Military hovertank

JointStrikeFighter · Post by **JointStrikeFighter** » 2006-02-27 06:35pm

What about some form of big ducted fan motorbike hover thing like in Unreal Tournament 2004?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v429/ ... -08-60.jpg

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2006-02-27 06:56pm

Molyneux wrote:
...didn't the back of the Shagohod just drag on the ground?

That would be fucking useless, no? Did you see any sparks? No. The thing was a hovercraft. The fact that it floated a metre off the ground and could travel at a couple hundred klicks an hour with the rocket pods was a good indicator.

But anyway, that wasn't really a tank. It was an IRBM launch system that had the benefit of being faster than other launch systems and armed. A proper MBT being hover capable would only help as something to aid amphibious warfare, not as a sole method of transportation.

Jaepheth · Post by **Jaepheth** » 2006-02-27 09:52pm

I think a hovertank using today's technology would still set off land mines.

You still have to apply a downward force to the ground, or to the air which will apply to the ground.

So if the skirt doesn't set off the landmines, the air you're blowing down might.

Does anyone know if a low hovering helicopter can set off land mines?

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2006-03-01 11:13am

Admiral Valdemar wrote:I want something like the Shagohod. You get over the traction problems by having Archimedes screws on the front, but the rest of the chassis floats.

Isn't that the 1960s precursor to Metal Gear? You mean it isn't a mecha? Sorry, I haven't played the game yet.

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2006-03-01 11:19am

Ack, didn't read page 2. Disregard.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2006-03-01 11:37am

JointStrikeFighter wrote:What about some form of big ducted fan motorbike hover thing like in Unreal Tournament 2004?

That thing would never work, and the same capability (and high level of vulnerability to any form of enemy weapon) could be gotten from a small helicopter like an AH-6.

Jaepheth wrote:I think a hovertank using today's technology would still set off land mines.

You still have to apply a downward force to the ground, or to the air which will apply to the ground.

So if the skirt doesn't set off the landmines, the air you're blowing down might.

Perhaps, but anti tank mines typically require 300-600 pounds of pressure to detonate, and its going to take an awful lot of air to transmit that force through the ground and into the mine. Anti personal mines though, require far less pressure to set off and the underside of a hovercraft would be extremely vulnerable to any form of mine. Even a hand grenade might break one of the lift fan blades.

Does anyone know if a low hovering helicopter can set off land mines?

I’ve never heard of it, mines are why transport helicopters normally never actually land when dropping off troops, they guys just jump down from very low level. But, there are now designs for anti helicopter mines on the market though no one has bought them (anyone who can afford them probably will have air superiority anyway) and designing mines to cope with combat hovercraft would be child’s play. As has already been mentioned, some anti tank mines already use a magnetic fuse to defeat mine clearing efforts and they’d work fine against hovercraft without modification.