Military Technology Ideas

Small Missiles

* Mini-Javelin Missiles. Similar to U.S. anti-tank javelin missiles, but lighter, with shorter range and smaller warhead, for use against vehicles that are less heavily armored than tanks which lack long range weapons, like armored personnel carriers. Autoloading recoilless rifles (a.k.a. bazookas) mounted on military vehicles could also be used for this purpose.

* Mini-Stinger Missiles. Similar to U.S. infantry carried Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, but lighter with shorter range and smaller warhead, for use against airborne drones, helicopters, and very light fixed wing aircraft, but not against fighter aircraft or larger fixed wing aircraft.

* Anti-Personnel Missiles. This small guided missile would have a warhead that would be only the size of a grenade (a pound or less in weight), but it would be a guided weapon with a range of significantly greater than 3 km (perhaps 5-10 km), which is too far for sniper rifles or other direct fire weapons. An infantry soldier could carry several of them and a reusable launcher and would use it in roles similar to those of a long range sniper.

These smaller missiles would allow a soldier or military vehicle to carry more of them, would reduce collateral damage, and might reduce the cost per missile somewhat, in situations where the full capabilities of a larger missile that could be used for a similar purpose was not needed. This would advance of goal of having more units with air defenses and effective weapons against lightly armored vehicles.

* Bunker Breaching Missiles. This would have a warhead comparable in size to a tank shell or artillery shell, and a range similar to or less than a tank shell (perhaps 1 km), but would not require the heavy launching system of a tank with a large main barrel and turret, and very primitive guidance systems (perhaps even a wire guided system like the original TOW anti-tank missile). Again, autoloading recoilless rifles (a.k.a. bazookas) mounted on military vehicles could also be used for this purpose. It would be used for breaching fortifications in much the same way that a tank shell or artillery shell would be used for the same purpose. This would be similar in size to a Javelin missile but less sophisticated and expensive.

Tagging

This would be a two step attack process. 

Step one would be to affix an "air tag" sized tracking beacon to the target, which could be a submarine, an artillery battery, a helicopter, a jet fighter, a cruise missile, a train car, a truck, or a building. The tag could be radio silent or transmit a brief GPS location in a burst at unpredictable times only every few hours or days, until activated. Step one could be performed by a single soldier or spy, or with a very light military vehicle or drone, since each tag (possible with some sort of adhesive or camouflaging) would weigh only a few ounces, freed of the burden of carrying the large amounts of high explosive needed to destroy the target. 

Step two would be to blow up the tagged target with a missile, smart bomb, or torpedo.

This would be especially useful for hard to locate targets like submarines or stealthy aircraft, where the hard part is locating the target, not destroying it once you know where it is located.

Electric Expeditionary Sea Bases

The Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) is a new class of Marine support ship, in all current cases adapted from a civilian oil tanker or freighter. But what if it were nuclear powered instead?

The benefits of a nuclear powered ESB such as having a much smaller logistics supply line could be enhanced if:

* All of its organically carried helicopters, Osprey-like VTOL fixed wing aircraft, boats, and military ground vehicles were completely electric. The ESB would have a modest supply of fuel for visiting helicopters, Ospreys, F-35Bs, and sea planes, but that would be the only chemical transportation fuel on the ship.

* It has its own desalinization plant, so that it didn't need to resupply water.

* It would have a couple of electric fishing boats which could add some fresh food to the supplies for the crew, act as decoys in anti-piracy missions, and do reconnaissance from a mundane looking and non-threatening platform.

* It would have eight 5 MW lasers for point defense of the ESB against drones, incoming missiles and shells, helicopters, and small watercraft. Existing 50 kW military lasers need about ten seconds on target to do their job at a cost of about $13 of electricity per shot, while a 5 MW laser could do the same in less than a second, at a cost of about $1,300 of electricity per shot (supplied by the nuclear power plant, perhaps bolstered with batteries or super capacitors). Each military laser would also have a large fan lined up with its line of fire, to clear away as much smoke, sea spray, drizzle, or other particle that could interfere with the laser's effectiveness to the extent possible.

* It would have a full suite of defensive weapons similar to other amphibious ships and/or navy destroyers, but without the vertical rocket launcher system. Some of its helicopters would be outfitted for attack helicopter/close air support, and for anti-submarine warfare missions. It might have palletized anti-ship missiles.

This could be useful, for example, for sustained anti-piracy missions off the African coast or in Indonesia, as a base for protecting Filipino fishing boats from Chinese attacks, or in a war with almost any plausible adversary other than Russia or China (but including Iran or North Korea).

Maritime Search and Rescue

* Lifeboat canisters that could be dropped near people in distress at sea, a bit like a bomb. These could be delivered by search and rescue aircraft (fixed wing or helicopter), airborne drones, surface boat drones, submarine drones, or search and rescue airships. Any military aircraft that drops bombs, such a bomber aircraft, fighter aircraft, or sea patrol aircraft like the P-8, could be used for this purpose. You could even have a "lifeboat canon" that would shoot lifeboat canisters towards people in need of them.

* Unarmed or minimally armed submersible or semi-submersible watercraft (manned or unmanned) that could retrieve sailors whose ships have sunk either from open water or lifeboats, in naval battle zones.

* "Escape pods" for sunked submarines, in lieu of lifeboats.

* Drones that would deliver vital life jackets, medical supplies, food and water, clothing, tents, or other urgently necessary things to people awaiting rescue (on land or sea) before they can be rescued and extracted from their positions.

Resupply and Troop Transfer Seaplanes

A seaplane about the size of a Boeing 737 or a C-5 military transport could resupply ships at sea, including expeditionary sea bases, but also other existing naval and coast guard ships. It could also be used to facilitate "just-in-time" delivery of Marines to ships mean to carry them, so that they wouldn't have to spend months at sea moving at less than 25 mph to a destination and in harms way while on a troop transport for the duration.

Just-in-time delivery of Marines would also greatly reduce the logistical burden for Marine transport and base ships by eliminating the need for supplies to feed and care for them over the weeks it often takes to get the ship carrying them to its final destination.

A seaplane like this could also be used to trade out crews on naval vessels with fresh crews, while leaving the ships at sea without having to return to a U.S. naval base to do so.

A "ground effect vehicle" could be used in lieu of a genuine sea plane in these roles.

Other Ideas For Ground Troops

* A wheeled or tracked drone that would dig foxholes and trenches.

* An armored personnel carrier that could move around on autopilot while the crew is asleep or resting, to make it a harder target to hit.

* A wand-like user interface that would allow a forward observer or gunner to simply point at an intended target and press a button on it to direct fire, perhaps from artillery batteries or guided missiles or smart bombs or one's own direct fire weapons to a target. It could be either wired or wireless.

* Assault rifle sized ammunition in guns mounted in the hub of the wheels of armored vehicles together with cameras and some adjustability, to detect infantry approaching in low visibility spots to attach bombs to or to disable tracks or wheels, when dismounted infantry to defend against this vulnerability is not available. These weapons might have range restricted bullet that automatically self-destruct after a certain distance to reduce the risk of collateral damage to unintended targets.

* A front mounted gun on a military vehicle with sensors designed to detect mines and IEDs and then to blow them up before the military vehicle is so close that it is at risk of harm from the mine or IED.

* Military vehicles with "low rider" type extreme suspensions that would assist if the vehicle went over a mine or IED, would assist in easing drops off small cliffs or rough parachuted airdrop landings, and would allow the vehicle to make small "hops' over obstacles a bit over its available clearance.

* A canon similar to the 25mm canon on a Bradley M2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle, but rather than being designed for a high rate of fire, it would be designed to be used selectively with smart grenades that could be programmed immediate prior to being fired, for example, to explode at a set distance over a target or to explode a short distance after its initial impact with a window or wall or something similar so that it would explode inside a building.

* A small wheeled all electric military vehicle designed to be able to travel in narrow "Old World" streets, narrow mountain passes, and narrow dirt roads in wooded areas, with a crew of just two (one facing forward and one backward), that could travel at speeds similar to a street legal car or truck, and would be as heavily armored and armed as technically feasible. Basically, it would be a ground based counterpart to a fighter jet or attack helicopter, providing a rapid response akin to the role of pre-modern calvary, with heavy firepower. It would also be equipped to effortlessly act as a forward observer for artillery, guided missiles, aircraft, and naval weapons providing fire support for ground troops. Tanks and infantry fighting vehicles are too large and heavy and slow to fulfill this role in many environments.

* Small airborne drones that would provide reconnaissance to ground troops and would have a gun comparable to a pistol or carbine that could be used, for example, to strike snipers shielded behind cover from the vehicle or location of the ground troops themselves. Almost every military vehicle could have one or two of them, which would make them much harder to ambush.