Fascinating article about the future of the USMC.
- Thread starter Armchair_Marine
- Start date
Armchair_Marine
Mongoose
Hiromoon said:
Err, well let's just hope by then those fancy armor will provide some sort of life support system. Probably by the time Master Chief from HALO becomes reality.
Hope they have LOTS of roads that haven't already been littered with debris or filled with potholes from the the aerial campaign.Armchair_Marine said:
Most roads long enough to land on and still be able to take off from aren't going to be anywhere near most objectives. They are going to be highways away from critical buildings forcing the troops to fight to where they need to go. Leaving them in a world of hurt if run out of ammo or end up carrying wounded.
You'd be better served with a SVTOL like F-35B on a much larger scale. The only selling point of the whole deal is the 2 hr flight time, but you can fix that by expanding your number of elite troops and deploying them in foriegn locations spreading your coverage area allowing you access to hot spots in <2 hrs.
Well its nice to see the marines developing a way to attack anywhere in the world without any need for allies or international goodwill. I can see the tactical usefulness though.
The practical aspects are somewhat dubious, and the political aspects are a little worrying considering the isolationist and unilateralist bent America has taken over the last few years. I think this will end up less practical than the battlefield nukes (what happens when they lose one or faulty intel has them attack the wrong target, and thats forgetting it involves tearing up the non-proliferation treaty) and a new range of battlefield chemical weapons (some impractical) and the range of new nightmarish biological weapons (able to target specific ethnic groups, does anyone see the problem with this?).
Developing the tech would boost the space race, but I can picture someone like John Bolton standing up at the UN and saying we can take down anyone of you anytime we like, which is a big winner for international diplomacy.
The practical aspects are somewhat dubious, and the political aspects are a little worrying considering the isolationist and unilateralist bent America has taken over the last few years. I think this will end up less practical than the battlefield nukes (what happens when they lose one or faulty intel has them attack the wrong target, and thats forgetting it involves tearing up the non-proliferation treaty) and a new range of battlefield chemical weapons (some impractical) and the range of new nightmarish biological weapons (able to target specific ethnic groups, does anyone see the problem with this?).
Developing the tech would boost the space race, but I can picture someone like John Bolton standing up at the UN and saying we can take down anyone of you anytime we like, which is a big winner for international diplomacy.
Armchair_Marine
Mongoose
People remember, this drop ship actually would have the ability to FLY back home, which would be longer but a lot more easier to do than land in the hot zone.
Can't help but think that this is an idea designed to appeal to small minds in Washington who want the ability to act unilaterally, rather than providing more boots for the USMC and army in the way they actually need. This would be almost useless for the current wars America is fighting.
Captain_Nemo
Mongoose
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Aaah! Cough cough
It's good to see all the "real" strategists aren't Washingtonian Buttkissers.
Aaah! Cough cough
It's good to see all the "real" strategists aren't Washingtonian Buttkissers.
This is a "wargaming" tactic; might work with 28mm but as Hiro has pointed out its insane in the real world.
In particular I'd be worried about it only carrying 13 blokes. If you could get a bunch and put down a regiment or some armour then it might work (in the short term). But 13 blokes? They'd be dead/wounded/missing/fleeing by the end of day 1 against most enemies (imagine Black Hawk Down with 13 blokes, no support, no rescue etc. Chuffing nightmare.)
In particular I'd be worried about it only carrying 13 blokes. If you could get a bunch and put down a regiment or some armour then it might work (in the short term). But 13 blokes? They'd be dead/wounded/missing/fleeing by the end of day 1 against most enemies (imagine Black Hawk Down with 13 blokes, no support, no rescue etc. Chuffing nightmare.)
Hiromoon said:
beat me to it
yeah the whole point of dropping in from high orbit is to stay put and wait for reinforcement, you cant just fly in at super high speeds and fly out at slower more normal speeds, thats how you get people killed, and lose millions (possibly billions in this case) of dollars worth of equipment and personnel, plus you lose the experience of the soldier or Marine who just died. so this is a totally bad idea...
Rick
Mongoose
Not to mention the fact that you would STILL need permission to fly OUT over someone else's airspace, 'cos you wouldn't have the 1st stage booster for the return. And by this time, marines are on the ground so would effectively be hostages to the other countries' demands.
Unless of course it was used as a first strike of a full-scale invasion by land, so the marines could be a "bridgehead" and be reinforced.
Unless of course it was used as a first strike of a full-scale invasion by land, so the marines could be a "bridgehead" and be reinforced.
Rick said:
Or an allied nation bordering the target nation, though unless you had less than 24 hours to get the mission going then you'd be flying out from said nation anyway...
I still can;t really see it as a viable system against anyone we couldn't take out conventionally anyway.
Gauntlet-
Banded Mongoose
Well, done half assed this is a bad plan. Exactly as mentioned
it needs to carry more than 13 people for certain!
It needs to be able to escape in the same manner it came in, IE fast and above.
It needs vertical landing and take off so the road problem doesnt exist... and frankly itd be best if it never lands at all...
im kinda thinking that drop pods would be alot better, with a ship in orbit that drops them after a small barrage on local targets.
Problems that remain... Supplies... though you could have a supply ship follow through and drop pod the new stuff, and reinforcements.
Extraction, - in the drop pod method there is none, except being rescued or fighting through.
Honestly I think power armor is a more important issue at the moment...
and I mean humble power armor, just being immune to AK47 rounds and carrying over 50 pounds of equipment is a big deal.
low casualties = political gain
great armor = low # troops for the same dammage (not occupation duties though, just initial assault) supports low level deployment = more political gain.
Power armor just makes sense because it diminishes the political critiques of going into combat zones, and has a real true combat advantage.
They keep talking about Osama, but really who cares if we catch him now? Hes almost certainly dead anyways... and its not like he cant just instantly be replaced...
it needs to carry more than 13 people for certain!
It needs to be able to escape in the same manner it came in, IE fast and above.
It needs vertical landing and take off so the road problem doesnt exist... and frankly itd be best if it never lands at all...
im kinda thinking that drop pods would be alot better, with a ship in orbit that drops them after a small barrage on local targets.
Problems that remain... Supplies... though you could have a supply ship follow through and drop pod the new stuff, and reinforcements.
Extraction, - in the drop pod method there is none, except being rescued or fighting through.
Honestly I think power armor is a more important issue at the moment...
and I mean humble power armor, just being immune to AK47 rounds and carrying over 50 pounds of equipment is a big deal.
low casualties = political gain
great armor = low # troops for the same dammage (not occupation duties though, just initial assault) supports low level deployment = more political gain.
Power armor just makes sense because it diminishes the political critiques of going into combat zones, and has a real true combat advantage.
They keep talking about Osama, but really who cares if we catch him now? Hes almost certainly dead anyways... and its not like he cant just instantly be replaced...
