12-04-2011, 03:30 AM
One of our challenges is to identify the time frame for any potential new cartridge.
Once that is done, the next step is to identify the other technologies that might be mature enough to use in the same time window.
That fancy LIDAR, for example, has to go through a lot of maturation before it becomes a sensible tool for the elite soldier. At some point, it might become suitable for the average grunt.
Another example is shown by the emerging 20 - 25 mm grenade launchers. The first attempts have these things being told when to detonate so they'll be more effective inside rooms, over foxholes, etc. While that added finesse will improve effectiveness, it is also delaying by five or more years the availability of a dumb version that will help battlefield effectiveness.
My intuition suggests that these contemporaneous technology introductions will significantly reduce the pressure to field a ubiquitous 800 meter rifle. That region will be covered by other organic assets like the lighter grenade launcher and the modern LMG LRRPF52 brings to our attention.
Once that is done, the next step is to identify the other technologies that might be mature enough to use in the same time window.
That fancy LIDAR, for example, has to go through a lot of maturation before it becomes a sensible tool for the elite soldier. At some point, it might become suitable for the average grunt.
Another example is shown by the emerging 20 - 25 mm grenade launchers. The first attempts have these things being told when to detonate so they'll be more effective inside rooms, over foxholes, etc. While that added finesse will improve effectiveness, it is also delaying by five or more years the availability of a dumb version that will help battlefield effectiveness.
My intuition suggests that these contemporaneous technology introductions will significantly reduce the pressure to field a ubiquitous 800 meter rifle. That region will be covered by other organic assets like the lighter grenade launcher and the modern LMG LRRPF52 brings to our attention.