Real powered armor

[Michael Silverbane]

All this combat speculation is great, but this will be a forklift before it's a tank.

That's just what I was thinking. This thing looks like it's already at a point where it would be useful for some manufacturing / warehousing functions. With the added bonus that, since it still has those big power cables trailing from it, your employees won't be able to walk off with the things.

Later
silver

 

[Mishihari Lord]

All this combat speculation is great, but this will be a forklift before it's a tank.

I agree, but those uses aren't very interesting for an RPG, so let's keep speculating on combat use.

 

[Warren Okuma]

All right. The first model will be a hangar queen needing, I'm guessing 2 hours of maintenance per hour in the field, and later models maintenance time will go down.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

My predict...first place you'll actually see'em used is on aircraft carriers, rearming planes and moving them around. All this combat speculation is great, but this will be a forklift before it's a tank.

Precisely. That application is perhaps a decade away. A combat application is probably 2-3 decades, all due to power constraints.

But being able to replace teams of armorers and maintainers with a single individual who can single-handedly move large heavy equipment while remaining close to a power source? That's money -- it frees up more troops for actual combat duty.

 

[Warren Okuma]

Precisely. That application is perhaps a decade away. A combat application is probably 2-3 decades, all due to power constraints.

But being able to replace teams of armorers and maintainers with a single individual who can single-handedly move large heavy equipment while remaining close to a power source? That's money -- it frees up more troops for actual combat duty.

And powered armor's maintenance teams will tie up more personnel, making less active combat duty troops. It more than likely be worth it though.

 

[Ampolitor]

Agreement. Long before we see a successful adaptation into true powered armor we'll see just the exoskeleton used wherever a load can be lightened and made easier to handle.


That should never happen. Borders on politics so I'll be careful but police should not have access to this, then again I also disapprove of SWAT teams.

Whats to disagree with SWAT teams, I've been on one and let me tell you the bad guys STILL outarm the police. They are very, very necessary.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

Whats to disagree with SWAT teams, I've been on one and let me tell you the bad guys STILL outarm the police. They are very, very necessary.

It's essentially a political issue so given forum rules we should both let it go before it derails things. But to sum it up without going into areas we're not supposed to the general populace should outarm the police because for all their necessity the mere existence of a police organization makes it a potential threat to the freedom of the population it guards.

 

[AnonymousOne]

I don't imagine mamsized units will be ressitant to machine gun fire to any large degree, there are some pretty powerful machineguns out there.

It's not the gun it's the kind of round fired that makes a real difference. A belgian-made sniper rifle fires a 20 mm Armor penetrating round that will punch through a Hummer like it's paper.

Anyway ... this gives me visions of:

 

[Lopke_Quasath]

If this exoskeleton is being shown to the public, just imagine what the Defense Deparment is currently working on!

The latest model is only what has been de-classified and deemed "safe" for the general public to know.

 

[Kheti sa-Menik]

Agreement. Long before we see a successful adaptation into true powered armor we'll see just the exoskeleton used wherever a load can be lightened and made easier to handle.


That should never happen. Borders on politics so I'll be careful but police should not have access to this, then again I also disapprove of SWAT teams.

Actually, I'd argue that every SWAT team should have at least one.
The guy wearing the UAS (Urban Assault Suit) has as part of the frame a motorized battering ram. He's the first one on the door, he takes the door down and steps inside. Bad guy starts shooting, and sees this badass looking Terminator-like figure that steps inside and shrugs off his small caliber rounds. The UAS officer's job is to shield the next officer (wearing standard SWAT body armor and gear) as he comes through the door. That second SWAT member is the one that can put down the bad guy (either permenantly or with nonlethal means) The UAS officer would also be responsible for putting himself between any hostage and bad guy.

The UAS would become involved in actual combat only when necessary since he's more of a broadsword instead of a scalpel. A melee attack is liable to kill without meaning to. Although, honestly, should the criminal shoot at this officer, the criminal has lost his right to nonlethal combat.