What technologies should be developed and/or utilized by the military in order to keep the U.S. military ahead of the rest of the world?

2018-05-06T19:19:39-04:00

Response by SPC Margaret Higgins made May 6 at 2018 7:24 PM

2018-05-06T19:24:34-04:00

SGT Joseph Gunderson: A VERY, VERY GOOD AND RELEVENT QUESTION!

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made May 6 at 2018 9:16 PM

2018-05-06T21:16:56-04:00

I have to give that some thought, many spring to mind, however, I'd want to reflect on that for awhile, if I might...I agree, your question is perceptive....

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made May 6 at 2018 9:21 PM

2018-05-06T21:21:47-04:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_thermal_rocket

To !e, this should be numerous uno, it was nearly perfected back in the 1960s, and would be the key to limar colonization, to not finish it now strikes !e as totally and utterly absurd...AI, genomics, all of that is totally secondary, this, to !e, is the real clincher, the only realistically avaolable way off this rock, honest....

Nuclear thermal rocket - Wikipedia

A nuclear thermal rocket is a proposed spacecraft propulsion technology. In a nuclear thermal rocket a working fluid, usually liquid hydrogen, is heated to a high temperature in a nuclear reactor, and then expands through a rocket nozzle to create thrust. In this kind of thermal rocket, the nuclear reactor's energy replaces the chemical energy of the propellant's reactive chemicals in a chemical rocket. The thermal heater / inert propellant...

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made May 6 at 2018 9:22 PM

2018-05-06T21:22:12-04:00

Sorry, typos, numero uno....

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made May 6 at 2018 9:22 PM

2018-05-06T21:22:41-04:00

I'll try to think of others, however, trust !e, that o e is a definite biggie....

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made May 6 at 2018 9:42 PM

2018-05-06T21:42:07-04:00

Here's the thing, OK? What younaskmis certainly relevant, however, it ignores the idea that military needs for the human rave should eventually end...now, is that idealistic? Obviously. Is it nonetheless diesirable? Certainly. He human race, for going on two millennia or more, has been beating itself senseless periodically, with technological evolution, driving sociologic evolution, driving military evolution , for the simple reason that, as I'd read o CE and have often said on here, human technology changes human morality, OK? He human race needs to grow up, and stop relying on its perpetual ingenuity for dreaming up new and better ways for clobbering one another, and the only way to do that is to get off the stupid rock, once and for alp. And the only way to do that is to have vehicles to do it with. Now, that leaves the Moon, and Mars, as Arthus C. Clarke wrote in 2001: A Space Odyssey, the human race needs to find something more exciting than war, and the only thing that is, is exploration, no way out of that. While this planet was being explored, were there wars? Of course. Endlessly, ceaselessly, interminably...however, if the focus is constantly on what !let's one nation state dominate another, he human race will never evolve into a peaceful society, never...!are can't be gotten to without nuclear thermal rockets, not in any meaningful way, and even hose would take about 200 yts of converted Intl development to produce on Amy sizable scale...o CE the human race has a way off this rock, then, maybe, military development can cease...there are six billion humans on this planet, the planet wasn't biologically intended to house that many without ceaseless conflict, that much is evident...he human race can have AI, robotics, quantum computation, whatever. But without a way to finally, once and for all, be able yo get out of here, all such hardware is going g to lead to is more endless I ternecine squabbling...I don't view sociologic progress in terms of individuals, I view it as mathematical physics, and to !e, while the technologies you'd likely think might be suggested would be inevitable anyway, the only true hope for the human race is to finally, once and for app, get off the Earth, and that !sans the Moon first, then !are, when the human race is fi ally prepared to go, when space travel, large scale and long term, is as trivial as getting on a 747, AI can help solve that, quantum computation can help solve that...I've studied military history for nearly four decades noe, and all that happens when the human race evolves new hardware, are just new and better ways to neat one another:s skulls out, that's why, inevitably, war must end, for the human race to survive...as I'd said, idealistic? Yeah. A necessity nonetheless? Equally yeah....

Response by Capt Brandon Charters made May 6 at 2018 10:53 PM

2018-05-06T22:53:23-04:00

Anything that adds to the defense of our cyber & space based assets should be a top priority.

Response by PV2 Private RallyPoint Member made May 7 at 2018 12:13 AM

2018-05-07T00:13:10-04:00

Improved networking to exchange information at the tactical level would sound like an priceless asset. Most likely a system is already in development but something that could be used to have automated reports on soldier vitals, location, and enemy contacts would be useful for multiple echelons of command.

Sophisticated AI would also be invaluable, particularly for the naval in countering the growing threat of hypersonic missiles to hit strategic targets such as carrier or key airbases.

Also expanding the quantity of uavs and the range would be a force multiplier that hasn't been seen since the introduction of lmgs or light mortars.
Lot of these are most likely in development already, but how mature the programs are will likely be secret for years

Response by SN Greg Wright made May 7 at 2018 1:43 AM

2018-05-07T01:43:34-04:00

Orbital kinetics. All the stopping power (and potentially far more) of nukes, and none of the dirtiness, costs, or intricacy. When you can match the kinetic energy of a B-61 warhead with a 25-pound slug of depleted uranium....you win.

Response by Barry Davidson made May 7 at 2018 8:46 AM

2018-05-07T08:46:24-04:00

One of the greatest things the military could do to be ahead of every other force in the world is to develop battery and man-portable energy generation equipment along with superconductor and capacitor technology. Those few things would put us ahead of everyone. It would allow some of those sci-fi technologies we see in movies to exist. That rail gun Arnold used in Eraser would be possible. We won't get laser pistols any time soon, but atmosphere is as much a problem as the listed things above.

I do not know why no one is working on electromagnetic hover technology. Granted, much better shielding technology would also be needed in conjunction with the above, but it's possible.

First, though, I think lighter weight "sissy plates" (among other body armor technologies) need to be developed as there will always be a need for people in the theater of war. Tactical advantages are great, but the other side is always looking to cancel them out. A cyber attack today may not work tomorrow. A bigger, better MBT will cause the enemy to develop either their own MTB to counter, or better ways to neutralize yours. A stalemate if you will.

Something as simple as a hyper-velocity projectile, with the power source to accelerate it, could be invaluable. The kinetic energy of something the size of a tungsten coated, tear-drop sized piece of depleted uranium could knock out an Abrams with sufficient speed at the right angle and spot.

I'm still waiting on EMP hand grenades and/or mortars.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made May 7 at 2018 9:17 AM

2018-05-07T09:17:39-04:00

We are getting punked by our adversaries in two areas:
Cyber warfare and Information Operations.
We had best get religion on offensive and defensive aspects of both or we risk adversaries neutralizing our technological advantages and/or paralyzing actions and public support with misinformation, deception, or superiority of messaging.
Both are subtle, yet existential threats to our nation.