New Weapon Technology

[Aaryq]

What do you think the next major break in weapons technology will be? I'm talking replacing arrows replaced by black powder muskets or muskets being replaced by brass cartridges.
*disclaimer* I know guns are more than just weapons. I just want to look at it from the weapons aspect.

Looking at Europe, you see that body armor started out as nothing and was replaced by fabrics (leather and hardened linen and for the sake of this post chain maille). The fabric armor protected the people of the day until breakthroughs in technology like metalurgy could easily defeat it. To keep up with the technology, hard armor (plates) was used in combination with fabrics (leather and maille) and worked for a while. Eventually, after more advances in technology, the fabric was deemed obsolete and plates only became the next armor. When guns hit the battlefield hard armor became obsolete and for a long time, wars were fought wearing no armor. Armor started to go full circle when it back into the scene with the advent of flak jackets and eventually bulletproof vests (fabric armor). Today, depending on the mission, people are using fabric armor, fabric with hard armor or hard armor. Looking back to the past, you see that the individual weapon and the individual armor have spurred each other forward.

So what's next in weapon technology? The hard armor backed by soft armor can stop a lot of what's on today's battlefield so obviously, the weapons need to improve. My question for you is where is it going to go?

 

[Guitargod1985]

I'm guessing there will eventually be a way discovered to make a rail gun into an infantry unit.

Also, there is such a thing as a radiation weapon these days.

 

[Officers'Wife]

Hi Aaryq,

What I see happening is a polymer explosive/non flammable polymer developed for use as cartridges. Something like a case for caseless ammunition.

Selena

 

[GhostlyKarliion]

for personal use, weapon tech is stalled becuase of politics.

untill some inventor decides to h$!! with the law and makes the stuff, not much will be coming out on the personal weapons end.

armor is another matter, google search "ring carbon armor" and see what you come up with, amazing stuff really.

 

[Bezoar]

Full plate never realy replaced easy useful realiable leather tunics with reinforcing plates.
The main anti armor weapon of the day was the crossbow that would blow through both leather and full plate. Hence no reason to upgrade.
And besides in a battle only 1/10th of yourpossible opponents would be in plate armor. Yeah, the general infantry was using the same gear until the spanish armada sank.

And well for the modern battle field, right now in NATO they are no longer happy with light machine guns chambered in .223. So dont be surprised when we go back to .30 cal machine guns spitting out AP at guys wearing armor designed tos top .223 and 9mm fmj.... then armor gets improved, and the smallest battle rifle will be firing tungsten darts at 3500fps.

 

[Jim March]

I think eventually we're going to learn how to remotely..."jam" I guess is the word, the human nervous system. We're talking about a wireless beam of much longer range than a taser but with similar or worse effects. Hopefully non-lethal.

There'll probably be a way to incorporate a faraday cage into clothing as a defense...

 

[Avenger29]

I think eventually we're going to learn how to remotely..."jam" I guess is the word, the human nervous system. We're talking about a wireless beam of much longer range than a taser but with similar or worse effects. Hopefully non-lethal.

That's scary. Very scary.

 

[MikePGS]

I was recently looking through William Gibson's "Count Zero" again to recall what revolver the main character (one of them) Turner carried and it was a S&W .408, which is curious because the book was written before 10mm existed (if i'm not mistaken). However, the most interesting feature was that it featured a xenon light, which basically threw up a beam so powerfull that it blinded the opponents while the wielder of the revolver would shoot them.

 

[hardhit777]

Sorry got to throw this line out " A phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range." I would think man portable rail weapons if they can develop a power source compact enough and powerful enough.

HH

 

[Zedicus]

Avenger29:

I think eventually we're going to learn how to remotely..."jam" I guess is the word, the human nervous system. We're talking about a wireless beam of much longer range than a taser but with similar or worse effects. Hopefully non-lethal.

That's scary. Very scary.

Google "Acoustic" and "Pain Compliance" Weapons, they are already here, and are being used by many police departments on protestors.

The Military also have them.

Also on the Subject of Acoustic Weapons, do some research on "Resonant Frequency's" the implications of which can be quite Horrifying.

 

[MD_Willington]

chemical powered energy weapons and destructive nervous system weapons

 

[JesseL]

I think we may see light gas guns used in a martial capacity, in many of the roles people are envisioning for rail guns.

23,000FPS is nothing to sneeze at.

 

[mekender]

im guessing smaller directed energy weapons that are lethal... they already have DEWs that use sound to cause a burning sensation on the skin and ones that use light patterns to shut down the CNS... im guessing one that causes strokes isnt far off

 

[Geronimo45]

Something along the lines of the Gyrojet. Would allow for extremely high velocities, with lesser recoil and pressures involved.
But for the moment, I think we'll be seeing armor-piercing stuff become common for the military, if we run into trouble versus some other first-world military.

 

[everallm]

Explosively pumped maser.

There are already designs on the shelf and experimental models using the energy from a small explosion as the mechanism to drive or pump lasers.

There is published work on this going back to the 1960's so I would be highly surprised if there isn't more work in hand.

http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/0049-1748/22/2/A07

Move this from light to microwave frequencies and you have a really nasty, line of site, coherent energy weapon.

Several advantages

Energy source could be reloadable in the same manner as a current magazine driven firearm.

Energy is chemical explosive based so no new technology here

Output can be made to be tunable over a range of frequencies and output energies, dependent upon the target.

No recoil

M'mmmmmm smells like pork..........