Futureweapons

[Vodstok]

I have caught this show on Discovery and the Military channel a few times. Being a military brat myself, i still have an interest in a lot of the gadgets and toys that the various branches of the US military use, so i figured this would be an interesting place to discuss your favorite old and especially new ways of killing our fellow man. (Ok, maybe not favorite. Bad coice of words, but the ones you find most interesting)

Now, to get things straight before any war discussions begin, I dont like the current war, and i dont think we should still be there, BUT, I think that war is a reality of life, and having the edge, and especially the ability to end a conflict brutally and quickly is important.

It drives me NUTS that we have the power to end engagements quickly, but politicians choose to drag the out for years.

At any rate, the technology is interesting.

F-22 Raptor. i have been following this thing since i first heard about it back in the early nineties. it is incredible, combining stealth technology, with the ability to cruise at greater than the speed of sound (it doesnt use afterburners for speeds up to 1.5 mach, meaning it burns much less fuel than conventional mach speed aiorcraft). It also uses vectored thrust to enhance maneuverability, so it can actually make multiple turns INSIDE the turn radius of other aitcraft.

The show i was watching yesterday said that four fighters against an f-22 is not even close to being a fair fight, the Raptors can easily take out the other 4 with minimal effort.

Metalstorm. Australia is home to some really cool things (Funnelwebs, koalas, Cheeba), but how about a gun that can fire 1 million rounds a minute?! This thing is just scary. the same company also makes a grenade launcher that can fire a few hundred rounds a minute... regodamndiculous.

[Gus]

you wont hit em all

[Vodstok]

With some of the targeting systems they have today, i dont doubt it.


In the same episode of Futureweapons i saw with the f-22, they had something that anytone who has played Half-Life 2 should be familiar with, the mp-7. Unlike what most people woould think, it's not a classic submachine gun, it is actually a compact rifle, with 4.7mm rifle rounds for ammunition. The show's host fired one on a range....

Its a small gun, with a small bullet, but holy crap does it hit hard. At i think 100 feet, it went THROUGH a helmet and bullet proof vest. it can shoot semi-auto, or, at a max rate of 950 rounds a minute.... to put it into perspective, the minigun fires 1000 rounds a minute. (but top out at 10,000)

[Gus]

i got a hard on with all this gun talk,......am i republican

[X¤MurderDoll¤X]

these weapons sound like overkill when they're usually firing at shanties. I think the time/money/effort could be better spent elsewhere.

[Vodstok]

Overkill is the idea, they just dont have the wherewithall to use it properly. The first gulf war showed a lot of "proper use" of our arsenal, the initial strikes were so hard and fast, the iraqi's elite soldiers were surrenduring to news crews.


the entire republican guard was wiped out with 2 bombs dropped on the same location. read up on "Daisy Cutters", they are scary as hell. And they are SMALLER than the MOAB.

MD is right, there are much better things the time and money could be spent on, but they dont. We have the strongest military with the most advanced technology in America, but god help you if you have cancer.

[X¤MurderDoll¤X]

Originally Posted by urgeok

yeah, like proper kevlar vests and helmets for when the bad guys get a bunch of these guns.

lmao truth. :D

[Vodstok]

BlackHawk down was an eye opener for me, i had never realized that the helmets and vests soldier wear are great against shrapnel and pistols, but are basically tissue paper against rifles.

Some manufacturers have been trying to make bacteria that produce liquid spider webs, because spiderwebs are the most structurally perfect substance in nature, mixing the right amounts of flexibility and tensile strength. Spider webs turn kinetic energy into heat, and then immediately dispel it because it is a poor conductor.

one show i watched said that a housefly hitting a spider web is the equivelant of an f-16 hitting a 1 inch thick cable at mach 2, and that cable being able to absorb the impact and stop the airplane cold.

They are looking to make body armor out of the stuff. it would be like wearing a wool sweater that could stop 50 caliber rounds.

[Despare]

I enjoyed the SMAW launcher and the "Novel Explosive" rocket. The "dragon skin" looked promising as new body armor.

Originally Posted by X¤MurderDoll¤X

these weapons sound like overkill when they're usually firing at shanties. I think the time/money/effort could be better spent elsewhere.

These "shanties" are often solid brick/block buildings with a few small windows that enemy snipers can fire out of taking out the guys who have no cover with ease.

[Vodstok]

Metalstorm's demo video. REALLY interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67OYI...elated&search=