The military has been making scientific breakthroughs and technological advancements since mankind picked up a branch to use as a club. Now with the threat of terrorism and the tension building in countries like Iran and North Korea there are further reasons for the military to invent more advanced weapon systems. Currently the military is working on multiple projects that will take warfare to a higher level.
Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP)
Recently the US government has put more emphasis on the development of Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). This is a gigantic bunker-buster-bomb that will be used to destroy deep installations. The bomb weighs approximately fifteen tons (30,000 pounds) with 5,300 pounds of explosives inside of a 25.5 foot steel bomb casing; in fact this will be the largest non-nuclear, conventional bomb that the US has ever used. A B-2 will be able to carry two of these huge GPS guided tools of destruction during missions. The primary purpose for the MOP will be to destroy deeply buried military institutions since it will be capable of penetrating 200 feet of reinforced concrete before detonating. Boeing has stated that the MOP could be ready to explode onto military theaters everywhere by July 2010.
Electronic Warfare
On the modern battlefield communication between all combat arms is essential for the success of any mission. Moreover, a hosted exchange server, would have to follow strict military-grade security technologies to ensure privacy and data protection. The US have been trying to develop ways in which they can target specific areas to knock out enemy communication resources while leaving their electronics undisturbed. These weapons would need to be small enough for a soldier to be able to carry on the ground where the battle is being fought. With this technology the allies could dominate the radio communication ability and jam a signal coming from any device (cellular phone, etc) being used to trigger a roadside bomb. Some ideas for electronic warfare have been electro-magnetic pulse grenades and a smaller versions of signal-jammers that are used on various types of aircraft. One of the major obstacles for the developers is finding a way to specifically target locations so that legitimate radio is not affected. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is currently working on a way to develop a device that would be capable of this. They are creating a series of low-power transmitter nodes which will be located on the ground and in the sky that could eliminate enemy signal communication centers in precise locations; while leaving the rest of the area unaffected. This technology may not be portable for the average foot-soldier; but it will be useful nonetheless.
The Vulcan Program
Currently our top jets the F-22 Raptor and F-18 Hornet can reach Mach 2 at their top speeds. However, DARPA is working to build an engine that will propel a hypersonic jet to speeds of Mach 4 and faster; the project has been labeled the Vulcan Program. Everyone knows that air support is a major factor in any military engagement. With a jet that could fly at these speeds enemy targets could be engaged sooner than before and intelligence from reconnaissance missions would be delivered much earlier. With this quick intelligence gathering ground troops would have the capability to launch strikes at an earlier date to catch enemy forces off guard. The Vulcan will be the first propulsion system to combine a full-scale, average turbine with a new constant volume combustion engine. The revolutionary dual-mode engine will work by using a constricted tube to compresses air while it combusts fuel. With this break though in aero-technology jets will have the capability of accelerating from zero to over Mach 4 in minutes; Maverick would be proud.
XOS Exoskeletons
This impressive breakthrough in robotics technology is being developed by Steve Jacobsen and the engineers at Sarcos; a robotics company that he founded in 1983 and was purchased by Raytheon. The engineers at Sarcos realized that this exoskeleton would require the ability to mimic the soldiers movements perfectly in order for it to be successful. Therefore, they created flexible joints so that it can adapt to the versatile movements of the human wearing it; and made it capable of performing fluid, precise tasks. The major benefits for the soldier wearing the suit is that it will make the subject faster, stronger and more resistant to fatigue. In some tests the XOS was used to lift 200 pounds repetitively for 500 repetitions before the user stopped; it should be noted that the reason for stopping was out of boredom and not due to fatigue.
The major hurdle for Sarcos is that they need to develop a continuous power source that will allow the XOS to function for 4 to 24 hours. Sarcos predicts that the first versions will be used for heavy work rather than combat until a solution to this problem can be negotiated. This type of technology makes the sci-fi world of RoboCop more realistic than we previously imagined.
Lightcraft Technology
Now for some technology that is being researched by the US and Brazilian military forces that can be beneficial to the general population in the future. The technology that they are working on is called Lightcraft Technology; basically this technology will use air as fuel for forty-five minute transcontinental trips. The design is comprised of a laser that will be located on the ground and used to beam the Lightcraft through the sky with a series of laser blasts. The Lightcraft itself would have a parabolic mirror set on its rear which would catch these laser beams and focus them so as to heat the beams up to a temperature five times that of the sun. The result would be mini-explosions used to drive the Lightcraft towards any destination on earth in under one hour; or it could be used to send objects into orbit. This type of technology could be used to quickly transport military personnel and supplies to situations that arise at any location; and this form of convenient travel could be used for civilians who are on the move for their jobs or personal lives.
Military technology has made major progress since the World Wars were fought and it shows no sign of slowing down. Like science and technology related to most fields, military technology will continue to make advancements for the unforeseeable future.
XOS Exoskeletons is cool. I want one to deal with my X
Wow, that MOP is one massive weapon of destruction that the US is developing!
Lightcraft? please…the people/things traveling in these craft would arrive as a bloody pulp plastered to the side of the vehicle. Unless you could safely accelerate someone to “light speed” or whatever speed these things will function at, without killing them through G-forces, i’d say its a waste of time.
The Mach 4 engines would be a very cool thing, and could essentially be applied to all aircraft (assuming money is no object). Again, acceleration could be an issue. So long as they accelerate slowly enough for the pilot to remain conscious and physically aware, I give it a thumbs up.
Interesting idea on the exo-suits. Don’t really have a bias either way, but I would be very interested to see how these take shape. I’ll be keeping an eye out for progress on this project.
The human-robot thing is pretty impressive.
My god, you are stupid, alex
1, you don’t understand physics. like, at all.
2, lasers aren’t nearly that powerful
3, you really think nobody has ever even thought about safe acceleration speeds yet, dingus?
4, you’re an idiot
Sad enough great resources of a nation must be spent in defense, Truth is, modern warefare fought on the economics field, not the battoefield! The “Yuan” soon to replace the American Dollar as international Currency of business, Oil soon to be bought and sold outside the dollar’s fiat control, and Asia, now manufacturer to the world, and holder of most heavy industry calls shots for America! GM(America) broke! on “welfare” while GM(China) recipient of massive American capital investments, converted to “Yuan” forges ahead, yielding massive 30% profit this year alone! It is all well and good to be able to kill the whole world 20 times over, a capacity the Americans have had since the 1950’s, but to what end? Are they playing checkers on a chess board? I think so!
The whole premise of destroying the world 20 times over is based on the assumption that all of the nuclear warheads will be detonated at ground level, producing a 6 mile devastation aria assuming flat landscape and normal city structures. However, if the ground you detonate on is hilly or has a great deal of ‘hardened’ buildings your blast radious turns into something more resembling a Child’s drawing of a sun. The very center of the devastation aria is completely destroyed and in some cases vaporized. But the hills and hardened buildings get in the way of some of the blast creating what would look like the beams of the sun if you were looking at the explosion from the sky. Another problem with ground bust devices is that it creates fallout. Without getting too far into it fallout is bad. It circulates in the atmosphere and just pretty much screws up anything it drifts over.
How do you make a nuclear device more effective and cut down on fall out? Air bust. Detonating the device at 30,000 ft creates a devastation aria many times larger than a ground burst, doesn’t kick up as much fall out, and is far less limited by geography and ‘hardened’ buildings. So in actuality the US could destroy the earth several hundred times with it’s arsenal.
Wana know something truly terrifying? There is more firepower on board a fully loaded current US nuclear submarine than the human race has let loose in it’s entire existence. Even better? There isn’t a country in the world that can detect one of these boats when it goes silent. It can stay submerged indefinitely. As long as there is sufficient food on board a US submarine can stay out at sea.
Take a moment and think about that. Enough fire power to destroy a medium sized country in the blink of an eye and it’s basically undetectable.
And that is why China will never invade America. Because when they begin steaming here on their rinky-dink fleet of diesel powered boats they will be able to actually see their country’s major cities lit by nuclear fire shortly before being destroyed themselves.
No one ever wants to do a WWII type invasion of America or any other country any more! America screwed Iceland on the economic war-board! Devastated a small country! Stole the gold teeth right out of the grannies mouths! not a shot fired! The used junk bonds, bad mortgage paper! This is the new battlefield! China makes the parts that make the Japanese cars that took down GM(America), not a single threat involved! Careful manipulation of the price of oil by OPEC backed off all “American Military Might” in the Oil Boycott in the 70’s and America was forced to change course! On the new battlefield of the modern age! All electronics used in the “Mighty America” have Asian origins – not a cent made by Americans in this industry, and new technologies used, ones they barely understand! Win for Taiwan, on the new battlefield! The “American Military Machine” – so oil dependent, that OPEC controls it with their “taps” If they turn off the oil at the source, the “American Military Machine” is neutered! Being able to wreak havoc in the world, bring destruction to others, is not a point to be proud of, Yankee Doodle, Curing cancer, world hunger, would be! Take your measuring tape off off your penis, put it on your heart and then lets see who is biggest! The U.S.S.R. went down, singing its own praises, and they echoed off the walls of Hell as the great chasm closed over the last few uniforms. It took less than a decade, they had bigger, better, nuclear subs galore, bombs to match America’s and a superior delivery system! One decade – gone from the face of the earth! They too played life out on the wrong battlefield. You tell me, “What the Hell happened?” Weather Americans like yourself want to admit it or not, “Mutual Destruction” a balance in the world, is still in place! All the firings of nuclear missiles from covert subs can be met in kind! This assures that for all your false pride in the pissing contest, for all the extra testosterone in your meat supply, you are effectively neutered! Now, Fvck off! And stick it in some else’s face! P.S. China has Nukes too! Lots of them! They don’t make it public, but they have nothing to fear from the U.S. At all! Even little Israel has a say in these matters, and Pakistan can raise Hell in the world too! Radiation kills all mankind, no exclusions for Americans, no magic vaccines for them either! Beware, war-monger!
I must say that that was a brilliant piece of writing. However you’ve got a couple things wrong. Especially about subs. Firstly about oil however. I’ll save the subs for later.
There is more oil in Alaska than there ever was in Saudi Arabia. That combined with the oil off the gulf of Mexico witch is also a sizable reserve makes most of the first half of what you said wrong. The problem with America is the Bureaucracy not allowing refineries to be built. We have the oil, we just don’t have the infrastructure to produce any bi-products of the oil that we do have.
Moving on to the subs. The USSR never had better subs. They did however, have bigger subs. The Typhoon class subs were nearly 3 times the size of our subs and could carry several times the payload. But the size of the payload is a moot point when an American sub can sneak within a couple meters, take a picture of the hull number and sneak away without being detected. We did that sort of thing just to prove to the Russians that they needed to cool their jets. If you really want to see the pictures check out old copies of Der Spiegel. The Typhoon also used the same reactor technology that the Russians use to this day. The cooling system on the Typhoon class is the same reactor used to this very day. You can hear it with the naked ear when the sub surfaces it’s so loud.
As for the nuclear reply from China? The Chinese still use Tower launched devices. You can watch them screwing around with their missiles from satellite days before they’re prepared to launch. That makes them pretty easy targets, don’t you think? With technology to be able to destroy a target anywhere in the world in 12 hours or less the Chinese logistically can’t actually retaliate.
You’re right. Radiation does kill all mankind. I just don’t like it when people quote the out dated study that showed that the US could destroy the world 20 times over with it’s arsenal. It’s a misguided study, and founded on nearly no hard data. The bikini islands were home to some of the biggest yield devices ever devised. 100, 150, 200, 250 megaton devices were detonated there, and you might notice that there are people living there these days. Nuclear fallout is not an eternal problem by any means.
Finally I find it incredible that you suggest that I measure my hear instead of my penis. I’m simply stating facts to correct a mistake in one of your earlier posts. I didn’t insult you in any way that I’m aware of, and I find it incredibly rude that you insult me multiple times in your rebuttal. I am by no means a “war-monger” I’m simply a person who doesn’t like misconceptions about nuclear devices to be spread.
My apologies for offending a really decent sort! I still feel that an American position of Military Superiority is far less important than the massive give-away of our industrial, manufacturing prowess to Asia lately! Why did that ever happen! As for Alaskan oil, when the $147.00 bbl crunch came we went to Canada (and were wellcomed) and the Tar Sands , not Alaska! How Cum? What do we do when the oil starts to diminish? Will Solar power in our South Western deserts, a perpetual source – does not run dry in time like and oil well, ever be properly valued by Americans? Developed by Americans? Why Afghanistan and the Halliburton(Dubai) pipeline to Turkmenistan when we have the Boone T Pickens plans for perpetual power from the Prairie Wind Corridor – once again perpetual benefit for the U.S.A., Wind power is good as long as the wind blows, no matter how inefficient, just build more, work on improvements! – again, never runs dry as oil wells always do! We definitely need protection for Continental America, and cover for our Canadians up North too! Do we really need life-forms in Saudi Arabia at all? Can’t this work be done mostly by computer and American Souls on fly-in shifts? Why do we pay this bribe that breaks our backs economically anyway! To heathens! Glaze over the deserts of the Middle East, free parking-lots for Hummers, and take the oil! We owe nobody! Prepare America for perpetual Electric power with this satanist Islamic oil, Build laser death ray border fences, and make American citizenship a birth rite only! Why fool around! We must survive too! The economic markets of the world have screwed us! Fighting back is in order, but I wonder if not the economic battle-field rather than on WWII style battlefields? The food we eat is at stake, our way of life challenged by every American disenfranchised by the American Medical Cartel from decent medical care! Hard times call for hard measures – not at freaking home for Christ’s sakes! Nuke the fvcking Middle East before a single patriot goes without food, and world class medical care! We owe it to ourselves, our compatriots! Next time the cocksucker muslim parasites run the price of oil too high (over $30.00 a bbl in my opinion) – Free parking in the Middle East for Hummers! In one bright flash! In Christ’s name! Hunger, and lack of medical care for Americans at home – over my dead, rotting stinking body! Sand -niggers!
Wow. Just Wow. What little respect I had for you just evaporated. I’m not even going to explain why.
That Massive Ordnance Penetrator is almost massive enough to pleasure Pam Anderson
Next upgrade to the XOS Exoskeletons should be a smart suit model, one that through the use of GPS and tracking it can return the soldier to base if he should become incapacitated.
pretty cool stuff.
I second the poorly written comment. On another note, I can see practical and non military applications for all of the proposed technologies presented with the exception of the bombs and electronic warfare (which are not really new concepts anyway, just scaled up old ideas). Military technology is often the originator and proponent of valuable non-military technology.
I can clearly see and visualise the importants of the mordern technology particulary in military and more specific air power of which i believe is of greate importance to national securty.