USSOCOM Iron Man Suits (TALOS) prototypes coming in June, deployment by 2018
70 replies, posted
That moment when fiction comes reality, If this does happen my mind will be blown.
[QUOTE=Psychokitten;44107298]The expense would probably relegate these suits to special forces-use only, at least initially. As costs go down and the it becomes more reliable, I could see them being used by mechanized infantry units. Light infantry and airmobile are probably out of the question, though.[/QUOTE]
That does make a fair bit of sense. It'd probably grant the TALOS exosuit a semi-legendary reputation if it works out right.
[QUOTE=cdr248;44107483]Or the radiation shielding :v:[/QUOTE]
That definitely is a problem. Outside of mega-thick lead shielding which weighs a goddamn ton, there'd be no way to properly protect a soldier from the gamma rays. Particle radiation is easily protected against with a thin shell of material (even beta particles can be stopped by a sheet of aluminium foil), but gamma rays and X-rays can pass through so much, though thick layers of dense material like lead plating can offset some of the EM radiation hazard. Trouble is that kind of heavy nucleus material surrounding the mini-reactor would probably end up making the armour somewhat bulky.
At least, that's how it'd be for fission reactors, though I imagine it wouldn't be as perilous with some sort of miniaturized fusion reactor or a high-power fuel cell.
And yet these dumb shits fail to realize 3rd world insurgents will still wreck their million dollar soldier-in-a-can with $100 worth of improvised explosives. Combat exoskeletons and powered armor will never be useful in a real world combat zone.
Half-Life was closer than Starship Troopers, 40k, StarCraft and Halo ever were. Suits made for general use in hazardous environments for research and other civilian work are much more useful than anything that may be developed for combat purposes.
[QUOTE=lonefirewarrior;44107758]And yet these dumb shits fail to realize 3rd world insurgents will still wreck their million dollar soldier-in-a-can with $100 worth of improvised explosives. Combat exoskeletons and powered armor will never be useful in a real world combat zone.
Half-Life was closer than Starship Troopers, 40k, StarCraft and Halo ever were. Suits made for general use in hazardous environments for research and other civilian work are much more useful than anything that may be developed for combat purposes.[/QUOTE]
Logistically an exoskeleton with the ability to carry many times your own weight could be incredibly useful though
[QUOTE=Rofl my Waff;44107821]Logistically an exoskeleton with the ability to carry many times your own weight could be incredibly useful though[/QUOTE]
But that's not as big of an advantage in counter-insurgency as it would be in a symmetric war. In Iraq and Afghanistan, most of our forces operate close to their base on shorter missions - there isn't much long-range maneuvering going on. Special forces teams, which do do that, might not want to rely on a newly-built, complex exosuit that could malfunction at the exact wrong moment.
[QUOTE=MrBob1337;44107859]But that's not as big of an advantage in counter-insurgency as it would be in a symmetric war. In Iraq and Afghanistan, most of our forces operate close to their base on shorter missions - there isn't much long-range maneuvering going on. Special forces teams, which do do that, might not want to rely on a newly-built, complex exosuit that could malfunction at the exact wrong moment.[/QUOTE]
The ability for individual soldiers to be able to deploy things that would normally require a four wheeled vehicle has in my opinion logistical benefits regardless if it's not being used in actual combat (I.E back at base).
[QUOTE=ElectricSquid;44107424]The T-45 series and T-51 are powered by a miniature nuclear reactor. I don't think we'll achieve the kind of size-to-energy-output ratio needed to power something like that in the near future, if ever.[/QUOTE]
meh they're achieving massive boosts on power production from thermoelectrics, i wouldn't doubt at some point we'll be able to get massive amounts of power out of a slug of plutonium at least enough to power some sort of suit
[QUOTE=MrBob1337;44107859]But that's not as big of an advantage in counter-insurgency as it would be in a symmetric war. In Iraq and Afghanistan, most of our forces operate close to their base on shorter missions - there isn't much long-range maneuvering going on. Special forces teams, which do do that, might not want to rely on a newly-built, complex exosuit that could malfunction at the exact wrong moment.[/QUOTE]
Not to mention having to cancel a mission because your batteries ran out would be incredibly stupid.
I want to see this technology used on people with disabled limbs
they have limbs so they can't use prosthetics unless they amputate, so instead they use a "Civilian" version of this.
[QUOTE=J!NX;44108059]I want to see this technology used on people with disabled limbs
they have limbs so they can't use prosthetics unless they amputate, so instead they use a "Civilian" version of this.[/QUOTE]
Where do you think the technology came from....
[t]http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/Vanderbilt_Exoskeleton_Wide.png[/t]
[QUOTE=hypno-toad;44108773]Where do you think the technology came from....
[t]http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/Vanderbilt_Exoskeleton_Wide.png[/t][/QUOTE]
I wouldn't expect it to be from that though
just look at things like the GPS and a lot of radio technology, totally crafted from the military. This is something very specifically that will benefit the military but as a side effect a LOT of other people, just like GPS, etc.
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