NationStates Jolt Archive

By my own little timeline, Hrydonia is over 100 years in the future (give or take a few decades, with one day = 1 year). What do you think infantry weapons (IE Rifles, pistols, sniper rifles, etc.) will be like in a couple hundred years?

Myself, I'm gravitating between the Halo: Combat Evolved model, of weapons being fairly close to today and looking similarly to modern weapons but different and (I hate to say it) the Warhammer: 40,000 model, of lasweapons.

If I were to use the Halo model, I'd have weapons that use electricity to trigger the combustion reaction (similar to Metal Storm Limited's idea, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Storm#Technology), rather than the primer of today's firearms.

However, I feel that lasguns are a little too advanced. I can almost see some kind of primitive energy weapon, but I don't really know.

We've been using metal bullets for half a millenium now, I don't think that'll change in some hundred years. The major change I expect for no reason in particular is electronics being an even more important part of both the weapon and the remainder of the equipment.

And maybe those pain beam things? Those look like they could work.

Pain beams? What do you mean by that? :confused:

Look into the P90, and other weapons of the like

Pain beams? What do you mean by that? :confused:

The US millitary has developed a non-lethal 'pain-beam' to disperse crowds. The idea is that if a gunman shoots at a vehicle from a crowd the beam will automatically swivel to face the gun shot and disperse the crowd so the gunman can be shot without collateral damage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed-energy_weapon

One entry that stuck in my mind was this:
An electrolaser lets blooming occur, and then sends a powerful electric current down the conducting ionized track of plasma so formed, somewhat like lightning. It functions as a giant high energy long-distance version of the Taser or Stun gun.

Alternating current is sent through a series of step-up transformers, increasing the voltage and decreasing the amperage. The final voltage may be between 108 and 109 volts. This current is fed into the laser beam. To complete the electric circuit, there should be either a second laser beam, or a ground return from the target to the last transformer in the step-up series. This electric arc could kill or incapacitate a human target through electrocution. Any electric or electronic devices in the target may be seriously damaged, disabled or destroyed. Because it relies on the blooming effect, there must be air or some other gas between the electrolaser weapon and the target.

Oh. I thought Solarea was referring to something from Halo or Warhammer 40k.

I'm thinking of having my primary infantry rifle based on the HK G36. :)

I suggest you read the Battletech series it is set in the 31st century and still the majority of weapons are slug throwers

What do you think infantry weapons (IE Rifles, pistols, sniper rifles, etc.) will be like in a couple hundred years?

Sticks and stones to swords. /pessimism

The boffins have been promising laser blasters are just around the corner for as long as I can remember.

Personally, I'd say technological change is limited to how fast human's are willing to change - and that's a lot slower than many futurists predict. My nation is aimed at 2104 (hence the title), and lots of our RPed tech is based on cyperpunk and "near future" SF predictions. I've seen a surprising number predicted as early as 2006, which are still "10-20 years" away. That's the fun of reading classic SF. ;)

In the interim, we might be using guns with "caseless" bullets ie guns which fire bullets with no shells. They do exist now, like the H&K G11.

http://matrix.dumpshock.com/raygun/basics/caseless.html

One word: lazors!

Hopefully we can abandon infintry and fight in ridiculous giant robots in a few hundred years.

UNLEASH THE ROBOTS!

Infantry armaments will still be slugthrowers for a little while yet. All of the energy projector weapons we've developed or are close to developing (Lasers, Partical Beams, Sonic Screamers) are too delicate and too power intensive for battlefield use. The same is true of magnetic acceleration technology, so I don't see any railguns in the infantry's future either.

I'd guess that by 2050 we'll be using either electical ignition weapons or Binary Liquid Propellant guns, both of which promise greater range and power for no major weight gain.

Looking a little farther, the obvious next step is guided projectiles. The infantry rifle becomes a micromissile launcher with human-seeking warheads.

Mind you, by then the real fighting won't be on Earth. He who controls the High Orbitals controls the world.

Mind you, by then the real fighting won't be on Earth. He who controls the High Orbitals controls the world.

Until someone invents ground based Leviathans with anti-orbital weaponry. Then you get back to square one.

oh dont worry about it

by that time we will have screwed up the world, ran out of oil and lost the knowledge of how to make guns and will return to bows and swords

In the interim, we might be using guns with "caseless" bullets ie guns which fire bullets with no shells. They do exist now, like the H&K G11.

Infantry armaments will still be slugthrowers for a little while yet. All of the energy projector weapons we've developed or are close to developing (Lasers, Partical Beams, Sonic Screamers) are too delicate and too power intensive for battlefield use. The same is true of magnetic acceleration technology, so I don't see any railguns in the infantry's future either.

I'd guess that by 2050 we'll be using either electical ignition weapons or Binary Liquid Propellant guns, both of which promise greater range and power for no major weight gain.

Looking a little farther, the obvious next step is guided projectiles. The infantry rifle becomes a micromissile launcher with human-seeking warheads.

Yep, both caseless and electric ignition ammunition have been developed, and are being used in a few designs. Neither one has been accepted by a military, though. It's worth noting the relative conservatism of most military minds extends to technology.

http://matrix.dumpshock.com/raygun/basics/caseless.html

BTW, you do realise that's a gaming site (even if the original data comes from H&K).

Things like the IdZ Program (http://www.army-technology.com/projects/idz/), or the US "Landwarrior (http://www.army-technology.com/projects/land_warrior/)" system, or the UK's FIST (http://www.army-technology.com/projects/fist/) give a good indication.

The guns they carry are largely fine, but the rest of their equipment will change a lot.

But things like the MP7 might replace pistols, and eventually newer versions of Assault Rifles (alá XM8) will come through.

Lasers, Metal Storm and so on are just not practical for infantry.

Lasers, Metal Storm and so on are just not practical for infantry.

Wasn't DARPA doing research on actual power armor for infantry and heavier weapons for use on said equipped soldiers? I know Japan is already wheeling out some basic civilian models for the disabled.

BTW, you do realise that's a gaming site (even if the original data comes from H&K).

Oops! :D

But at least there's some reality in it.

Civilian non-lethal weapon systems are proceeding apace.

The Seaborne Spirit, a small civilian cruise ship, deterred an attack by RPG wielding pirates off the coast Somalia by using a very loud, very high intensity, focused sound.

Can't give you more details on that specific incident, but I suspect there will be a lot more such non-lethal weaponry being employed at sea, by onshore police (crowd control etc).

Civilian non-lethal weapon systems are proceeding apace.

The Seaborne Spirit, a small civilian cruise ship, deterred an attack by RPG wielding pirates off the coast Somalia by using a very loud, very high intensity, focused sound.

Can't give you more details on that specific incident, but I suspect there will be a lot more such non-lethal weaponry being employed at sea, by onshore police (crowd control etc).

A bit like the Sonic cannons used by the Atreides in the Dune PC game - except the ones in the game blew things up.

Here's an interesting essay to give y'all some ideas.

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Chamber/2838/arms.html

Looks pretty carefully thought out. Not too much of it looks feasible within the next hundred years, though; the main problem is power. A lot of these things are entirely possible with our current technology (and working models of many have been built), but they're just not efficient enough to be put into full-scale use. A thousand soldiers with conventional weapons will be more effective than ten soldiers with railguns.

Then again, I think we'll see more unmanned vehicles. Maybe mounted with something like this: http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2676608?htv=12&htv=12.

A bit like the Sonic cannons used by the Atreides in the Dune PC game - except the ones in the game blew things up.

I suppose so. But I don't really know.

Maybe a bit like the horns of Jericho? The sound from those big trumpets blew down the walls of, um, Jericho. Allegedly.

Mint Grenades! Kills everyone in the blast radius, and leaves the corpses smelling cool and refreshing. :)

by that time we will have screwed up the world, ran out of oil and lost the knowledge of how to make guns and will return to bows and swords

We'll return to swords because our laser weapons would no longer be useful...especially when we learn that a laser intersecting a shield causes a small thermonuclear explosion.;)

Either that, or war will become prohibitively expensive due to the galaxy being controlled by a neutral trade guild...

This is ridiculous! go home!:mp5:

This is ridiculous! go home!:mp5:

The Internets is our home...

Wasn't DARPA doing research on actual power armor for infantry and heavier weapons for use on said equipped soldiers?

Here you go. http://www.darpa.mil/baa/baa00-34.htm

I know Japan is already wheeling out some basic civilian models for the disabled.

Not that I know of. Certainly not in the mainstream. Heck, I hardly even see powered wheelchairs here.

FYI the "lasgun" came from Dune by Frank Herbert, Warhammer just took the idea.

However, I think that the lasgun is a pretty sweet idea.

oh dont worry about it

by that time we will have screwed up the world, ran out of oil and lost the knowledge of how to make guns and will return to bows and swords

Don't be silly. Guns came before oil, and they'll be there long after the rigs and wells dry up. Besides, who says that the tanks and airplanes of the future won't run on ethanol or batteries?

Anyways, back to the topic. Don't most lasers focuse a beam for a bit of time to produce any affect on the target. I mean, you'd have to generate alot of power to be able to take down a target with a really short burst, like lasguns show.

Depends on the power of the beam. If you're thinking of the classic "slice the guy in half" type, yeah, you need to hold the beam on target for a while.

But if you fire a single, extremely high energy pulse, you superheat the point of impact. Thermal bloom and heat expansion cause the point of impact to basically explode, causing grievous damage to whatever it is you're aiming at.

The real problem with Laser weaponry is their delicacy and energy cost. That's why I don't believe in Laser handweapons.

I suppose so. But I don't really know.

Maybe a bit like the horns of Jericho? The sound from those big trumpets blew down the walls of, um, Jericho. Allegedly.

No God did

I might of said this before on some other thread, can't remember, but I am much more interested in armor than weaponry. I would personally love to see Starcraft type armor on infantrymen. But at our current level of technology and robotics, that kind of personal protection is still very far off.

I might of said this before on some other thread, can't remember, but I am much more interested in armor than weaponry. I would personally love to see Starcraft type armor on infantrymen. But at our current level of technology and robotics, that kind of personal protection is still very far off.
I don't know about the specifics of Starcraft armour, but the Future Force Warrior programme is aiming for science fiction level technology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Force_Warrior
I don't know how confident they are in implementing all the technology in it, as some of it seems really out there- nanobot powered exoskeleton? By 2020? It might be possible, but it seems a bit pie in the sky to me.

About a century? I dont forsee much enhancements in infantry weaponry by the year 2100, but I fullt expect some serious advancements in armour and communications thingies.

I reckon energy weapons will not really enter service for maybe 200 years, as it takes about 15 years to get a new rifle into service (from scratch) as is, and something as radical as energy rifles will take a lot of proving before it becomes accepted.

Of course "energy weapons" covers a VERY wide area of firepower. From plasma throwers to particle acellerators to lasers to sonic cannons.

We can probably expect to see railguns on tanks by the end of the century and possibly some sort of energy beam weapon as well, but that isnt infantry weaponry.

Although Anti Tank weapons for infantrymen may move at a faster rate due to not having to be so compact.

Well, personally, I just like the thermal whatchamacallits from Warhammer that let you recharge the battery by putting it in sunlight. Nifty.

I've seen the caseless ammo embedded in a block of propellant before - apparently, I visualized it correctly.

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Chamber/2838/arms.html
This is a nice site.

Someone suggested giant robots, I'm more thinking mini robots. Maybe something along the lines of Ingrams on wheels.