If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
#1
|
|||
|
|||
asymetric warfare
What would be sensible strategies/weapons for a middle-ranking
country to employ if it thought it is likely to be involved in a war against the USA or other Western countries, say in the next 10 years? I think one strategy would be to use large numbers of low cost cruise missiles (LCCM). The elements of a cruise missile are all very simple, mature technology, except for the guidance system. Modern computers are small and cheap, so guidance systems can be made cheaply. LCCMs could be designed to attack enemy vehicles, both armoured, and supply columns. The missile could use dead-reckoning to move itself approximately where the enemy vehicles are, then use visual sensors to detect vehicles (moving ones would probably be easier to detect). This would require digital cameras and computers in the guidance system, both of which are cheap. Programming appropriate image recognition software is non-trivial, but has been done, and the cost could be spread over large production runs. As the LCCM sees a vehicle and chooses a target, it could dive towards it, and simultaneously broadcast its position and a photo of the target (useful intel for the missile controllers). Another target for LCCMs would be surface ships. Telling tghe difference between a ship and water is easier than detecting land vehicles (detecting what sort of ship it is would also be quite easy, I imagine). Anti ship missiles would probably want ot have a bigger warhead than anti-land force missiles (or a 'swarm' option could be used). Another application would be to make it re-usable, i.e. a UAV rather than a CM. Mount a machine gun in it, and let it roam around over the battlefield taking pot-shots at anything that moves. Or use it to give targetting data for artillery. Western nations can, and are, using UAVs extensively, for these sorts of roles. However, western defence industries tend to be slow-moving, bloated, produce expensive kit, and it would probably be possible for a mid-range power, provided it adopts a minimum-bureaucracy approach to design, to produce weapon systems faster and more cheaply. Faster weapon system design mewans it could "get inside the decision curve" of Western arms industries, because by the time they've produced a weapon to counter the low-cost weapon, the next generation of low-cost weapon is there. -- "It's easier to find people online who openly support the KKK than people who openly support the RIAA" -- comment on Wikipedia (Email: , but first subtract 275 and reverse the last two letters). |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
|
#3
|
|||
|
|||
On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 03:54:46 GMT, Bryan J. Maloney wrote:
(phil hunt) nattered on .org: What would be sensible strategies/weapons for a middle-ranking country to employ if it thought it is likely to be involved in a war against the USA or other Western countries, say in the next 10 years? Orbital laser satellites, preferably mind-control lasers. Crewed by Alien Space Bats, presumably? -- "It's easier to find people online who openly support the KKK than people who openly support the RIAA" -- comment on Wikipedia (Email: , but first subtract 275 and reverse the last two letters). |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
phil hunt wrote in message
. .. Crewed by Alien Space Bats, presumably? European or African alien space bats? -- Scott -------- Monitor the latest efforts of "peaceful Muslims" at http://www.jihadwatch.org/ |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 06:08:14 -0600, tscottme wrote:
phil hunt wrote in message ... Crewed by Alien Space Bats, presumably? European or African alien space bats? Neither. But I suppose they could be Europans. -- "It's easier to find people online who openly support the KKK than people who openly support the RIAA" -- comment on Wikipedia (Email: , but first subtract 275 and reverse the last two letters). |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
"tscottme" wrote in message ... phil hunt wrote in message . .. Crewed by Alien Space Bats, presumably? European or African alien space bats? What is the flight speed of an unladen African alien space bat? |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Ray Drouillard wrote:
Crewed by Alien Space Bats, presumably? European or African alien space bats? What is the flight speed of an unladen African alien space bat? Cheeee! -george |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 03:54:46 GMT, "Bryan J. Maloney"
wrote: (phil hunt) nattered on .org: What would be sensible strategies/weapons for a middle-ranking country to employ if it thought it is likely to be involved in a war against the USA or other Western countries, say in the next 10 years? Orbital laser satellites, preferably mind-control lasers. If not that, then frickin' sharks with frickin' laser beams in their heads. Well, if we're being silly - How about a modern version of "The Mouse that Roared"? Send an elite troop of longbowmen to capture the negatively charged stranglet that was just created at fermilab. Then hold the world for ransom for whatever it is you want - universal disarmament, foreign aid, etc. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
"Bryan J. Maloney" wrote in message
93.32... ess (phil hunt) nattered on . org: What would be sensible strategies/weapons for a middle-ranking country to employ if it thought it is likely to be involved in a war against the USA or other Western countries, say in the next 10 years? Orbital laser satellites, preferably mind-control lasers. If not that, then frickin' sharks with frickin' laser beams in their heads. It also would be helpful to shout, "Somebody throw me a bone here!" ROFL!!!! |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
"phil hunt" wrote in message . .. What would be sensible strategies/weapons for a middle-ranking country to employ if it thought it is likely to be involved in a war against the USA or other Western countries, say in the next 10 years? I think one strategy would be to use large numbers of low cost cruise missiles (LCCM). The elements of a cruise missile are all very simple, mature technology, except for the guidance system. Modern computers are small and cheap, so guidance systems can be made cheaply. LCCMs could be designed to attack enemy vehicles, both armoured, and supply columns. The missile could use dead-reckoning to move itself approximately where the enemy vehicles are, then use visual sensors to detect vehicles (moving ones would probably be easier to detect). This would require digital cameras and computers in the guidance system, both of which are cheap. Programming appropriate image recognition software is non-trivial, but has been done, and the cost could be spread over large production runs. As the LCCM sees a vehicle and chooses a target, it could dive towards it, and simultaneously broadcast its position and a photo of the target (useful intel for the missile controllers). Another target for LCCMs would be surface ships. Telling tghe difference between a ship and water is easier than detecting land vehicles (detecting what sort of ship it is would also be quite easy, I imagine). Anti ship missiles would probably want ot have a bigger warhead than anti-land force missiles (or a 'swarm' option could be used). Another application would be to make it re-usable, i.e. a UAV rather than a CM. Mount a machine gun in it, and let it roam around over the battlefield taking pot-shots at anything that moves. Or use it to give targetting data for artillery. Western nations can, and are, using UAVs extensively, for these sorts of roles. However, western defence industries tend to be slow-moving, bloated, produce expensive kit, and it would probably be possible for a mid-range power, provided it adopts a minimum-bureaucracy approach to design, to produce weapon systems faster and more cheaply. Faster weapon system design mewans it could "get inside the decision curve" of Western arms industries, because by the time they've produced a weapon to counter the low-cost weapon, the next generation of low-cost weapon is there. -- "It's easier to find people online who openly support the KKK than people who openly support the RIAA" -- comment on Wikipedia (Email: , but first subtract 275 and reverse the last two letters). cheap dirty nukes . if you got 'em use 'em |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Australia F111 to be scrapped!! | John Cook | Military Aviation | 35 | November 10th 03 11:46 PM |