Powered Combat Suit

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2003-01-02 01:21am

Darth Wong wrote:Why isn't the Power Ranger carrying a rifle?

Obviously, the Power Ranger doesn't need a gun when he can clumsily do highly choreographed martial arts on an enemy and make him fly backwards in a flash of theatre squibs.

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-01-02 01:23am

Gil Hamilton wrote: Obviously, the Power Ranger doesn't need a gun when he can clumsily do highly choreographed martial arts on an enemy and make him fly backwards in a flash of theatre squibs.

For some reason I'm picturing a bunch of Iraqi soldiers wondering why there are five helmeted goons standing right in front of them having highly choreographed seizures while shouting about their need to defeat the box monster from the planet .... box.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-01-02 01:25am

Vympel wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:Why isn't the Power Ranger carrying a rifle?
See that lump on his right wrist? That's his weapon. Mini smart missiles or some such nonsense

Please tell me you're joking.

jaeger115 · Post by **jaeger115** » 2003-01-02 01:26am

Yes, Wong, I have changed my mind on this topic. Future soldier armor will be like stormtrooper armor. And I wonder why the world's best Army is making a combat suit that's directly from a stupid kid's tv show?

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2003-01-02 01:29am

Vympel wrote:For some reason I'm picturing a bunch of Iraqi soldiers wondering why there are five helmeted goons standing right in front of them having highly choreographed seizures while shouting about their need to defeat the box monster from the planet .... box.

Fortunately, such behavior automatically makes the Iraqi soldiers run up to them attack them one or two at a time rather than just shooting them Indiana Jones style until Saddam's super mutant beats them up and forces them to do a dramatic transformation sequence. That's the law of such shows.

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-01-02 01:31am

Please tell me you're joking.

I kid you not. I saw the report and close up shots on CNN. I like this one better:

http://www.janes.com/regional_news/amer ... _1_n.shtml

I don't know why there are two different Objective Force Warrior programs- I think the pic I posted is a newer proposal- set for introduction 2008.

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-01-02 01:34am

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ ... nd/ofw.htm

All the information on the 2008 proposal:

In an effort to develop a warrior system to meet the Army's transformation goals for the Objective Force, the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center (Natick) is leading a new Army-wide research effort called Objective Force Warrior. The proposed concept for Objective Force Warrior will upgrade Land Warrior and enhance warfighter lethality and survivability by bringing many of the ideas of the Future Warrior concept to reality in the 2010-2012 timeframe. "We're looking for a revolutionary change with the way soldiers fight at the small unit level," said John Munroe, Warrior System Integration Team leader at Natick. "What is revolutionary is still to be determined. It will be a combination of technology advances and fighting capability."

The concept system fits into the Army chief of staff's vision of a mobile, versatile and lethal Objective Force for 2010 and beyond. Objective Force Warrior will be one of the primary pillars in the warrior-centric Objective Force, integrating with and complementing capabilities of the Future Combat System (FCS)-the Objective Force's family of combat vehicles-to change the way the U.S. military will fight in the coming decades.

Although fielding of the Land Warrior system is still 2 years away, a prototype of its successor, the Objective Force Warrior, was demonstrated at the Pentagon on 23 May 2002 by project managers of the Army Materiel Command's Natick Soldier Center in Natick, Massachusetts. The Objective Force Warrior program was developed at the direction of Army Chief of Staff General Eric K. Shinseki. According to project engineer Dutch Degay, developers tossed out the current system of individual equipment and designed a new integrated, holistic system from the "skin out."

The Objective Force Warrior system, which is scheduled for fielding in 2008, integrates and improves on the electronic capabilities inherent in the Land Warrior system. For example, soldiers will not have to wear cumbersome night-vision or infrared goggles or heavy laser training components on their helmets. These and other features, such as thermal sensors, video cameras, and chemical and biological sensors, are integrated fully in the helmet. The helmet also has a visor that acts as a "heads-up display monitor" equivalent to having two 17-inch computer monitors in front of the soldier's eyes. The uniform system is a multifunctional garment that incorporates physiological sensors that allow the soldier, his chain of command, and nearby medics to monitor the soldier's blood pressure, heart rate, internal and external body temperature, and caloric consumption rate. Commanders and medics will be able to access the information through a tactical local area network. The system's built-in climate-control system has a spacer fabric with "capillaries" that blow hot or cold air through the system.

The Objective Force Warrior system is powered by fuel cells and weighs approximately 50 pounds, compared to 92 to 105 pounds of equipment soldiers on combat patrols typically carry today. Many of the system's built-in functions eliminate the requirement to carry extra equipment, and the climate-control feature reduces the need for extra clothing. The outer garment has some biological and chemical protection capabilities, decreasing the requirement for extra protective gear.

Other mission-essential equipment not built into the individual soldier system will be carried on a small, remote-controlled wheeled vehicle called a "robotic mule," which is part of the Objective Force Warrior system. Each squad will have one mule that not only will take some of the load off the individual soldier but also will act as a weapons platform, generate and purify water, and recharge batteries. The mule has day and night thermal, infrared, and forward-looking imaging systems, as well as chemical-biological sensors. It will be able to communicate with unmanned aerial vehicles to give squad members a 360-degree image of the battlefield.

Objective Force Warrior will have "full-spectrum capabilities," meaning troops can use it for any mission from peacekeeping to high-intensity conflicts, and many new capabilities are in store to provide that flexibility. An envisioned ultra-lightweight, multi-functional protective combat ensemble and stealth technology will enhance survivability. An onboard physiological and medical sensor suite will increase performance and sustainability. Hybrid fuel cell and advanced rechargeable batteries would supply the soldier's power needs for at least 72 hours.

Soldier situational understanding would improve by developing a helmet with integrated sensory enhancements, networking with manned and unmanned ground and aerial vehicles, and using a rugged squad communications system. To dominate in combat, the warrior will use an ultra-lightweight family of weapons with advanced fire control distributed across the team and optimized for urban combat. The Future Combat System will aid in synchronizing direct and indirect fire.

As new technologies become available and practical, the concept of the Objective Force Warrior will undergo major upgrades beyond 2010, especially with nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is the ability to manipulate materials on an atomic or molecular scale. The Objective Force Warrior demonstration program is scheduled for fiscal year 2002-2008, then transitioning to Project Manager-Soldier Systems in fiscal year 2008 for system development and testing, and fielding in the 2010-2012 timeframe.

The 2025 proposal looks like pure wank to me.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-01-02 01:36pm

Darth Wong wrote:
Vympel wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:Why isn't the Power Ranger carrying a rifle?
See that lump on his right wrist? That's his weapon. Mini smart missiles or some such nonsense
Please tell me you're joking.

Ever seen Future Fighting Machines? This guy frequently crops up when they go on about future Yank products of death and the narrator always takes the piss out of it.

The wrist gun isn't real. It's a four-barreled pistol now with mini-heatseeking rockets. I shit you not, they even have an animation on how these will take out infantrymen and tanks.

Someone is passing the bong from the White House to the Pentagon.

jaeger115 · Post by **jaeger115** » 2003-01-02 01:46pm

The wrist gun isn't real. It's a four-barreled pistol now with mini-heatseeking rockets. I shit you not, they even have an animation on how these will take out infantrymen and tanks.

Rockets?? Taking out an infantryman? The heat-seeker device will have to be pretty sensitive to take out a soldier covered in Kevlar armor

Andras · Post by **Andras** » 2003-01-02 01:52pm

'realistic' PA suits that I like

Appleseed ESWATs
Madox-01 Metal Skin Panic( very nice testing sequence at the beginning)
ADP PA from Bubblegum Crisis

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-01-02 01:55pm

jaeger115 wrote:
The wrist gun isn't real. It's a four-barreled pistol now with mini-heatseeking rockets. I shit you not, they even have an animation on how these will take out infantrymen and tanks.

Rockets?? Taking out an infantryman? The heat-seeker device will have to be pretty sensitive to take out a soldier covered in Kevlar armor

The rockets can fire round corners and from the animation they had they can outmanouevre Culture Knife Missiles!

They designed a Quake or Unreal tourney lamer, not a real suit. But then if they think this feasible then rocket powered power armour suits are a walk in a park.

jaeger115 · Post by **jaeger115** » 2003-01-02 03:35pm

The rockets can fire round corners and from the animation they had they can outmanouevre Culture Knife Missiles!

You're lying. We don't have tech that advanced!

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-01-02 03:39pm

Considering what some US military programs concept art looked like compared to the real thing, I wouldn't even begin to take the power ranger seriously. Anyway, I've seen a guy in the same suit posed with a small submachine gun, MP-7ish.

The Nomad · Post by **The Nomad** » 2003-01-02 03:50pm

Admiral Valdemar wrote: The rockets can fire round corners and from the animation they had they can outmanouevre Culture Knife Missiles!

You bloody heretic, be effectorized by Grey Area

!!!

Nah, just kidding

Seriously, I ignored that a thrust-propelled rocket could outmanoeuvre a repulsor-propelled missile

SAMAS · Post by **SAMAS** » 2003-01-02 04:47pm

Sea Skimmer wrote:Considering what some US military programs concept art looked like compared to the real thing, I wouldn't even begin to take the power ranger seriously. Anyway, I've seen a guy in the same suit posed with a small submachine gun, MP-7ish.

They decided to scrap the arm pod, and turned the weapon into a hand-held system.

But I wouldn't go deridig their work yet. After all, they have over 20 years before they expect the project to bear any fruit.

SAMAS · Post by **SAMAS** » 2003-01-02 04:48pm

Sea Skimmer wrote:Considering what some US military programs concept art looked like compared to the real thing, I wouldn't even begin to take the power ranger seriously. Anyway, I've seen a guy in the same suit posed with a small submachine gun, MP-7ish.

They decided to scrap the arm pod, and turned the weapon into a hand-held system.

But I wouldn't go deridig their work yet. After all, they have over 20 years before they expect the project to bear any fruit. Even if the end result isn't exactly as they envisioned, something good may very well come out of it anyway.

Balrog · Post by **Balrog** » 2003-01-02 07:27pm

Yeah, it's a little pistol-type thingie, which can fire regular bullets or 4 15mm heat-seeking rockets.

The view inside the helmat's suppose to provide a 180 degree HUD utilizing sensors in the suit to give a better picture of the surrounding battlefield.

Hell, the fabrics of the suit are suppose to be able to change colors in order to blend into the environment

jaeger115 · Post by **jaeger115** » 2003-01-02 07:32pm

Hell, the fabrics of the suit are suppose to be able to change colors in order to blend into the environment

We need armor that can do that. Perhaps armor with that kind of fabric woven over it.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-01-02 08:04pm

Smart materials that have computers or the ability to change colour do exist and are being developed. Nanotechnology will be used in the near future on soldiers, nanites will help in rudimentary field medicine by having each soldier have them in his bloodstream powered by specialised fuel cells that use glucose and other sugars in the bloodstream. These will help synthesize drugs and also seal off wounds and fight disease if help is too far away etc.

Smart skin that can help improve circulation in the body like the Raiden skull suit in MGS2 are being made to improve combat ability much like G-suits pilots use, they will also work against injury.

These new overalls and nanites will help relay info to command and so on much better, they could also use tooth and inner ear mounted comm sets which have been developed for stealth (e.g. only the user can hear them) and communicate with nearby troops.

We have all seen the handy dandy rifles that can shoot round corners thanks to a camera and HUD, well those will have to be miniaturised to be useful and made of battlehardened tech to avoid failure. Even if they do fail, you can still shoot them normally, any advantage over the enemy is good.

Caseless rounds may finally be made too with improved propellant and firing mechanisms like Metal Storm to produce even burning of the propellant and make a simpler gun with no jamming or cases and higher firepower. The H&K OICW and H&K G-11 are a shape of things to come as are the FNP-90 and FN-2000 or Steyr AUG.

Anti-tank and anti-aircraft munitions are smaller and more powerful than ever before thus giving infantry another advantage, but countermeasures will always be made in the continuing evolution of war.

But really, we don't know what we'll see for sure. When they unveiled the F-117 we were all stunned by how different it was to other planes, who's to say the army hasn't got some good "Skunkworks" programs going.

white_rabbit · Post by **white_rabbit** » 2003-01-02 08:22pm

Balrog wrote:Yeah, it's a little pistol-type thingie, which can fire regular bullets or 4 15mm heat-seeking rockets.

The view inside the helmat's suppose to provide a 180 degree HUD utilizing sensors in the suit to give a better picture of the surrounding battlefield.

Hell, the fabrics of the suit are suppose to be able to change colors in order to blend into the environment

ooh...boltguns!

Balrog · Post by **Balrog** » 2003-01-02 08:35pm

jaeger115 wrote:
Hell, the fabrics of the suit are suppose to be able to change colors in order to blend into the environment
We need armor that can do that. Perhaps armor with that kind of fabric woven over it.

Actually, there is a big R&D project about using nanotechnology in paints to cover armored vehicles in so they to can "blend in with their surroundings"

His Divine Shadow · Post by **His Divine Shadow** » 2003-01-02 08:59pm

The GDI and NOD soldiers from C&C2 didn't look that unrealistic, anyone?

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-01-02 09:01pm

His Divine Shadow wrote:The GDI and NOD soldiers from C&C2 didn't look that unrealistic, anyone?

They could run almost as fast as a Hummer, carry infinite ammo, and in sufficient numbers, take out an M1 Abrams with small-arms fire. Sounds about as realistic as most powered-armour ideas

jaeger115 · Post by **jaeger115** » 2003-01-02 09:08pm

They could run almost as fast as a Hummer, carry infinite ammo, and in sufficient numbers, take out an M1 Abrams with small-arms fire. Sounds about as realistic as most powered-armour ideas

That's why I hate most RTS games.

Ground Control is better, but it doesn't have the terrain alterability and weather effects CC2 has.

His Divine Shadow · Post by **His Divine Shadow** » 2003-01-03 04:09pm

Darth Wong wrote:They could run almost as fast as a Hummer, carry infinite ammo, and in sufficient numbers, take out an M1 Abrams with small-arms fire. Sounds about as realistic as most powered-armour ideas

I didn't mean the ingame action, but the cut-scenes.