Things like Ion cannons and Deathrays have always been a popular thing in video games like the 'Command & Conquer' series and with things like Star Wars' 'Death-Star' but now it would seem that these kind of technologies aren't that far away from actual existance!

Interesting read here...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10805240/?GT1=7538

Any other thoughts about potential new weapons systems? I know they're using sonic technology in riots and against pirates these days (Artriedes anyone?) and that new 'skin heating' type weaponry is soon to be tested... so yeah, I mean any group with these kinds of technologies is going to have a huge tactical advantage over everyone else so what will be done to even the playing field?

Beam weapons... The sooner the better I reckon - "For a safe and secure society!"



But seriously - Even though, from the article that was linked to above, it looks like the U.S.A. is on the forefront of developing these kinds of technologies, I'm sure that if some other countries such as China throw enough spies or copycat researchers at them, they'll be proliferated fairly quickly. Nukes have proliferated fairly widely (after being first developed and used by the U.S.A.), which means that hopefully now no one would be stupid enough to actually use them - At the time that the U.S.A. used nukes, they were the only country in the world who had them (although not for long afterwards).

So for "major power vs major power" conflict, I think the battlefield would be fairly even, and countermeasures - such as microwave-shielded uniforms (well, there's microwave shielding in microwave ovens...) to counteract the "skin heating" type weaponry - would probably be developed.

As for smaller groups such as, for example, Al Qaeda, I don't think that a suicide bomber on a bus or in a building will really be effected by whether beam weapons exist or not. Groups such as this have shown that low tech and comparatively small-scale methods can be successfully and effectively used against a large, high tech opponent if you take advantage of that high tech opponent's inherent weaknesses, which are always there if you look closely enough (ummm... kind of like when Luke Skywalker blew up the Death Star with one proton torpedo... not that I'm supporting flying airplanes into buildings, or comparing Al Qaeda with the Rebels in Stars Wars etc etc...)

Even though beam and electromagnetic weapons would be an.... ummm... "interesting" addition to people's possible arsenals, I think they'd just be one more tool, and not a be-all-and-end-all weapons system. If the technology existed to make them practical, then that same level of technology could be used to develop countermeasures, and/or the technology would be so attractive that several countries/organisations would be scrambling after it.

If one country gets these technologies up and running, and there is a conflict between them and someone else before the technologies can be proliferated, then they will have a temporary advantage, but in the long term I think that beam weapon technologies will just be the next step in the development of the caveman's club, will eventually be superceded by whatever comes after them, and then everyone will have to upgrade their weapons systems yet again...

Years ago, a friend of mine suggested that conflicts between two nations/groups should be resolved by a boxing match between the leaders of these two groups - I have to admit that this idea's sounding better and better all the time.

Edit: The darn website that I found those Death Star pictures on is giving me remote-displaying troubles. Given that the site ripped those pictures off anyway, Image Shack it is then!

The future of warfare? The draft, to make sure they've got someone to use their funky new techno weapons on.

Hey Snuff, in the paper the other day it said that the british army has invented the electric sheild for tanks. designed specially to deal with the threat of our old friend the rpg. macdonald douglas are building the prototype as we speak.

The Immortal Great Potato
Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2006 9:18 pm








Years ago, a friend of mine suggested that conflicts between two nations/groups should be resolved by a boxing match between the leaders of these two groups - I have to admit that this idea's sounding better and better all the time.

...Or better still, the two feuding nations get their respective 'toughest trannies' to duke it out and setlle it with a raging tranny fight ala upper-Cuba Street on a Saturday night!
_________________

That would certainly be a lot more entertaining - and if one of the groups in the conflict wasn't very socially accepting of transexuals and the like, it would be a good chance for one of their otherwise social outcasts to shine as a national hero! It's a shame that we've all missed the chance to see the Taliban's or Iraq's "toughest tranny" duke it out with... ummmm... George W. Bush??? He managed to get elected U.S. President twice, so what other surprises does he have tucked away??

Had a pretty interesting discussion at our flat last night about how pear this Iran nuclear thing could go... esp with shit like this!

Yeah, you gotta wonder whats gonna happen with Sharon in a coma. Specially with the kicking out of his own people from the bank.

If Israel pre-empt's Iran, all those Muslim countries around Israel are gonna retort... then the Yanks will get involved... then you got China and Russia with vested interests in defending Iran... Australia backs the yanks which would probably mean Indonesia would take a shot at Oz while theyre off fighting... if it spills into North Africa (which it probably would) all those Nth African muslim countries will step up which would probably rark NATO into defending its common borders...

It could easily blow up into a massively world defining event.

Thats deep bro.

Perhaps that is what both sides want,unfortunately it drags in most of the world,and I don't enjoy war but the Arab/Israelis have got to sort their shit out once and for all,they (along with alot of other contries sticking their noses in) are slowing up the evolution of man. There are hundreds of issues with the region/situation but for fuck sake. Look what the South Africans can do with the Peace and Reconsiliation Committy (spelling) If the two peoples/sides were truely willing shit can be sorted out.

Wishful thinking,yes.But I am sick to death with the Middle Est defining the course of history of the world with their fucking squabbles and disputes( with some prodding from other I know...*cough* usa*cough*). As soon as the oil runs out in the surroundingthe only people who'll give a shit about the fuckin place are the actual people who live there and religious people who don't want their precious "Holy Land" defiled( oh thats the yanks again!). I'm sure if God (etc) has a problem with who should own this hallowed ground he would have said something by now.
I say we get every nuke in the world and blow the fucking whole of Palistiine/Israel back to god. Take it back you sick bastard, or better yet petition god to make an exact duplicate and put in the water next door and split that one in half to and this time the Arabs get Jerusalem.

oh well I have probably marked my self for death my any number of extremist Jewish groups,Israeli secret services and Palistinian Freedom fighters so I better go change my name....again.

Any hoos back on topic...how do they power such weaponry. does that mean that they must carry less convention ammo for eg: MGs. Do they have to design whole new weapons platforms? They showed a picture of a light amoured vehicle but it doesnt look familiar(probably artist impression). I would imagine you couldn't run your beam weapon from your APCs engine battery!!!

I see religion as the #1 culprit for this.

It's happening...

'US would defend Israel against Iran'
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3559518a12,00.html