Starship Troopers, anyone?

And how!

Let's nuke 'em from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

But they're still carrying M-4s.

Yeah, there's a lot of C&C stuff, but the cool parts are watching the bogeys get the SHIT blown out of them. Watch the whole thing.

That shit is Jack Bauer hot.

I got nothin'

Fan-freaking-tastic.

Wow, that's good marketing.

Too bad most of it's gonna go the way of the Dodo-- too expensive to develop, too complex to integrate, and a big fat target for everyone from the Pentagon to Congress eager to find money to pay for everything else.

Still, dynamite on paper.

Cheers,
Dave at Garfield Ridge

Leave it to Dave to be the turd in the punch bowl.

Dave

I recognized 5 items that are currently being used in Iraq:
1. airborne spy robots
2. land spy robots used to check out buildings
3. Guided smart bomb
4. Guided smart artillery
5. Satellite identification of enemy vehicle

Lock Pashers on target and await my command

That was freakin sweet.

Yep, guns, tanks and satellites, too, Jake.

It's the *integration* of the FCS that's the stumbling block. You've got over a dozen systems that have to work together, and effectively so, in order to multiply the combat power of your Unit of Action so as to be as successful in battle as current larger and heavier units. That's a tall order.

I don't complain to be pessimistic about the *concept* behind FCS-- unlike many, I'm sold that the ideas represented are fundamentally sound. It's just that I live in a world dealing with ridiculously complex systems acquisitions in the Beltway environment. Trying to keep something like the FCS development, with all its moving parts, together for the next decade is, well, impossible. A lot of it is going to give. I just hope it won't be all the best parts. . . (hey, I want Starship Troopers as much as the next guy!)

Cheers,
Dave at Garfield Ridge

Yeah, well, since we're already here in the 21st centruy and it looks like they reneged on the flyin' f'n jet cars they promised us, I say they owe us the powered armor suits from Starship Troopers.

That's some full-on Skynet shit going on there.

Hmmm....
"Your comment could not be submitted due to questionable content: sony_classics.com"

You boycotting The Legend of Zorro or something ?

After watching that video, I'm feeling a little....ummm....flushed shal we say.

I do have to agree with Dave. The integration of all the components is the biggest stumbling block to any of this. Unfortunately, because of procurements rules, there are too many fingers in any one pie. A system as complex as this would have a gazillion people at a bazillion contractors involved. To often, a change in one causes a change in another.

In the video, they showed the command and control group having instant access to the exact position of each soldier on a display. The Skunkworks at Fort Lewis was working on this exact same thing over 20 years ago. They had some freedoms that current R&D people don't have and they had trouble getting just that one element to work. Sure, technology has changed in that time period, but there are still humans involved and that's the biggest stumbling block.

In re: FCS

Just FYI, but right now FCS is having some funding problems on the Hill. You will see some elements of this deployed, but as Dave says, getting the whole synergistic thing together is going to be rough, although I'm not quite as pessimistic as Dave.