The Future of Warfare: America’s High-Tech Arsenal (Excellent Weapons Read)

Christian Broadcast Network ^ | March 5, 2003 | Dale Hurd

[w_over_w]

But we are only on the threshold of high-tech warfare. Most of the military is actually still low-tech.

It is?

[w_over_w]

Military ping!

[w_over_w]

Ping to "the funny guys" . . . because you're techies also.

[Physicist]

The HPM or High Powered Microwave releases two billion watts of destructive electric energy, as much as the Hoover Dam generates in 24 hours.

Somebody needs to learn the difference between energy and power.

[Jorge]

The world was impressed by the advanced weapons we used in Desert Storm...and we are far beyond that technology now.

[nathanbedford]

What is the diff?

[Captainpaintball]

The American military has made a quantum leap in technology and firepower since then.

Hey, so has China! What a coincidence!

[DCPatriot]

Given our 1st choice to save innocent lives and therefore, use the "microwave weapon" to disarm their technology and communications networks, doesn't that mean that eventually you're talking "house to house" combat?

The irony, huh?

[eno_]

Yes. Look at it this way: The JDAM means a squad can "carry" dozens of 200-15,000# HE bombs into battle with at least the same precision of mortars and artillery.

That means a rethink of, among other things, mobile howitzers, ground-toground missiles, etc. since the planes carrying the JDAMs fly anywhere in any weather.

And that means a rethink of the whole traditional infantry/armor/supply-chain thing.

We have sent 300,000 soldiers to the area around Iraq. Only a maximum of 30,000 (maybe much less) can fight this new way. Maybe we need something like a really large drone bomber to loiter over an army? Who knows! Things are changing faster than we can adapt every part, or even most parts of the military.

[expatpat]

Energy is the amount of power accumulated, or, vice versa, power is the rate at which energy is used up or accumulated. The writer probably meant power, since the energy develooped by the Hoover dam in 24 hours woould be awful hard to store.

[TADSLOS]

It is?

Relative to the possibilities, yes.

[Physicist]

Energy (measured, for example, in joules, BTU's or Watt-hours) is a conserved quantity, like gallons of water. Power (measured, for example, in Watts) is the rate at which energy is delivered.

Watts are equal to joules per second. If I say that an energy source is delivering 60 Watts, you have no idea how much energy it has produced unless I tell you how long it has been on. If I say it's been on for 100 hours, you know that six kiloWatthours of energy has been used.

The Hoover Dam delivers 2 GigaWatts of power. In a day's time, that's 48 GigaWatthours of energy. An HPM (according to this article) also delivers 2 GigaWatts of power, but it won't operate for 24 hours straight. It will operate for a tiny fraction of a second. In that time, it will deliver the same amount of energy that the Hoover Dam produces in, well, a tiny fraction of a second.

Doesn't sound as impressive, does it?

[Uncle Miltie]

Some U.S. Forces in Iraq may experiment with miniature planes. Military analyst David Isby explained, "And by miniature, we mean about a three foot wingspan, one which a soldier can carry in pieces in a backpack. You assemble this and control it by a radio link attached to the laptop. You can send this thing off and it will have a little video cam that will stream data back to your laptop."

Then you put a little anti-tank charge on it, and some picture matching software, and let it drive itself into a tank. Fly and forget.

Pretty soon, war will look like "The Birds", but with lots of little explosions.

[w_over_w]

doesn't that mean that eventually you're talking "house to house" combat?

It does seem ironic, but then this will be a "house to house" after a 3000+ precision guided bombing in just 48hrs. I don't speak with any authority but it would seem that even the most hardened Iraqi is going to be a mental "wet noodle" when the knock comes to their door.

[w_over_w]

This is why I love FR. Damn! The "stuff" I get to learn (or relearn). Thanks.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[Born to Conserve]

"Somebody needs to learn the difference between energy and power."

Yes, but did you know that a shark can bite with 25,000 pounds of pressure!

[balrog666]

Maybe we need something like a really large drone bomber to loiter over an army?

Right now that's a 50-year-old B-52!

[rudypoot]

"It will operate for a tiny fraction of a second. In that time, it will deliver the same amount of energy that the Hoover Dam produces in, well, a tiny fraction of a second."

"Doesn't sound as impressive, does it?"

Yeah it does. How many Hoover dams can you load on a fighter plane?

[Tailback]

Yes it is, radios that weigh 35lbs with very little range and take batteries the size of a egg carton. GPS units (pluggers) that are 3 times the size of a civilian unit and take special non-standard size batteries. While countries around the world are devoloping specialized scout vehicles, the US Army sends its scouts out in lightly armed and armored Humvees. Most GI's end up buying their own field stoves, gloves, GPS units and small Motorola handheld radios because the military issue stuff either doesn't exist, or doesn't work.