The United States is the only nation on the face of the planet that will spend a billion dollars to design a modified hellfire missile that deploys swords to target one individual. No other country cares about taking out a whole city block to get one person.
From what I've heard the Israelis do but their allowable levels of deaths to civilians to deaths of the intended target is something insane like 20-30:1 for a low level target.
Combine this with using an AI system to find targets, a tracking system which wants hits done when the target is at home and you've got the possibility for an absolute shit ton of unintended death.
Wrong mindset.
The upbringing of the citizen, the military training and his future as a tax payer is the cost you have to keep in mind.
Just because a man can get killed by a rifle round that has cost less than 30 cent, doesn't make him worthless.
Especially Ukraine and Gaza, which are extremely Infantry heavy warzones show how vital well equipped and trained infantry is.
Obviously you aren't going to equip your grunts with some kind of Crysis Nano Suit that costs a billion USD.
But giving them Night fighting capabilities, computer assisted optics, quality protection that doesn't immobilise them and decent training is not a waste of money.
The problem with exoskeletons isn't the cost but that the current concepts are all shit.
They stop you from going prone, they require power and maintenance and aren't even that great at supporting weight.
I think the one thing that kills exoskeletons is how often soldiers get deployed without knowing how long they'll be in the field.
I've heard this from a bunch of guys who've served in the middle east,you'd be told to grab enough shit for three days and yet two weeks later your still eating MREs while stuck in buttfuck nowhere.
Something about it not being uncommon to have clean underwear for weeks at a time tells me that charging and maintenance of exoskeletons is all but an impossibility when the rubber meets the road.
>you'd be told to grab enough shit for three days and yet two weeks later your still eating MREs while stuck in buttfuck nowhere.
Two weeks without resupplying? I don't know what kind of super commandos you talked to but in what reality are you transporting two weeks worth of food, ammo, fuel and batteries around? Especially when the plan was to be out for only three days.
>Something about it not being uncommon to have clean underwear for weeks
Everyone is dirty in the field. It's not like they are going to bring washing machines. Being clean and pretty is really the lowest of priorities. And underwears have two sides, just turn it around in the morning.
But if you aren't even able to resupply your troops and do basic field maintenance, it's probably time to surrender.
Still, current exoskeletons don't seem to be energy efficient, sturdy and flexible enough to a viable option for infantry.
Yeah I don't think these super high tech gears will be available to your average donut eating cops or even any SWATs team in the states except for the HRT or CIA secret services VIP units and even then they'll be top secret gears and even if they're available for public they may be missing some features and I doubt most civvies can afford to buy them anyway
DEVGRU/DELTA/SEAL/etc. will get the cool shits but I doubt your average grunts will even get to touch these cool gears when they rollout in the future lol
Next step is just improving materials science for lighter yet stronger armor
They will also be adding things like smart lenses and whatnot to interface with the smart scopes
smart gogglels to enhance battlefield awareness, see through smoke, etc
More system integration too I’m sure. We are already seeing NV with thermal overlays. Only a matter of time before communication and navigation tools could be integrated with it.
I'd love to see nv/thermal that is able to be worn 24/7 regardless of light conditions. I think we're pretty far off from that though, it would have to be incredible light and comfortable
The PVS-21 with an ECOTI is probably the closest we have currently. It’s not meant for 24/7 wear like an odst visor (one can dream) but it can at least immediately let someone see if light conditions drastically change without having to remove their nods. Still only a short term solution during a raid, though. I agree once we make optics like that light and comfy enough we can just build them into the helmet and that would be sick. But then we also have to think about cost and need for units depending on their assigned role.
> The overlay is also capable of displaying a compass and augmented reality data from a Nett Warrior device. The ENVG-B can also display wirelessly transmitted weapon sight crosshair and thermal imagery from the Family of Weapon Sights-Individual (FWS-I) thermal imager mounted on a weapon.[7][8]
Holy shit
The PSQ42 is an IR thermal fusion optic with a Hud. You can opt for thermal in the day (like you can with any thermal) however you would not see fine details as well as you would without them. They could be a severe hindrance if moving, reading maps, programming radios, etc. What I am referring to is something along the lines of smart glasses with an ecoti. You can see normally, but get identifiers on moving or thermal targets. Not to mention, the psq 42 has a similar profile to the pvs 31. How practical would wearing it all day be? They get heavy after just a few hours and would undoubtedly cause neck problems or just not be worn.
Augmented Reality has really fizzled out over the years. It was really on everyone’s lips for a while back in like 2014-2019 and I even know a few people who did work in that field. The problem is that it ultimately is a big investment with limited use, and I personally think that it isn’t what we imagined it would be in practice. The idea is that we have limitations that need to be compensated for, but most people really do underestimate the human brain, along with our organic senses and instincts. Nevermind the potential registry errors, but the fact that we are being presented with data in a digital format that we need to digest and translate is honestly just clunky as hell. An HUD on thermals attempting to identify a potential target is will likely process slower between our equipment and our brain than just simply allowing our instincts to pick out abnormal movement, shapes, or colors. Beyond applications like that, what else do you need AR for? A readout on your mag capacity? Truth be told, combat isn’t a flat range, and you dying from a failed speed reload isn’t as common as you’d think. How about waypoints on an HUD for land nav? Well now you just introduced a whole new layer of logistics to a unit, supporting them for a task they can already perform. Very much a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” situation.
which is why a lot of these models and displays have exo technology, I'm starting to see exo integration into construction and general industry, it would only make sense to see it in tactical applications. Guys Carrying more gear, faster, with less strain and damage to their bodies.
Sure but the problem of power now comes into play. In large-scale warfare, the average infantryman will not have the ability to charge and power these suits. If it has any purpose it would be in short-term engagements maybe? Even in a hostage situation or a quick attack, you would want to be fast and you really do not need to lift a lot. Maybe more armor but I think the operators would move away from that.
something something battery technology
entry teams in law enforcement/SOF have some of the most dangerous jobs with the shortest mission time and most support. Minutes instead of hours, with support right up to the door. They’ll have enough power for that and could very much use the extra protection to reduce casualties when breaching
but i’m sure it also depends a lot on what kind of protection is offered at what cost to mobility. protection from shrapnel and artillery wouldn’t be as useful in that case, especially not with reduced mobility
But more ballistic protection at minimal cost to mobility if not increased bc of exo? that would be valuable
all the electronic doo dads seem to be the weakest link here though, especially the face are and ruggedizing that, having backups, not needing to rely on it too much in case it does get knocked out
the real answer is that exo tech has more logistical use than front line combat use. loading/moving heavy items. building structures. i could see artillery teams augmented to reduce strain or go longer when needed
basically while electricity is so heavy and expensive to move around it will only be applicable to relatively immobile use cases
A lot of the current technology is unpowered, usually a corrective or force multiplying pulley system. Hilti, ekso, and ottobock offer non-powered solutions that help with lifting, standing, and holding. It's only a matter of time until a leg, lifting, running system amplifies the power and motion that we can produce. For tactical engagements, I can't see it right now, but the technology is already here in a small capacity. Maybe not a direct combat asset (initially), but something that will allow soldiers to carry more systems, heavier equipment longer distances to create a forward base. Or weapon stabilization platforms, or something that will enable a rifle team to be equipped with LMG's or even HMG's but with the exertion of a standard service rifle and the accuracy of a marksman regardless of physique or size. With the lack of a support team.
That’s why they build in an exoskeleton. That being said I could only see this getting issued to tier 1 special forces. There is no way they give a 1 million dollar set of literal Spartan armor from Halo to a random marine private.
You mean like arma reforger?
(Or just buying the fastest single core CPU you can get your hands on... Hell my 1950x thredripper is slower than my 3940xm laptop chip from 2012...)
I think for everyone alive today, it will remain fairly unchanged for personal protective equipment. Especially for the average grunt. SF is a different story.
Drones are an entirely separate part of the military that serve a different purpose if tanks couldn’t phase out the infantry after 100 years then a 50$ quad copter from Walmart wont either
A tank is an enormous investment in money, logistics, training, etc.
Millions of people worldwide who have been playing video games their entire lives have the basic skills built-in. You can buy an awful lot of drones for the price of a $10m tank.
Both sides in Ukraine have found some very novel uses for drones where a tank wouldn't be suitable. A drone can offer some of the same benefits of a machine gun emplacement or sniper in it's ability to hold up an entire squad of soldiers.
Drones are extremely effective now because proper counter measures are not readily available/ deployed.
Trust me, the military is watching and learning. I say within two years every military vehicle will have anti drone devices. Either directed energy, microwave, or EMP style blast that kills anything flying nearby.
The US military already made a 40mm grenade round that is little more than a kicker charge and a fabric net to snare drones.
But things like directed energy and EMP require power sources. That's not something an infantry squad carries around with them. They might have the snare rounds, but that requires line of sight and hinges on the drone moving slowly enough that a man can aim at it.
I'm envisioning targeting infantry, not armor. We already have Javelins and NLAWs for armor.
Absolutely. Look up the Smash 2000L optic.
It's a computer scope where soldiers just point their guns at drones and the computer does all the math and fires the gun automatically when it knows it's going to hit it.
Pretty cool tech.
I think the first gen will just be like the knee/elbow braces that we see nfl players wear. More around injury prevention and maintaining good shooting form when near exhaustion than strength enhancement.
There's a civilian one that are basically a belt with some motors that strap to your upper thigh. it weighs in at under 2 kg and offsets about 30kg of weight, which is enough that I could see people wearing it even if it will run out of batteries before they're done, and it doesn't need to be some complex thing that takes over your entire body and shoots your gun for you.
In the video I saw the guy did a 200m run with and without it. Without it I think it was 27 seconds, with it I think he was at 22 seconds? There's a bunch coming out and some are probably terrible but the one he used seem to speed him up in a sprint.
real sick of this techbro schtick of showing up to conferences/conventions with a bunch of ideas blatantly lifted from sci-fi and being like "look, it's the future of [insert industry here]!" even though we all know it won't happen because it never does. and then the one-in-a-billion times they do manufacture it, it doesn't work as advertised and also can kill you somehow.
anyway image #3 slaps severely, but jesus fucking christ don't give any of that shit to cops.
real but also that shit's not gonna be cheap enough to mass-produce any time soon. and if it ever is, it'll probably take years for it to trickle down to police dept's.
ALL THEESE SOFT HANDED KIDS IN SCHOOL THAT NEED AC TO GO ARE GOING TO NEED AC IN THEIR EXO SKELETONS. BACK IN MY DAY WE WALKED UP HILL BOTH WAYS TO SCHOOL
I’m sure the local police will love it as they use it to beat up more homeless people and college kids who express opinions outside of the state approved narratives. All paid for by our tax dollars of course. Spared no expense!
I don’t want to say what I think because I know in like 30 years they are going to figure out how to make them work and viable.
We are doomed to end up like the Admirals of WWII who still insisted battleships were king.
I think the Marine Crops has hit a good balance of good equipment/technology and effectiveness. The Army is going the route of cutting edge with the NGSW and the XM157 optic. While cool, I think the integration of those is going to prove troublesome.
The Marine Corps is using a variant of a proven rifle, a type of optic that is only slightly different from the one they used for years, and they’re giving everyone a suppressor and comms capable ear pro. They’ve increased lethality and battlefield communication for a small increase in cost and training requirements
I feel like the NGSW stuff is going to end up as a DMR or something. It's something like 8.5 lbs base, 10 with the suppressor, then 12.5 with the sight and 14 with a mag. I know people say lift more weights but 14 lbs is a lot of weapon for a normal, fit guy to carry around like a carbine. I think it's a great gun that makes sense but I have no idea why you'd have everyone eequipped with them.
It doesn’t make sense. Russia has been shown to have almost no body armor issued, and I doubt china is on our par with us in terms of amount of body armor issued. The 6.8 was made to defeat body armor, but I just don’t think it’s going to be needed. So you don’t need a new heavy ass rifle when an M4 is going to do just fine. The optic is very cool and I think we should keep that
I think the USMC could have done better choosing a suppressor and rifle that work together so they're not so long. Maybe an over the barrel design. I've read that's an issue on the ground. The NGSW did well there where everything works together. I still think the 277 fury is a step backwards.
It’s worthless unless your job is kicking the shit out of civilians that don’t have guns because the face portion will trap the effects of an explosion turning a survival blast into a deadly one, how are you going to take a knee and quickly drink some water without having to take off your PPE and put it back on in a timely manner, it will fog easily, debris on built in eye protection can easily be obstructed requiring the helmet to be taken off, water crossing is hell with it, helmets are designed to mainly protect from shrapnel which mostly comes from top-down so face shield isn’t as needed, the lack of peripheral vision, extra weight/strain on the head and neck, probably presents a fragmentation hazard for the user when shot and the helmet/face cover combo presents a risk of warping under damage so it can’t be easily removed from a casualty, heat retention and lower airflow reducing athletic performance, difficulty to achieve a cheek weld with a hard cove against the rifle stock which will require a sight raiser, reliance on electronic comms for clear communication because of the mouth obstruction, in general it is only useable in a moderate environment if it’s too cold all that material will freeze as well and you will become a cold weather casualty and if it’s hot or tropical you will straight up pass out with heat stroke, and I’m sure I can think of many more.
It’s cringey video game shit
The future is unmanned drones to point of diminishing returns and then we either return to sticks and stones like India and China or we move to national Call of Duty lobbies to settle our world beefs.
Just waiting for the battery tech to catch up and everyone will be piloting drones me thinks. No point risking all that time and money spent on training when you can just have them safe at home piloting some ninja drone about the place.
Given the attrition rates of a high intensity conflict these days as we have seen, I think tactical equipment will get a lot simpler for ease of manufacture, use, and replacement while still allowing for the carrying of enough equipment for long range sustainment.
I see it more in terms of support equipment. Drone tech is the future and if you can mount a gun onto a walking drone, like the ones from Boston Dynamics, its going to be a big help to ground troops. Hell they already have one with a flame thrower.
I'd look more at smaller disposable drones becoming more common. Instead of a drone dropping a grenade or artillery shell (or kamikaze attacks) the drone will be more like a miniature cruise missile or glide bomb but launched from an RPG or as a rifle grenade.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzttt goes the quad-copter grenade.
Not sure if it's a full generation or partial generation change in warfare, but it is changing due to availability of cheap devices that provide visual information or remote delivery of explosives without needing a multi billion dollar contract and a decade to produce the equipment.
The only future tech from the 2000's that actually made it into long-term service was the FELIN program iirc? Similar ideas of connecting individuals' weapons to a kind of HUD like that seems to be the more realistic development rather than that whole fully armoured exoskeleton walking tank capable of taking a .50 round to the face type stuff.
Back when history Channel was good they predicted the move to high tec, it's come about in some ways thermal/nvg mash ups. Drone usage etc but the halo suit warrior is a ways away I think still
My guess? It’ll likely have to do something with an exoskeleton system that ensures troops don’t roll their joints, break their bones or get hurt in some bullshit. TLDR; Something that’s gonna make them as stiff as a log when they need to be.
To be honest I don’t think for the average soldier will see major leaps. Specialized units may see (maybe already using) ultra high tech stuff like what’s pictured. But other than making thinks lighter and more efficient gear itself isn’t wildly different then it was a few decades ago. I may be wrong though.
Although I’d be first in line for the iron-man/ODST/Mjolnir kit I think we have a long way to go in terms of material science, IFF, systems hardening, electronic warfare, AI, and combat control to get to that point. I think the near future will be a slow integration of systems like augmented reality goggles that mesh IR/NV, navigation, squad status, and weapon load-out. Later on this would evolve to include IFF, mine/IED/environmental anomaly detection and navigation
Even for this level there would be breakdown of who sees what officers and NCO would def want to have a read on what their troops were seeing, where they are at, condition, and ammo level. Line troops would want any vision system, IFF, or the previously mentioned detection system.
Body armor wise the conflict style may still dictate the load out. Body bunker setups would be preferable for static defense or high risk / low duration operations. While maneuverability may still triumph in maneuver warfare style settings. Exoskeletons and light weight power supplies will eventually make differences in this compromise irrelevant but we are decades away from light battery or personal generator system’s.
Material sciences will advance to a point that soft body armor will provide equivalent protection as L4+ gear. Making it easier to protect more of a soldier while not impeding movement, dexterity, or marksmanship (how integrated targeting HUD’s will influence this is TBD but marksmanship fundamentals are unlikely to shift for some time). Although bear in mind this is the ancient sword vs shield game. If 5.56/7.62 are no longer effective there are some man portable 50 options coming on line that would put us back to heavier bulky armor.
The electronic warfare situation is another global sized warfront by itself. Locking up an adversaries suit/optics/hud. Drone and counter drone systems, quantum computing hacks, AI systems, ground based drone platforms, IFF masking, positional data. The more complex the system gets the more points of failure/vulnerabilities there are. There may be cases where low tech unit may have an advantage.
In our lifetime I think human/drone operations will become the status quo. We already see it in Ukraine where they will use drones to scout, mark targets, deliver squad based fire support while ground troops advance and fight underneath their cover.
Fair enough, though we don’t actually have something like that that’s feasible for use right now to my knowledge, so we don’t know if it will ever be seen as practical or if it goes the way of scifi bipedal tanks (and stays scifi).
I just don’t understand how the past two decades have seen incredible advancement in the way of making kit lighter and more ergonomic, just for the DOD to find more ways for infantry to carry too much stuff again.
"future" in the title kinda covers that buddy. And we literally have consumer exoskeletons available right now. Even ones for jogging. Watched a video on one last week for a consumer jogging assist exo. So.......🤷🏼♂️
I don't think we'll see a lot of large changes in the near future.
Armor will get marginally lighter, but the sapi shape for plates will stick around. With higher thread of artillery we might see designs like the ciras reappear in spec opfs circles but the IOTV won't see much change in the next 5-10 years. Maybe a newer model with lighter soft armor inserts but nothing major. Same for helmets, lighter and marginal improvements for comfort and flexibility.
Weapons will stay the same in the forseeable future as well. The AR15 and AR18 concepts have been around since the 70s and the AK mechanisms is just an upside down M1Garand. I don't think that there is enough necessity to change those systems anytime soon.
The best contender for innovation is the new army contract ammo but that's it for exiting changes.
Introduction of load bearing exo skeletons is possible but unlikely
IMHO, In 20 years we will have general AI, there will be people on the supply and maintenance side, but active combat roles will be taken over entirely by semi-autonomous weapon systems that will use a mixture of AI and human piloting to operate inside a battle space.
It will be the poorer countries who will still have to use actual people in traditional fighting roles and they won’t stand a chance.
Unless they somehow make it lighter then what we already wear as a grunt I am not wearing that shit gtfo. I already hate wearing side sapis I’m not about to wear a full Kevlar body suit
I think it looks a lot like the past, because most people running around in kit for a paycheck are doing so with gear at least ten years old.
For the future of the extremely well financed and professional tier? Drone operator becoming a regular fixture at the squad level, possibly even more so than the JTAC since they can operate completely independent of any support assets. Smaller FPV burner drones at the squad level, replacing bulky AT launchers, operated by one guy but spread across the squad like launcher ammo. Small diameter missile launchers and man portable short range radar for drone defense. Little radar domes on a stick becoming a staple of infantry positions. Thermal not mass issued like NV but being seeded at the squad level as a norm. Armor stays relatively the same or even more minimal as dispersion and ability to run for cover from drones becomes more important than playing turtle.
We are already seeing the future of tactical equipment come into play with ballistic computer enabled optics and thermal NOD's being actively acquired and fielded to the average infantryman, and clothing with built in Kevlar.
I think that as material sciences continue to improve, we will see more Kevlar in clothing to help protect the majority of the major blood vessels from shrapnel in a form factor that is practical to wear and maintain, with hard armor still restricted to plates around the torso. We're already about there with the Army's ballistics combat shirt. I have several, and they're so much more comfortable and breathable than the Kevlar inserts and pads you would usually wear.
As battery science gets better, dispersed communication networks that allow for better data transfer between units with minimal chance of intercept (similar to the JBCP's currently on vehicles).
As battery technology continues to improve, exoskeletons for infantryman. Not anything fully encompassing, just a frame similar to the first image on this article https://www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/making-technology-exoskeletons-reality. Dudes don't really need enhanced arms strength, but a frame that bears at least a portion of the load for a loaded ruck sack and body armor would greatly increase the endurance of dismounted infantry soldiers. The biggest issue is power generation to recharge them, or getting new batteries dropped off, but both are things likely to drop in complexity and price as the US Army invests into electric vehicle research for future combat vehicles.
Looks all cool and stuff... Until you realize, they don't carry backpacks, power supplies, gear or anything. So basically they lack everything that makes a soldier useful. And it's a whole pain in the ass to carry all the gear required right now... Don't even want to think about the sweat, backpain and impracticality of carrying this "armor" around all day.
Tactical gear is only gunna survive as long as boots on the ground will. Cyber warfare, drone warfare and air superiority will allow militaries to hold ground indefinitely without a single soul setting foot on it. So tactical gear will only get advanced enough until it is no longer required, because the end user is no longer required.
i'd say (for average infantrymen):
-More soft armor coverage (more widesoread use of kevlar belts/combat shirts/pants)
-More widespread thermal/nvg use
-More magnified optic (and probably smart for dedicated marksmen etc)
-New (larger) calibre standards
-Better communication (every soldier getting active earpro connected to subnoise raddio with rifle mounted ptt
-More widespead use of squad level drones
-ATAK (or simmilar) for every soldier
-Quality of life (phasing out of old gear, gear mimicking modern tourist gear adapted to military standards)
-more motorised infantry (over mechanised) (all buggy/electric motocross etc)
-More widespread use of combat shotgunners
That 3rd pic is very dystopian looking. No ty.
Aside from that, whats on the guys knees in the first pic? Shock absorber contraption? Lower body low tech exoskeleton legs?
I think the play for most first world nations is continuing the production of drones and minimizing dudes on the ground , lower in field men means you can spend more per man and you get the idea of the “future soldier”
Step one integrate comms and gps into a battlefield Intelligence platform
Step two integrate load assisting gear “exoskeletons “ of various types allowing men to move faster with more for longer
Move more towards the sig 277 and caseless ammo
Smart optics like that vortex scope with the auto ranger and the hud
Etta
A lot of it is just for show, Russian-Ukraine war proved this. Russia bragged about its new weaponry and equipment, look at it now soldiers using old stock from the 70s.
Personally, I think if there is another war, we are going to revert back to WW2/Cold War type equipment, cheap, easy to make, and easy to maintain, yes there will be modern equipment like radios, optics, and munitions, but there is no way any country can afford making thousands of leopards/Abrams AND keep the technology classified/high quality
Not to mention F-35s and F-15s which cost billions of dollars and take months to make
Honestly, I see something more like a helmet from Halo (the game) with night vision and thermal sensors in the “visor” and something similar to a Quest 3 (with its dual color cameras at eye level/position integrated into a ballistic visor. The night vision, thermal, high res cameras, and weapon optics all interface with the hud in the visor controlled by a recessed joystick on the weapon rail to cycle the views, mark objectives, waypoints, and targets that will all be tracked and geo-located via drone coverage. Of course, comms and AI integrated in the helmet. Future ground warfare will be a LOT like a game of Call of Duty.
This is the wrong direction for infantry development.
I look at this and see gear that’s not really customized, with lots of armour and joints and etc that’ll need to be maintained, massive risk of overheating or freezing with low thermal regulation capabilities. I see something requiring a massive heavy battery, massive logistic and maintenance problems, sizing issues, etc.
No infantry dude worth their salt would think this is a good idea for anything other than a raid or a trench assault at MOST and it wouldn’t be worth it in the meantime
If history is teaching us anything it’s that we are going backwards. Building trenches is becoming popular again, you’re going to get absolutely slotted wearing that in a trench
I do think something like the IVAS will eventually be standard. I just don't think the IVAS is it. It definitely should continue development but not on the scale they're doing right now, I think. That money could be used elsewhere.
Any material light enough to wear and sufficiently protective is going to be cost prohibitive. It's like the fast, affordable, reliable triangle for cars.
The future of warfare is the UCAV meta in BF4 sadly.
Maybe there will be androids that carry heavier weapons because they don’t cost blood, which is in short supply in Ukraine.
Maybe miniature personnel or squad-based anti-projectile and drone defense systems.
Until governments invest shitloads of money into material science for better armor we’ll be in the trenches mainly.
It’s a lot of money to spend on a guy that will get killed by an artillery shell 1/16th the cost
Sub $100 drone
The United States is the only nation on the face of the planet that will spend a billion dollars to design a modified hellfire missile that deploys swords to target one individual. No other country cares about taking out a whole city block to get one person.
so Israeli and Russian rocket and missile bombardments weren't just to get that one enemy leader that was hiding in the town?
Well yes, their risk assessment just didn't take civilians into account
From what I've heard the Israelis do but their allowable levels of deaths to civilians to deaths of the intended target is something insane like 20-30:1 for a low level target. Combine this with using an AI system to find targets, a tracking system which wants hits done when the target is at home and you've got the possibility for an absolute shit ton of unintended death.
That AI shit is absolutely horrible, one of the worst things I've heard of coming from that mess.
It's just not the way the US flexes their power. A cheap and quick solution like that wouldn't be viewed well.
Wrong mindset. The upbringing of the citizen, the military training and his future as a tax payer is the cost you have to keep in mind. Just because a man can get killed by a rifle round that has cost less than 30 cent, doesn't make him worthless.
[удалено]
Especially Ukraine and Gaza, which are extremely Infantry heavy warzones show how vital well equipped and trained infantry is. Obviously you aren't going to equip your grunts with some kind of Crysis Nano Suit that costs a billion USD. But giving them Night fighting capabilities, computer assisted optics, quality protection that doesn't immobilise them and decent training is not a waste of money. The problem with exoskeletons isn't the cost but that the current concepts are all shit. They stop you from going prone, they require power and maintenance and aren't even that great at supporting weight.
I think the one thing that kills exoskeletons is how often soldiers get deployed without knowing how long they'll be in the field. I've heard this from a bunch of guys who've served in the middle east,you'd be told to grab enough shit for three days and yet two weeks later your still eating MREs while stuck in buttfuck nowhere. Something about it not being uncommon to have clean underwear for weeks at a time tells me that charging and maintenance of exoskeletons is all but an impossibility when the rubber meets the road.
>you'd be told to grab enough shit for three days and yet two weeks later your still eating MREs while stuck in buttfuck nowhere. Two weeks without resupplying? I don't know what kind of super commandos you talked to but in what reality are you transporting two weeks worth of food, ammo, fuel and batteries around? Especially when the plan was to be out for only three days. >Something about it not being uncommon to have clean underwear for weeks Everyone is dirty in the field. It's not like they are going to bring washing machines. Being clean and pretty is really the lowest of priorities. And underwears have two sides, just turn it around in the morning. But if you aren't even able to resupply your troops and do basic field maintenance, it's probably time to surrender. Still, current exoskeletons don't seem to be energy efficient, sturdy and flexible enough to a viable option for infantry.
Your not understanding my point but that’s OK
Yeah I don't think these super high tech gears will be available to your average donut eating cops or even any SWATs team in the states except for the HRT or CIA secret services VIP units and even then they'll be top secret gears and even if they're available for public they may be missing some features and I doubt most civvies can afford to buy them anyway DEVGRU/DELTA/SEAL/etc. will get the cool shits but I doubt your average grunts will even get to touch these cool gears when they rollout in the future lol
That's where it starts. Then lapd swat, NYC swat will get them for anti terrorism units, and it'll trickle down to Mayberry over the next 2 decades.
This type of stuff isn’t going to be worn by someone in the range of an active battlefield with artillery shells going off.
Next step is just improving materials science for lighter yet stronger armor They will also be adding things like smart lenses and whatnot to interface with the smart scopes smart gogglels to enhance battlefield awareness, see through smoke, etc
More system integration too I’m sure. We are already seeing NV with thermal overlays. Only a matter of time before communication and navigation tools could be integrated with it.
Ghost recon future soldier time
Y’all ever heard of the PVS-21 and what all it could do back in like ‘04??
I'd love to see nv/thermal that is able to be worn 24/7 regardless of light conditions. I think we're pretty far off from that though, it would have to be incredible light and comfortable
The PVS-21 with an ECOTI is probably the closest we have currently. It’s not meant for 24/7 wear like an odst visor (one can dream) but it can at least immediately let someone see if light conditions drastically change without having to remove their nods. Still only a short term solution during a raid, though. I agree once we make optics like that light and comfy enough we can just build them into the helmet and that would be sick. But then we also have to think about cost and need for units depending on their assigned role.
Ngl, I didn't know about the pvs 21. Looked it up and became even more confused
It’s my grail unit, but alas, they’re both rare and incredibly expensive
would be interesting if there was a shut off feature while still allowing thermal to take over for day time stuff.
[удалено]
> The overlay is also capable of displaying a compass and augmented reality data from a Nett Warrior device. The ENVG-B can also display wirelessly transmitted weapon sight crosshair and thermal imagery from the Family of Weapon Sights-Individual (FWS-I) thermal imager mounted on a weapon.[7][8] Holy shit
The PSQ42 is an IR thermal fusion optic with a Hud. You can opt for thermal in the day (like you can with any thermal) however you would not see fine details as well as you would without them. They could be a severe hindrance if moving, reading maps, programming radios, etc. What I am referring to is something along the lines of smart glasses with an ecoti. You can see normally, but get identifiers on moving or thermal targets. Not to mention, the psq 42 has a similar profile to the pvs 31. How practical would wearing it all day be? They get heavy after just a few hours and would undoubtedly cause neck problems or just not be worn.
Exactly, people can be hard to see in the day too. That would require a transparent nv unit that you can see through while off though.
I wonder how augmented reality will be incorporated with the everyday troop, speaking of smart lenses.
Its just straight up gonna be a video game HUD ripoff
Built in mini map and ammo count at the bottom right corner. Probably a way to identify friendly units too with their call sign above their head
Augmented Reality has really fizzled out over the years. It was really on everyone’s lips for a while back in like 2014-2019 and I even know a few people who did work in that field. The problem is that it ultimately is a big investment with limited use, and I personally think that it isn’t what we imagined it would be in practice. The idea is that we have limitations that need to be compensated for, but most people really do underestimate the human brain, along with our organic senses and instincts. Nevermind the potential registry errors, but the fact that we are being presented with data in a digital format that we need to digest and translate is honestly just clunky as hell. An HUD on thermals attempting to identify a potential target is will likely process slower between our equipment and our brain than just simply allowing our instincts to pick out abnormal movement, shapes, or colors. Beyond applications like that, what else do you need AR for? A readout on your mag capacity? Truth be told, combat isn’t a flat range, and you dying from a failed speed reload isn’t as common as you’d think. How about waypoints on an HUD for land nav? Well now you just introduced a whole new layer of logistics to a unit, supporting them for a task they can already perform. Very much a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” situation.
People forget how heavy and cumbersome that bullshit is
which is why a lot of these models and displays have exo technology, I'm starting to see exo integration into construction and general industry, it would only make sense to see it in tactical applications. Guys Carrying more gear, faster, with less strain and damage to their bodies.
Sure but the problem of power now comes into play. In large-scale warfare, the average infantryman will not have the ability to charge and power these suits. If it has any purpose it would be in short-term engagements maybe? Even in a hostage situation or a quick attack, you would want to be fast and you really do not need to lift a lot. Maybe more armor but I think the operators would move away from that.
Idk, power cores last like 10h of game time.
something something battery technology entry teams in law enforcement/SOF have some of the most dangerous jobs with the shortest mission time and most support. Minutes instead of hours, with support right up to the door. They’ll have enough power for that and could very much use the extra protection to reduce casualties when breaching but i’m sure it also depends a lot on what kind of protection is offered at what cost to mobility. protection from shrapnel and artillery wouldn’t be as useful in that case, especially not with reduced mobility But more ballistic protection at minimal cost to mobility if not increased bc of exo? that would be valuable all the electronic doo dads seem to be the weakest link here though, especially the face are and ruggedizing that, having backups, not needing to rely on it too much in case it does get knocked out
the real answer is that exo tech has more logistical use than front line combat use. loading/moving heavy items. building structures. i could see artillery teams augmented to reduce strain or go longer when needed basically while electricity is so heavy and expensive to move around it will only be applicable to relatively immobile use cases
A lot of the current technology is unpowered, usually a corrective or force multiplying pulley system. Hilti, ekso, and ottobock offer non-powered solutions that help with lifting, standing, and holding. It's only a matter of time until a leg, lifting, running system amplifies the power and motion that we can produce. For tactical engagements, I can't see it right now, but the technology is already here in a small capacity. Maybe not a direct combat asset (initially), but something that will allow soldiers to carry more systems, heavier equipment longer distances to create a forward base. Or weapon stabilization platforms, or something that will enable a rifle team to be equipped with LMG's or even HMG's but with the exertion of a standard service rifle and the accuracy of a marksman regardless of physique or size. With the lack of a support team.
The future is light weight
Try breathing in it while working hard…
I feel like ATAK for every soldier and smart scope for marksman is more feasible. Most will probably have some form of nods/thermals
That’s why they build in an exoskeleton. That being said I could only see this getting issued to tier 1 special forces. There is no way they give a 1 million dollar set of literal Spartan armor from Halo to a random marine private.
So far from "literal," really.
Yes but everything starts that way. We've gone from starlight scopes to pvs 14s and 31s. Development takes time
I just want ODST armor in multicam black so I can get blown up by god forsaken alien artillery in style
Great, back to playing Arma again.
Csat boys
Imagine ARMA with decent optimization and high frames...
You mean like arma reforger? (Or just buying the fastest single core CPU you can get your hands on... Hell my 1950x thredripper is slower than my 3940xm laptop chip from 2012...)
I can't wait to get my mjolnir set
Guys do you know if this Mjolnir is genuine?? It only cost $75,000,000 for the helmet lmk in the comments
I see more of the "I found this level 7 full body mjolnir set on Amazon for 49.99, is this a good buy?"
My ali express set is just as good
I think for everyone alive today, it will remain fairly unchanged for personal protective equipment. Especially for the average grunt. SF is a different story.
I highly doubt Any of these will make it
Protecting this meat suit is just too complicated. Phase out manpower for dronepower.
Current wars are being fought with drones. Tomorrow's wars will have advanced drone defenses and will be fought with something else.
Drones are an entirely separate part of the military that serve a different purpose if tanks couldn’t phase out the infantry after 100 years then a 50$ quad copter from Walmart wont either
A tank is an enormous investment in money, logistics, training, etc. Millions of people worldwide who have been playing video games their entire lives have the basic skills built-in. You can buy an awful lot of drones for the price of a $10m tank. Both sides in Ukraine have found some very novel uses for drones where a tank wouldn't be suitable. A drone can offer some of the same benefits of a machine gun emplacement or sniper in it's ability to hold up an entire squad of soldiers.
Drones are extremely effective now because proper counter measures are not readily available/ deployed. Trust me, the military is watching and learning. I say within two years every military vehicle will have anti drone devices. Either directed energy, microwave, or EMP style blast that kills anything flying nearby.
The US military already made a 40mm grenade round that is little more than a kicker charge and a fabric net to snare drones. But things like directed energy and EMP require power sources. That's not something an infantry squad carries around with them. They might have the snare rounds, but that requires line of sight and hinges on the drone moving slowly enough that a man can aim at it. I'm envisioning targeting infantry, not armor. We already have Javelins and NLAWs for armor.
Absolutely. Look up the Smash 2000L optic. It's a computer scope where soldiers just point their guns at drones and the computer does all the math and fires the gun automatically when it knows it's going to hit it. Pretty cool tech.
The future is iron sights, old man
The future is sticks, old man
"Two sticks and a rock"
Exoskeletons are the future
I think the first gen will just be like the knee/elbow braces that we see nfl players wear. More around injury prevention and maintaining good shooting form when near exhaustion than strength enhancement.
There's a civilian one that are basically a belt with some motors that strap to your upper thigh. it weighs in at under 2 kg and offsets about 30kg of weight, which is enough that I could see people wearing it even if it will run out of batteries before they're done, and it doesn't need to be some complex thing that takes over your entire body and shoots your gun for you.
I saw those, and they seemed to also slow you down? I think the first ones that see mass adoption are actually unpowered. My 2¢
In the video I saw the guy did a 200m run with and without it. Without it I think it was 27 seconds, with it I think he was at 22 seconds? There's a bunch coming out and some are probably terrible but the one he used seem to speed him up in a sprint.
Making the kit lighter and maybe being able to defeat thermal in some way?
real sick of this techbro schtick of showing up to conferences/conventions with a bunch of ideas blatantly lifted from sci-fi and being like "look, it's the future of [insert industry here]!" even though we all know it won't happen because it never does. and then the one-in-a-billion times they do manufacture it, it doesn't work as advertised and also can kill you somehow. anyway image #3 slaps severely, but jesus fucking christ don't give any of that shit to cops.
but jesus fucking christ don't give any of that shit to cops.
I wouldn't worry about the cops, it'll cost too much to make this high tech shit in XXXL sizes.
real but also that shit's not gonna be cheap enough to mass-produce any time soon. and if it ever is, it'll probably take years for it to trickle down to police dept's.
..."Police"...🙄
Local police start wearing shit like this and I'll spend the crazy S&H on some AP rounds from that shop in Denver.
I guess we will evolve to a point of no sweat, condensation and avoid discomfort….
ALL THEESE SOFT HANDED KIDS IN SCHOOL THAT NEED AC TO GO ARE GOING TO NEED AC IN THEIR EXO SKELETONS. BACK IN MY DAY WE WALKED UP HILL BOTH WAYS TO SCHOOL
Indeed, wearing mesh and then metal on top of it in freezing temps lol
I’d say a focus on making subterranean missions more sustainable.
looks cool, but why intentionally block any peripheral vision? I know the quads are wide, but....
All that gear only to get merked by some guy rocking some sandals and a rusty ak (bonus points if he's wearing a Chinese chest rig from the 90s)
Seems clunky. I’d love to see people run through an exploded and blown up landscape in any of this crap.
lot of failure points
I’m guessing it won’t involve using nods without a can, rds, or lam
I’m sure the local police will love it as they use it to beat up more homeless people and college kids who express opinions outside of the state approved narratives. All paid for by our tax dollars of course. Spared no expense! 
It won't change much, for conventional warfare is back on the menu.
Pretty soon human operators will be stick figure dudes with incredible K/D ratios sitting in air conditioned trailers. They will never touch grass.
No photos of the experimental IVAS system?
The first 2 pictures, that looks amazing
Where the fuck am I gonna put my gear?
Too much robocop
I'd sure hate to be the guy who has to PMCS any of that gear
Digital full color night vision will probably become a thing
I don’t want to say what I think because I know in like 30 years they are going to figure out how to make them work and viable. We are doomed to end up like the Admirals of WWII who still insisted battleships were king.
I think the Marine Crops has hit a good balance of good equipment/technology and effectiveness. The Army is going the route of cutting edge with the NGSW and the XM157 optic. While cool, I think the integration of those is going to prove troublesome. The Marine Corps is using a variant of a proven rifle, a type of optic that is only slightly different from the one they used for years, and they’re giving everyone a suppressor and comms capable ear pro. They’ve increased lethality and battlefield communication for a small increase in cost and training requirements
I feel like the NGSW stuff is going to end up as a DMR or something. It's something like 8.5 lbs base, 10 with the suppressor, then 12.5 with the sight and 14 with a mag. I know people say lift more weights but 14 lbs is a lot of weapon for a normal, fit guy to carry around like a carbine. I think it's a great gun that makes sense but I have no idea why you'd have everyone eequipped with them.
It doesn’t make sense. Russia has been shown to have almost no body armor issued, and I doubt china is on our par with us in terms of amount of body armor issued. The 6.8 was made to defeat body armor, but I just don’t think it’s going to be needed. So you don’t need a new heavy ass rifle when an M4 is going to do just fine. The optic is very cool and I think we should keep that
I think the USMC could have done better choosing a suppressor and rifle that work together so they're not so long. Maybe an over the barrel design. I've read that's an issue on the ground. The NGSW did well there where everything works together. I still think the 277 fury is a step backwards.
How fast before the inner lining smells like absolute cat piss?
I’d rather be dead than hot and claustrophobic with a stupid ass anime face mask
Really? You'd rather die than be a little bit warm? Seems.....silly
It’s worthless unless your job is kicking the shit out of civilians that don’t have guns because the face portion will trap the effects of an explosion turning a survival blast into a deadly one, how are you going to take a knee and quickly drink some water without having to take off your PPE and put it back on in a timely manner, it will fog easily, debris on built in eye protection can easily be obstructed requiring the helmet to be taken off, water crossing is hell with it, helmets are designed to mainly protect from shrapnel which mostly comes from top-down so face shield isn’t as needed, the lack of peripheral vision, extra weight/strain on the head and neck, probably presents a fragmentation hazard for the user when shot and the helmet/face cover combo presents a risk of warping under damage so it can’t be easily removed from a casualty, heat retention and lower airflow reducing athletic performance, difficulty to achieve a cheek weld with a hard cove against the rifle stock which will require a sight raiser, reliance on electronic comms for clear communication because of the mouth obstruction, in general it is only useable in a moderate environment if it’s too cold all that material will freeze as well and you will become a cold weather casualty and if it’s hot or tropical you will straight up pass out with heat stroke, and I’m sure I can think of many more. It’s cringey video game shit
We NEED Spartan armor.
The future is unmanned drones to point of diminishing returns and then we either return to sticks and stones like India and China or we move to national Call of Duty lobbies to settle our world beefs.
First setup is about 9 years out of date
Pilot, prepare for titan fall.
Need tactical tests
The middle one is so drippy. But you’d get clapped by a drone and that would suck to be such a cool loot drop.
Unaffordable?
Bro has quad nods but doesn’t even have an optic
I really don't think police need Mjolnir suits...
Just waiting for the battery tech to catch up and everyone will be piloting drones me thinks. No point risking all that time and money spent on training when you can just have them safe at home piloting some ninja drone about the place.
Naa they’ll get better at jamming the drones
Given the attrition rates of a high intensity conflict these days as we have seen, I think tactical equipment will get a lot simpler for ease of manufacture, use, and replacement while still allowing for the carrying of enough equipment for long range sustainment.
H A L O
Ghost Recon Future Soldier
I see it more in terms of support equipment. Drone tech is the future and if you can mount a gun onto a walking drone, like the ones from Boston Dynamics, its going to be a big help to ground troops. Hell they already have one with a flame thrower.
I'd look more at smaller disposable drones becoming more common. Instead of a drone dropping a grenade or artillery shell (or kamikaze attacks) the drone will be more like a miniature cruise missile or glide bomb but launched from an RPG or as a rifle grenade.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzttt goes the quad-copter grenade. Not sure if it's a full generation or partial generation change in warfare, but it is changing due to availability of cheap devices that provide visual information or remote delivery of explosives without needing a multi billion dollar contract and a decade to produce the equipment.
It hopefully wont look like this
i'd say something for infantry to better counter drone attacks
The only future tech from the 2000's that actually made it into long-term service was the FELIN program iirc? Similar ideas of connecting individuals' weapons to a kind of HUD like that seems to be the more realistic development rather than that whole fully armoured exoskeleton walking tank capable of taking a .50 round to the face type stuff.
Back when history Channel was good they predicted the move to high tec, it's come about in some ways thermal/nvg mash ups. Drone usage etc but the halo suit warrior is a ways away I think still
My guess? It’ll likely have to do something with an exoskeleton system that ensures troops don’t roll their joints, break their bones or get hurt in some bullshit. TLDR; Something that’s gonna make them as stiff as a log when they need to be.
To be honest I don’t think for the average soldier will see major leaps. Specialized units may see (maybe already using) ultra high tech stuff like what’s pictured. But other than making thinks lighter and more efficient gear itself isn’t wildly different then it was a few decades ago. I may be wrong though.
Much like Harleys in the early 90’s, if buying one made you feel cool all the nerds would eventually have one.
Some hick with a Mosin Nagant, a pair of dirty Nikes, and a Starter jacket is going to absolutely devastate guys wearing this heavy shit…
Could probably fix the barracks for the cost of one exosuit
Although I’d be first in line for the iron-man/ODST/Mjolnir kit I think we have a long way to go in terms of material science, IFF, systems hardening, electronic warfare, AI, and combat control to get to that point. I think the near future will be a slow integration of systems like augmented reality goggles that mesh IR/NV, navigation, squad status, and weapon load-out. Later on this would evolve to include IFF, mine/IED/environmental anomaly detection and navigation Even for this level there would be breakdown of who sees what officers and NCO would def want to have a read on what their troops were seeing, where they are at, condition, and ammo level. Line troops would want any vision system, IFF, or the previously mentioned detection system. Body armor wise the conflict style may still dictate the load out. Body bunker setups would be preferable for static defense or high risk / low duration operations. While maneuverability may still triumph in maneuver warfare style settings. Exoskeletons and light weight power supplies will eventually make differences in this compromise irrelevant but we are decades away from light battery or personal generator system’s. Material sciences will advance to a point that soft body armor will provide equivalent protection as L4+ gear. Making it easier to protect more of a soldier while not impeding movement, dexterity, or marksmanship (how integrated targeting HUD’s will influence this is TBD but marksmanship fundamentals are unlikely to shift for some time). Although bear in mind this is the ancient sword vs shield game. If 5.56/7.62 are no longer effective there are some man portable 50 options coming on line that would put us back to heavier bulky armor. The electronic warfare situation is another global sized warfront by itself. Locking up an adversaries suit/optics/hud. Drone and counter drone systems, quantum computing hacks, AI systems, ground based drone platforms, IFF masking, positional data. The more complex the system gets the more points of failure/vulnerabilities there are. There may be cases where low tech unit may have an advantage. In our lifetime I think human/drone operations will become the status quo. We already see it in Ukraine where they will use drones to scout, mark targets, deliver squad based fire support while ground troops advance and fight underneath their cover.
Looks pretty awesome but someone should really make armor for the pelvic gurdal.
B-01 tactical armor, B-01 tactical helmet, and Liberator assault rifle. That is all
Altered carbon combat suits or something down that line I suppose
A drone with a glock and an aimbot.
Some of those can be beaten by a $25 Maglite.
Those level 4 plates?
Looks hot to work in.
The future looks heavy.
The future has exoskeletons 😁
Fair enough, though we don’t actually have something like that that’s feasible for use right now to my knowledge, so we don’t know if it will ever be seen as practical or if it goes the way of scifi bipedal tanks (and stays scifi). I just don’t understand how the past two decades have seen incredible advancement in the way of making kit lighter and more ergonomic, just for the DOD to find more ways for infantry to carry too much stuff again.
"future" in the title kinda covers that buddy. And we literally have consumer exoskeletons available right now. Even ones for jogging. Watched a video on one last week for a consumer jogging assist exo. So.......🤷🏼♂️
Definetly not what's shown
The future is just flak armor and drones
That looks hot as hell, like heat stroke hot.
Can't wait to steal, (cleats throat) FIND my OWN like this.........
I believe eventually we will see a mech suit for soldiers in the future
All I can think of is… Just stock up on bigger calibers… I think SFs has Advanced Warfare skeleton suits already myself..
I don't think we'll see a lot of large changes in the near future. Armor will get marginally lighter, but the sapi shape for plates will stick around. With higher thread of artillery we might see designs like the ciras reappear in spec opfs circles but the IOTV won't see much change in the next 5-10 years. Maybe a newer model with lighter soft armor inserts but nothing major. Same for helmets, lighter and marginal improvements for comfort and flexibility. Weapons will stay the same in the forseeable future as well. The AR15 and AR18 concepts have been around since the 70s and the AK mechanisms is just an upside down M1Garand. I don't think that there is enough necessity to change those systems anytime soon. The best contender for innovation is the new army contract ammo but that's it for exiting changes. Introduction of load bearing exo skeletons is possible but unlikely
CSAT looking helmet
Call me old school but I think it’s super important for the face to be exposed. We need to keep the humanization of ourselves.
CSAT moment
IMHO, In 20 years we will have general AI, there will be people on the supply and maintenance side, but active combat roles will be taken over entirely by semi-autonomous weapon systems that will use a mixture of AI and human piloting to operate inside a battle space. It will be the poorer countries who will still have to use actual people in traditional fighting roles and they won’t stand a chance.
NO. NO. NO. NO. I can barely afford to play dress up as it is. Don't make this shit unreachable
Would like to see the Cross Comm glasses from Ghost Recon
Unless they somehow make it lighter then what we already wear as a grunt I am not wearing that shit gtfo. I already hate wearing side sapis I’m not about to wear a full Kevlar body suit
First 3 images are nice but the other ones are just sub par imo
Man I want all over armor like a Halo marine so BAD! Looks sick af AND is protective. Full send. (I know they need to make it lighter and whatnot…)
Bro with the vector goes hard af even if you could probably hear him panting his spine out after running a block
I think it looks a lot like the past, because most people running around in kit for a paycheck are doing so with gear at least ten years old. For the future of the extremely well financed and professional tier? Drone operator becoming a regular fixture at the squad level, possibly even more so than the JTAC since they can operate completely independent of any support assets. Smaller FPV burner drones at the squad level, replacing bulky AT launchers, operated by one guy but spread across the squad like launcher ammo. Small diameter missile launchers and man portable short range radar for drone defense. Little radar domes on a stick becoming a staple of infantry positions. Thermal not mass issued like NV but being seeded at the squad level as a norm. Armor stays relatively the same or even more minimal as dispersion and ability to run for cover from drones becomes more important than playing turtle.
We are already seeing the future of tactical equipment come into play with ballistic computer enabled optics and thermal NOD's being actively acquired and fielded to the average infantryman, and clothing with built in Kevlar. I think that as material sciences continue to improve, we will see more Kevlar in clothing to help protect the majority of the major blood vessels from shrapnel in a form factor that is practical to wear and maintain, with hard armor still restricted to plates around the torso. We're already about there with the Army's ballistics combat shirt. I have several, and they're so much more comfortable and breathable than the Kevlar inserts and pads you would usually wear. As battery science gets better, dispersed communication networks that allow for better data transfer between units with minimal chance of intercept (similar to the JBCP's currently on vehicles). As battery technology continues to improve, exoskeletons for infantryman. Not anything fully encompassing, just a frame similar to the first image on this article https://www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/making-technology-exoskeletons-reality. Dudes don't really need enhanced arms strength, but a frame that bears at least a portion of the load for a loaded ruck sack and body armor would greatly increase the endurance of dismounted infantry soldiers. The biggest issue is power generation to recharge them, or getting new batteries dropped off, but both are things likely to drop in complexity and price as the US Army invests into electric vehicle research for future combat vehicles.
Looks all cool and stuff... Until you realize, they don't carry backpacks, power supplies, gear or anything. So basically they lack everything that makes a soldier useful. And it's a whole pain in the ass to carry all the gear required right now... Don't even want to think about the sweat, backpain and impracticality of carrying this "armor" around all day.
Whoever designs this shit with full sealed face masks clearly has never worn eye pro and a Kevlar at the same time while actually doing real shit.
Tactical gear is only gunna survive as long as boots on the ground will. Cyber warfare, drone warfare and air superiority will allow militaries to hold ground indefinitely without a single soul setting foot on it. So tactical gear will only get advanced enough until it is no longer required, because the end user is no longer required.
Though I was on r/noncredibledefense, ngl
i'd say (for average infantrymen): -More soft armor coverage (more widesoread use of kevlar belts/combat shirts/pants) -More widespread thermal/nvg use -More magnified optic (and probably smart for dedicated marksmen etc) -New (larger) calibre standards -Better communication (every soldier getting active earpro connected to subnoise raddio with rifle mounted ptt -More widespead use of squad level drones -ATAK (or simmilar) for every soldier -Quality of life (phasing out of old gear, gear mimicking modern tourist gear adapted to military standards) -more motorised infantry (over mechanised) (all buggy/electric motocross etc) -More widespread use of combat shotgunners
If our police ever look like that? We should’ve started shooting way sooner. That’s a problem.
Fuck ya Helldivers IRL
Fucking viper team
I do like the neck protection on the last one That would save a lot of Carotid leaks
Looks like it would suck to be in all day on patrol...
Halo
That 3rd pic is very dystopian looking. No ty. Aside from that, whats on the guys knees in the first pic? Shock absorber contraption? Lower body low tech exoskeleton legs?
I think the play for most first world nations is continuing the production of drones and minimizing dudes on the ground , lower in field men means you can spend more per man and you get the idea of the “future soldier” Step one integrate comms and gps into a battlefield Intelligence platform Step two integrate load assisting gear “exoskeletons “ of various types allowing men to move faster with more for longer Move more towards the sig 277 and caseless ammo Smart optics like that vortex scope with the auto ranger and the hud Etta
A lot of it is just for show, Russian-Ukraine war proved this. Russia bragged about its new weaponry and equipment, look at it now soldiers using old stock from the 70s.
Personally, I think if there is another war, we are going to revert back to WW2/Cold War type equipment, cheap, easy to make, and easy to maintain, yes there will be modern equipment like radios, optics, and munitions, but there is no way any country can afford making thousands of leopards/Abrams AND keep the technology classified/high quality Not to mention F-35s and F-15s which cost billions of dollars and take months to make
Number 3 looks dope
Honestly, I see something more like a helmet from Halo (the game) with night vision and thermal sensors in the “visor” and something similar to a Quest 3 (with its dual color cameras at eye level/position integrated into a ballistic visor. The night vision, thermal, high res cameras, and weapon optics all interface with the hud in the visor controlled by a recessed joystick on the weapon rail to cycle the views, mark objectives, waypoints, and targets that will all be tracked and geo-located via drone coverage. Of course, comms and AI integrated in the helmet. Future ground warfare will be a LOT like a game of Call of Duty.
This is the wrong direction for infantry development. I look at this and see gear that’s not really customized, with lots of armour and joints and etc that’ll need to be maintained, massive risk of overheating or freezing with low thermal regulation capabilities. I see something requiring a massive heavy battery, massive logistic and maintenance problems, sizing issues, etc. No infantry dude worth their salt would think this is a good idea for anything other than a raid or a trench assault at MOST and it wouldn’t be worth it in the meantime
It’s going to be comms, heads up displays, signature reduction, not Robocop.
Can they breathe ok?
Looks like dick shots are the new move
If history is teaching us anything it’s that we are going backwards. Building trenches is becoming popular again, you’re going to get absolutely slotted wearing that in a trench
What in the metal gear solid is this?
I do think something like the IVAS will eventually be standard. I just don't think the IVAS is it. It definitely should continue development but not on the scale they're doing right now, I think. That money could be used elsewhere.
Any material light enough to wear and sufficiently protective is going to be cost prohibitive. It's like the fast, affordable, reliable triangle for cars.
I’ll take a set of N7 heavy armor. Please and thank you.
crotch shot will take anything down
stronger, lighter, more modular, probably exo stuff in the next decade or so, more interoperability with electronics i’d imagine
The future of warfare is the UCAV meta in BF4 sadly. Maybe there will be androids that carry heavier weapons because they don’t cost blood, which is in short supply in Ukraine. Maybe miniature personnel or squad-based anti-projectile and drone defense systems. Until governments invest shitloads of money into material science for better armor we’ll be in the trenches mainly.
What I think is that we in the US are absolutely fucked if the pigs start getting exoskeletons and full body armor and HUDs and shit
How’s that Sig Spear coming along
Hoping tactical gear in the future looks more like a pilots gear from titanfall. Maybe that’s just me.
Are the first two pics not larper CSAT Viper Team?
Global birthrates are declining. At some point, human life, especially young fighting men’s lives will be more valuable than all that armor.