The Mech: Militarily Feasible?
- Thread starter The Heik
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Mech's will never work, that is a terrible idea, what we need is Gundams. No one fucks with Gundams.
As much how cool a mech would be created in RL but I have to say no (I have to remember that a mech is a tool for war). It manly because once you blow up or damage a leg, it will cripple down and will be a sitting duck.
Mechs no not really unless there is some way to overcome bigger target, stability and weaknesses. Exosuits or small scale mechs like in District 9 would be feasible though.
Mechs feasible? No, for many reasons stated in this thread. Exo-skeletons, however? They're being used now, and are a life-saver. Though so many people keep claiming we need more mobile launchers, aircraft, ships, whatnot. No! What we need is the Low Orbit Ion Cannon.
Not only is the thing a beast, but it's rather fuel-efficient with Solar Energy, and the only thing it's firing is rays that have been aligned through thousands of micro-mirrors to allow a penetrating beam. Besides, the only way to take it out would be to send up a Anti-Satellite that some modern day military's have that EMP other Satellites. Lastly, the beam would be intensified on impact in the Earth's atmosphere, so its actual attack is stronger when it hits a planet, allowing for a massive impact that's nearly the same as a nuclear blast, minus the radioactivity, fallout, whatever else, and only takes seconds to fire. Only downside is it would take a while to reposition the Satellite to your target, but once in proper orbit, nothing's going to stop this baby!
Not only is the thing a beast, but it's rather fuel-efficient with Solar Energy, and the only thing it's firing is rays that have been aligned through thousands of micro-mirrors to allow a penetrating beam. Besides, the only way to take it out would be to send up a Anti-Satellite that some modern day military's have that EMP other Satellites. Lastly, the beam would be intensified on impact in the Earth's atmosphere, so its actual attack is stronger when it hits a planet, allowing for a massive impact that's nearly the same as a nuclear blast, minus the radioactivity, fallout, whatever else, and only takes seconds to fire. Only downside is it would take a while to reposition the Satellite to your target, but once in proper orbit, nothing's going to stop this baby!
They are certainly feasible in that they "could be built and used".
However, there are two factors that... well, discourage that development:
1. Cost-benefit: Simply put, developing a walker-type armored tank is probably as expensive if not more so than, say developing a space vehicle. You are essentially building a new class of vehicle any have to work out everything from balance, over armor all the way through to software to help the pilot stabilize the thing. Modern technology COULD do that - but modern technology could also build cities on the Moon or Mars, if you put enough capital into it. Problem is - it's just not worth it.
2. Goes against the trend: Walking tanks were essentially developed at a time where large-scale tank warfare in a combined-forces environment (as opposed to tank line battles as you had in WW2) was "the next big thing" in military technology, i.e. the 1980s and 1990s. Its origins hark back the days where large-scale tank line warfare was the next big thing (around the time "War of the Worlds" came out). The problem is: tank warfare in general is now outdated. The last time "tank + combined arms" fought "operations-based" "true" combined arms forces with modern technology on a massive scale was Iraq, and militarily, the older variant lost (the war, that is. Politically - well, in the words of Forbes: Uncle Sam's real estate deal in the Middle East didn't go so well.)
So, power-armors for infantry would be feasible, but large mechs? While we could build them, there's no reason to other than "rule of cool".
EDIT: Also, as far as warfare in the 21st century goes, the other Lower Orbit Ion Cannon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LOIC] is probably closer to what we can expect.
However, there are two factors that... well, discourage that development:
1. Cost-benefit: Simply put, developing a walker-type armored tank is probably as expensive if not more so than, say developing a space vehicle. You are essentially building a new class of vehicle any have to work out everything from balance, over armor all the way through to software to help the pilot stabilize the thing. Modern technology COULD do that - but modern technology could also build cities on the Moon or Mars, if you put enough capital into it. Problem is - it's just not worth it.
2. Goes against the trend: Walking tanks were essentially developed at a time where large-scale tank warfare in a combined-forces environment (as opposed to tank line battles as you had in WW2) was "the next big thing" in military technology, i.e. the 1980s and 1990s. Its origins hark back the days where large-scale tank line warfare was the next big thing (around the time "War of the Worlds" came out). The problem is: tank warfare in general is now outdated. The last time "tank + combined arms" fought "operations-based" "true" combined arms forces with modern technology on a massive scale was Iraq, and militarily, the older variant lost (the war, that is. Politically - well, in the words of Forbes: Uncle Sam's real estate deal in the Middle East didn't go so well.)
So, power-armors for infantry would be feasible, but large mechs? While we could build them, there's no reason to other than "rule of cool".
EDIT: Also, as far as warfare in the 21st century goes, the other Lower Orbit Ion Cannon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LOIC] is probably closer to what we can expect.
Exo skeletons would be a great feature and would benefit us in war and in general life.
Mechs however would not they are waay too big and can be toppled over very easily. And I dont see you making a Mech really fast anyday since that would require insane amounts of power just to make a flawed design work.
Tanks are pretty darn good and untill we can find a better replacement we will keep building them and improving them.
Mechs however would not they are waay too big and can be toppled over very easily. And I dont see you making a Mech really fast anyday since that would require insane amounts of power just to make a flawed design work.
Tanks are pretty darn good and untill we can find a better replacement we will keep building them and improving them.
pre-aside: Wow. How'd this old thread get resurrected?RT-shotgun-support said:
OT: I agree with you RT. Armor will always be penetrated. So how about ignoring the armor penetration issue entirely? Things like the Trophy system can prevent heavy rounds from even coming close to the mech by blowing them out of the air prior to hitting, so the mechs wouldn't need any armor beyond stuff for small arms fire and the occasional .50 cal burst.
Anyways, From what We've seen with current tech trends and the thread's discussions, I've made some guess as to the mech of the future's overall stats and capabilities
Size: about 12-20 feet.
The bigger a target, the more things that can hit it. The bigger size also means it'll be that much harder to build and maintain, so size is at a premium. We also would want the mech to maintain a human equivalent level of mobility, so something on a rough scale of a human would be easiest to handle both physically and tactically.
Weaponry: Most likely vulcan cannons and missile pods.
As the mech will probably be small, big ordinance guns would knock it clear over. What we're looking for is a small mass-to-recoil ratio, so things like missiles would be ideal because they're self-propelled rather than explosion-propelled. In addition, things like .50 cal miniguns would also be feasible because the mechs are large enough to hold more substantial stores of ammo than normal, yet deal with the kickback relatively well (See Big Dog links below for insight on recoil compensation)
Defences: Trophy System, THEL, and Chobham armor.
As stated previously, the mech will probably be lightly armored because the Trophy system will handle much of the incoming heavy weapons fire. The light armour also means that the mech will be relatively nimble allowing it to avoid combat with larger forces or sustained attacks. Also, as seen from the previous large discussion in this thread last year about plane attacks, air strikes are a definite threat, so I've added the Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL) to the mix. Since it is large energy drain I've elected to keep this as a defensive weapon, only to be used against artillery strikes and incoming aircraft, but it would also add a long range LOS strike capability should the mech encounter enemy fuel and ammo dumps or the like.
Power Source: this is the only thing that would currently contrain us in terms of making a mech.
While fossil fuel engines would generally do well, they're fuel supplies would be quite small in order to allow the mech to move properly and not paint a big target on it's back. This small supply would mean that the mech would have a short time in engagement, which is simply unacceptable for most battles. However, I read in National Grographic about how some scientists have made smaller nuclear reactors, and if this trend continues the way almost all of our technology has, by the end of the 21st century we could well see a nuclear power source small enough to fit on a 15 foot tall mech.
And for everyone's perusal, here are the links for all those spicy new technologies I mentioned.
Trophy System
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trophy_active_protection_system
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaVKg1yVoRA
the Big Dog
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHJJQ0zNNOM
the THEL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactical_High_Energy_Laser
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LThD0FMvTFU
Chobham Armour
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chobham_armour
Miniature nuclear Reactors
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/big-idea/08/mini-nukes