defensetech.org — The Marine Corps calls the concept the Small Unit Space Transport and Insertion Capability (Sustain). The concept is to deliver strategic equipment or a small squad of soldiers to any point on the globe -- even the most hard-to-reach location -- within hours of need.
Sep 22, 2006 View in Crawl 4
Closed AccountSep 22, 2006
I have to say this: THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!
camzakSep 22, 2006
Stealth capsule? Minor problem...how would it land? Runway? Requires finding a runway first. Like a helicopter? Too noisy for covert operations. VTOL? Also loud. Sure, I suppose you could land a couple miles away and have them walk, but that defeats getting their rapidly. Giant parachute? Easily noticed with night vision. If you're getting there in a hurry, deep in enemy territory, you want to make sure that you aren't easily noticed. It would have to be deep in enemy territory, otherwise why go through the bother of launching a rocket and sending people into/near space just to get them there quickly? If you have people stationed a hundred miles away, it'd make more sense to just to fly them in there.Time to go out on a limb, but it'd make sense to have the people jump from the capsule from a high altitude. I'm not sure how good radar is, but I'm pretty sure they'd have trouble picking up seperate people. It'd seem like a flock of birds or something. Recently the Army or some other branch revealed they were developing a one man airplane kind of thing which would be strapped onto a soldier. Have the soldiers bail out from a high altitude, possibly 100 or so miles away from the target, glide in undetected, while the orbiter itself glides to a safely recoverable area far away from the actual target which would be a bad thing...don't want a gaint craft landing anywhere near you're about to strike...sort of gives away your intentions.
dclowd9901Sep 22, 2006
"Why does that remind me of Team America"Because Team America, I believe, was inspired by that show and others like it.
Closed AccountSep 22, 2006
The book by Heinlein was better than the 1998 movie.The second movie was an abomination.
wilf_brimSep 22, 2006
Oh hell yea. If the need an Medical Officer I'm getting first on that list.All of the SciFi references are right on. I keep thinking of1) Mobile Infantry from Starship Troopers (book, not movie). I still want my powered armor suit. "Mind the bugs.."2) Space Marines from Starcraft. "Jacked up and ready to go" indeed.3) ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Troops), probably the closest to the description. From the Halo series, where they appear (especially in Halo 2), but are not explained. Read "The Fall of Reach" for complete background.4) Space Above and Beyond. Another great SciFi series cancelled by Fox before it was able to find its legs. Available on DVD and, um, alternate distribution methods. Well worth a watch if you haven't seen it.
djfindSep 22, 2006
Starcraft and a lot of WH40K as far as armored soldiers were all ripped straight from Robert H Heinlein's Starship Troopers, written over 30 years ago in three weeks. It's his treatise on government and an ode to the soldier. That assh**e veerhoven never even read the book when he made the movie.Don't buy a little piece of it next drop.
yumyumkittyloafSep 23, 2006
Kharn The Betrayer FTW!
nincrumpetSep 24, 2006
The technological capabilities regarding war certainly are amazing, but wouldn't this technology be better utilized for humanitarian purposes? I don't want to sound like a durn hippie, but it seems that we should be getting more excited about the ability to drop supplies and doctors than space marines.Space marines.Huh.Okay nevermind. Sweet.
ray901Sep 25, 2006
Read this and thought .. Quake intro movie...
Closed AccountOct 3, 2006
The best vehicle for the job if you want to send just a few dozen soldiers in an hour to anywhere on the planet I can think of would be the DCY the orbital version of the McDonnell Dougles DCX.<a class="user" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC-X">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC-X</a> Killing this program was likely the stupidest thing nasa did since throwing the saturn V away.When it come time to return the vehicle just refuel it or reserve enough fuel to make a hop to a safe zone.