OPFOR: Wishlist for DARPA
OPFOR has a list up of their wishes for goodies from DARPA. It’s good, but I have my thoughts:
1. Better Body Armor: The IBA has a pretty good track record- but what if body armor 10 years from now weighed 10 pounds instead of 40 and provided better protection? Perhaps some polymer can be invented that deflects rounds, a system that better protects the extremities, and still allows soldiers freedom of movement to accomplish the mission.
Some mesh of kevlar, that’s very flexible and lightweight. A modern-day chain mail.
2. PDA sized Direction Finding/Counter Mortar/Sniper system: Imagine if a sniper round shot past a squad, and the squad leader knew exactly where the round came from, and could instantly direct withering fire on the position, or call in FS on a grid square the instant a mortar impacts. They’ve already got humvee-sized DF equipment, let’s make it smaller and better!
where are the sensors??? a mini-awacs UAV? that’d be sweet!
3. Universal translators: The biggest obstacle for soldiers to overcome in an asymmetric environment is culture and language. What if there was a device that would listen to what someone is saying, translate it into English for you, and then translate what you say back into the native language? I’d want one.
would it look like a flashlight, a la the original Star Trek? I saw one on TV somwhere. it was a device mounted to some MOLLE gear and mated to a bullhorn.
4. Tactical EMP weapons: Some how figure out how get a non-nuclear Electro Magnetic Pulse to fire off with the range of 600M- 1000M, killing every electronic device in the radius. Put the thing in a 155 shell. Next time we have to clear a route for a cell-phone-detonated IED, fire a couple EMP rounds down the route. When entering a hostile area, prep the battlefield by disabling enemy coms.
Can I get a HELL YEAH from the audience???????? This should be NUMBER ONE.
5. Visual/imagery integration on the tactical level. Give every soldier eyewear that will allow them to switch between infrared, NVG, forward looking binoculars, and a heads up display of the area from above via UAV.
not much use in the day really…..
6. Floating Forward Staging Bases: Make a huge “offshore” platform that performs the same mission as a deep-water port and a FOB. This eliminates lots of the force protection worries we have with local governments, and would defuse basing rights for hostile regimes we need to stage close to.
There’s been several articles re: this in the USNI’s mag “Proceedings”. They forsee using supertanker hulls to hold thousands of Marines, have a welldeck in the stern, and a large heliport fore AND aft.
7. The Drop Ship: Forget the Osprey, forget the Harrier, make an aircraft that can vertically take off/land, and drop off a squad (hell- a platoon! This is a wish list) into battle. Throw some weapons on the thing and then you’ve got an assault platform. Why is this taking so long?
Like in the 2nd Alien movie? Heck yeah!
8. Fire Support in Orbit: Let’s put a couple 155 guns on a satellite, and put the thing in orbit. Let’s do this a couple times, and figure out the physics of slinging rounds through the atmosphere to provide direct fire support to any grid square on earth. Yeah, this is technically weaponizing space, but imagine the advantage of a super-empowered SF team with a floating weapons platform backing them up.
if you’re gonna dream, then DREAM. 16″-50s. That’s right. The ole USN battleship gun.
9. Post Nuclear Super Weapons: A Star Wars program that actually works. I’d love for Kim Jong Il to know that if he tried to launch any missiles, they’d be zapped by a laser beam from space. Why not make some sort of nano-tech weapon that will disperse metal-eating nano-bots across the battle zone that will dissolve enemy tanks, missiles, and rifles. Let’s make a missile defense shield that really works while we’re at it.
There’s 2 747s in the USAF with massive lasers board. They are testing for this now. And they’re working so far. I prefer the Clancy-esque use of Aegis to shootdown ballistic inbounds.
10. (Gratuitous) Develop an Imposing Ground Combat Fire Support/C4ISR Platform:
AT-ATs? Just remember, mechanical terrors are no match for the power of the force.
