MikeyD

Back in normal times it was often said Russia's economy was roughly on par with Italy's. Imagine Italy trying to wage a two year near-peer full scale war of aggression on a neighbor. Their labor and industrial resources would be exhausted by now too.

SWARM WARS. I'd hate the be the rage safety officer at that anti-drone demonstration. Firing in all directions with various calibers at high angles. There's no telling where the rounds will eventually land.

"I honestly don't understand this concept" I recall in the early-mid 1980s military industry publications were chock full of 'concept vehicle' articles and this swap-out cabin concept was one of them. There were also the crew-in-hull concept, the heavy APC concept, the remote overhead turret concept. Its actually a surprise how many of those concept drawings turned into real vehicles 30-40 years later.

Not to mention Trump turning his back on South Korea and embracing North Korea. What leadership! And sanctions on Russia will be thrown out the day after Trump has another one of his infamous no-Americans-allowed secret meeting with Putin.

On the topic of M113, Bradley, and expanding production lets remember the Bradley-based M113 replacement the... (let me double-check the name) M1283 AMPV. Army plans for 3,000 vehicles over the next 20 years. I don't think I can say the design has been streamlined for most efficient production but at lest its not Bradley.

Go back 5-6ish years, some US-backed terrorist group tried to kill the president of Venezuela with a kamikaze drone at a rally.

I think of the problem Stryker Defender is apparently having with heat dissipation from the big batteries used to power its lasers. I'd imagine a railgun would have 10x those problems.

FPS game players who are stymied by a non FPS game. CM was recently voted the 'best wargame' (I forget the real title) but its not Ghost Recon so they don't know how to play it.

The article's a bit dated (almost 2 months ago) but it discusses the progress with laser defense in-service tests. Stryker Defender is not exactly being praised after 2 months in the field. https://breakingdefense.com/2024/05/army-soldiers-not-impressed-with-strykers-outfitted-with-50-kilowatt-lasers-service-official-says/

The drone argument seems to have come to the conclusion that 'Well, warfighting is now impossible, no more war'. Except that wars are not over by a long shot. The wars in Somalia and Sudan are not over. The war in Israel isn't over, the war in Myanmar isn't over. We need to define our terms better. What sort of war in now impossible? May I suggest near-peer large scale long duration mechanized combat. But how many wars fall under that definition?

It should also be noted M1A1 HA doesn't seem to have the same level of protection as M1A2. I can't quantify it, I've got no stats, but I remember in-game M1A1 getting more frequent penetrations.

In 2021 the Pentagon drafted a proposal for a replacement for the 50+ year old TOW. They're hoping for 10+km range, non-LOS launch and 'cooperative engagement' (whatever that means). Their specs seemed futuristic at the time, now it just sounds like a bog standard suicide drone. But fired out of a TOW launch tube (their mandated specs.)

Well, that's ironic. A Korean series I watched mentioned North Korea shipping orphan children to East Germany to work in the coal mines in the early 60s. I just looked it up, a documentary on the topic aired in 2020.

I learned from playing King Tigers in the WWII titles that no matter how well protected you think you are its best to play your tanks as though they're fragile. Because you're bound to get a mobility kill or gun damage or optics kill or a lucky penetration at the most inconvenient moment.

This whole drone problem had a precursor. Remember the rise of the fertilizer bomb IED in Iraq 20 years ago? It was a new and entirely unexpected development. It stymied the Pentagon, drove US forces into Bremmer-walled compounds, led to the development of MRAP monster trucks which the US produced in the tens of thousands. In the end the US was compelled to show up at regional agricultural fertilizer plants and beg/bribe them to change the formula of their fertilizers to make them more difficult to weaponize. Is that the solution to the drone problem? The creation of 'failsafe' commercial computer chips that can be disabled if put to nefarious military uses? Currently Homeland Security can track every one of your movements via your iphone. Do we bribe our way out of the drone problem by getting chip. engine, drone manufacturers to play ball?