelt Lafontant, a former Marine lieutenant colonel now employed by the Schafer Corporation, a military-technology consulting firm working with the Marines. Insertion from space, Lafontant explains, makes it possible for the Marines—typically the first military branch called on for emergency missions—to avoid all the usual complications that can delay or end key missions. No waiting for permission from an allied nation, no dangerous rendezvous in the desert, no slow helicopter flights over mountainous terrain. Instead, Marines could someday have an unmatched element of surprise, allowing them to do everything from reinforce Special Forces to rescue hostages thousands of miles away.
The remainder of page 1 and links for part 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 (bottom of page) of this piece are here -
Popular Science article link
(Excerpt) Read more at popsci.com ...
FYI
Thought you might find this interesting. Why we need that moonbase?
Sorry; couldn't resist ; )
Will the SUST be operational before the Osprey performs in combat?
i guess the marines from the film aliens are closer then we though...
Good question. Considering that the F-117A was already operational for years before we knew about it and then observing it's first significant action in the first Gulf War my guess is that we already have some "aircraft" with this type of capability already flying in top secret training missions somewhere.
82nd ABN, Rangers, CAG- eat your heart out, "IF" anyone can find a large enough roadway in a third world city that doesn't have potholes. Oh yeah, how about exfil or reinforcments for these 13 hapless Marines?
Stick with the Osprey. Practice for beach landings. Leave vertical envelopment to the Airborne.
Cool!
It'll never come about with the dems in power.
Dude, you are speaking my language. :)
My contribution:
For example, as wrong as a person like California Senator Diane Feinstein is on almost every issue that conservatives care about she is responsible for inviting the Navy back to the Bay Area to hold the annual Fleet Week celebration. Plus, last year she worked to bring the USS Iowa to Fisherman's Wharf for it's new home, http://michellemalkin.com/archives/003336.htm, but was rebuffed by the wacko hate America left that dominate the San Francisco city government.
To keep an eye on the Chinese moonbase.
I read the article. The concept is fun, but it is akin to landing rocket planes with a small number of troops on an unsecured LZ deep in hostile territory. What can a few dozen lightly armed troops do before being overwhelmed?
Reminds me of the " Bug Wars !"
Looks like the Crimson Dynamo! Shades of Iron Man!
Let's not throw darts at the Osprey. I was in Jacksonville, NC last week and they were flying all over the place. I never saw one fall out of the sky the entire weekend. Also we all have to keep positive thoughts about the Osprey (remember Kelly's Hero's) My son's gonna have to fly in those things. Think positive.
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