![250px-All_You_Need_Is_Kill[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/SlLYRUv.jpg "250px-All_You_Need_Is_Kill[1].jpg")
Will powered bodyarmor make tanks obsolete?
A body armor can conceal itself in terrain with a rocket-launcher while being impervious to artillery for the most part.
Citation needed on all those """facts"""
Your shitty gook cartoons aren't reality, faggot
>>29160635
Why confine your equipment to the human form? Tanks are the shape they are because it is the most efficient.
That being said, I do think unarmored exoskeleton systems will see an increase in use as the technology becomes more refined and the battery issue is solved.
>>29160725
Human form is more versatile.
>>29160773
It's also mechanically more complex. Powered armor would be a nightmare to keep maintained, not to mention the problem of the power source.
>>29160635
>>29160725
PA is stuck in the books because we're trying to use pure battery power instead of strapping an ICE generator to supplement or overtake the main power draw and run the hydraulic compressor on mechanical work.
PAL units are far-fetched even though they're currently the main research focus. A full powered hardsuit combines the potential assets of man-ported artillery, the data-gathering of a helo's pilot compartment, and the main gun of a HMMVV and its rambar in the compactness and urban mobility of a soldier-sized platform. While not suited to low-profile engagements which is the sole reason PALs have the focus, fullscale skirmishes in urban terrain and around it with vehicular support favor proper PAHS deployment
The fact that the powers that be have tunnel-vision on PAL development says something about their opinion of large skirmishes and open warfare versus isolated element-on-element operations.
>>29160799
the joints are more complex, but the average tank tread is the same level of maintenance nightmare, the uniformity of the track sections just makes the logistics easier, and logistics wins and loses wars
>>29160635
>that manga
Mah nigga.
>>29160635
>impervious to artillery
That's adorable.
>>29160848
>but the average tank tread is the same level of maintenance nightmare
No it isn't.
Not even fucking close.
>>29161105
haha, you've never had to replace a tread then
>>29160635
powered bodyarmor will never be a facet of groundwar. it is scifi that was skipped in lieu of better things
>>29161132
But will they be useul in low gravity environments, like the Moon or other planets?
>>29161145
yes, by redefining your goal, you redefine your needs, but its hard to believe that unmanned vehicles wouldnt replace humans in every exploratory field. i very much dislike robots. no offense robot reading this
>>29161124
haha, getback2reddit
Replacing a tread is complex.
Maintaining a powered prehensile limb is off the fucking charts complicated
>>29161124
If you think this is in any way close to maintenance for humanoid robots you need help.
Slight damage to a joint in leg? Well, shit. Your 200 million $ mecha is now worthless.
>>29160773
Literally worthless for a weapon.
And human form is actually shit for performance. We are much slower and weaker than almost all animals our size.
Only advantage is hands that allow us to create tools. Which is completely pointless for a combat robot.
>>29161185
>>29161173
Well looks like we've got some experts in future engineering here.
>>29161220
Are you seriously retarded? Threads can be replaced in the field by few dudes. You think the same could be done with an incredibly complicated powered suit?
>>29161173
>>29161185
You guys have got to be joking, the most complicated part of the joint is when radial rotation is required
honestly, the bearing systems IN the joints are the most complicated next to the hydraulic lines, and hydraulics are some simple shit so long as you keep the seals and cylinder properly maintained
the major failure of DARPA and Sarcos is in using complex electronics for motion sensing, a simple mechanical body-pressure-to-valve system can do the same job and put zero extra complexity into the locomotives; yes, the control configuration makes operation more difficult, but when you're dumping millions into training, cutting out the failure rate of electronics in combat is a major advantage compared to an extra week of Driver's Training.
>>29161236
hot-swap the defective pieces at the joints, we'll be presupposing air superiority so air dropping a crate of spares would be less intensive than bringing in new treads
>>29161218
can't win without boots on the ground, the best war to win a war between drones is attacking SIGINT facilities and the assembly and parts fabrication plants
human bodies will eventually come into the conflict zone regardless of the platform used
the loss of human life in war is essential to its continued function as a social mediator
>>29161292
Better than making horribly expensive powered suits make small flying drones armed with M4's.
>>29161220
They've been building vehicles with treads for well over a century now. I think they've got it pretty well nailed down.
>>29161270
And what if the piece is inside? Do you even know how robot joints work? It's not easy to fix at all. Suggesting it's easier than fucking WW1 technology like tracks is just autism.
>>29161251
This. Analog mechanics will simplify the actions and can save a lot of the cost.
>>29160836
So what are you implying they think?
>>29161312
let's be frank, if the broken piece is inside of the armor, it's probably become imbedded in the driver's body
in that case, repair is irrelevant next to a chop-doc and a rapid evac
>>29161336
I'm implying that I think that they think full-scale skirmishes are going away as a method of modern warfare
OR, if we want to get pol-tier, PAL is more readily applied to police forces against a local populace where overt military equipment like a full PAHS platoon with infantry support is going to spell the istuation loud and clear whereas cops with PALs are basically just evolved SWAT
>>29161297
who gave the chair force permission to speak?
>>29161362
So, civil insurrection correction?
>>29161270
Well if a tank throws a tread I guess we could just airdrop in a new tank
>>29161383
In the worst-case scenario that I hope isn't correct and I'm really just a paranoid faggot, yes.
>>29161324
They're also a lot less accurate, take up a lot more space, and weigh a lot more
>>29161403
>airdropping a whole tank plus munitions, fuel and crew
I think tankers carry an extra tread with them and can rely on supply trucks to bring more.
Compared to that, a team of PA troopers can be airdropped, possibly even paradropped if the units are... what? less than a ton? Bringing in a crate of spare limb sections needed to make repairs from a FOB by air or light vehicle seems like it would be trivial, not to mention a PA-specific troop transport having a cargo section purely to carry spare parts for the troopers
And we haven't even considered repairing combat damage- and I don't think we need to, anything that makes it through 20~50mm of plating to an almost skin-tight crew compartment is going to paste the trooper
>>29161453
in a shock-assault situation where hardsuits like what we're describing would be ideally deployed, I don't think any of those concerns are as valid compared to having a robust system
I really like /k/.
But this might be one of the dumbest threads I've seen on 4chan.
The whole "hot swap parts" bullshit is just stupid, it's power armor not a USB, not to mention you are forgetting about the person inside and people are not all the same size. Suit fit would be an issue.
We aren't going to effectively air drop made to order parts in the chaos of war.
/thread this stupid nonsense, it's barely /k/ related take this cap to /m/.
>>29161465
>anything that makes it through 20~50mm of plating to an almost skin-tight crew compartment is going to paste the trooper
Read: Almost everything
Especially if you don't protect against overpressure. Which in itself is a headache.
>>29161507
Now I'm trying to think of a way to have variable-dimension limb sections, but then you'd still need custom armor sections to fit over the exoskeleton OR have a soldier walk around with undersized 'universal plates', eh, better than nothing if the pre-existing plates got wrecked
hot swap is a misleading term when you're talking about disconnecting hydraulic feeds and whatever electronics for sensors and other peripherals have been strung up through the interior, pulling out load-bearing connectors and unpinning any locomotive parts that cross over sections being replaced, disassembling the joint's bearing system AND THEN doing all of that in reverse after sizing the replacement section for the soldier and bolting the armor back on top
the whole supersystem has to be designed with these processes in mind to provide a decent ergonomy when that kind of work is required
>>29161643
>Read: Almost Everything
one to two inches of armor?
just face-hardened steel at that thickness can resist or defeat .50BMG AP ammunition, past 1.7" it can even fully resist SLAP/SLAP-T rounds
that's making a soldier proof against small arms across 80+% of their body and hypothetically retaining or even improving mobility
>>29161643
>Especially if you don't protect against overpressure. Which in itself is a headache.
>>29160635
normal human vs tank:
>human shoots from cover
>destroys tank or does not destroy tank
tank kills human with machine gun
human with body armor vs tank:
>human shoots first from cover
>destroys tank or does not destroy tank
>tank kills human with main gun
if it can fit on a human practically, it will not be able to withstand a tank
>>29161795
my point is that a powered armor suit will practically only be able to resist small arms fire which can already be done to a certain extent for 1/1000 of the price with kevlar, or by not being a retard. Also a power armor suit will be prone to a million and one types of failures and will only work on people of one exact type of height and build.
>>29161795
You are forgetting the part where a human with PA can wipe out the tank's infantry support by himself with 20 mm cannon and is pretty much impervious to .50 cal.
>>29161795
>>29161861
Enemy force is behind a wall
>Modern Soldier
toss grenades over top or breach and clear
>Power Armor Trooper
there was a wall, now there isn't, do you want to be a wall?
Enemy force has a tank
>Modern Soldier
Take cover and find AT specialist, wait for rocket
"Somebody get the javelin out!"
>Power Armored Trooper
Take cover and find nearest trooper with line of fire and a spare rocket
"I've got it!"
Enemy force has air support
>Modern soldier
call in support from active LAD elements and air support, take cover until threat is neutralised
>Power Armored Trooper
"Who got saddled with the stingers today?"
>>29162010
>>29162007
this, PA's primary advantage is packing the punch of a LAV with the mobility and portability of an infantry platoon with support elements into something the size of a single fire team
>>29162024
>into something the size of a single squad
Fix'd
>>29161676
>Thinking you could put 1-2 inches of armor over a human frame
lel
No, it won't. Tanks will have APS to stop smart missiles and will continue to mulch infantry, powered or not, with RWS HMGs and programmable HE.
Powered armor/exoskeletons is what will let infantry stay relevant against hardened vehicles by carrying enough missiles to have a chance in hell.
But they will still be vulnerable to artillery; because, tho' powered armor is better against shrapnel, furture artillery will have sensor-fused weapons (currently only targeting vehicles) that function against humans as well.
Each 155 shell will spread dozens of temporarily powered samara-wing EFPs, maneuvering at low altitude to fire against infantry with ~50mm EFPs.
>>29162046
an inch probably, larger surface areas away from the joints could hold thicker plates, I'm thinking mainly torso, pauldron, and hangers at the waist
>>29160848
>thinking that a fucking tank thread is as complicated to maintain as the complex array of motors, springs, hydraulics, sensors and computers needed for even an exoskeleton assisted dismissive jerkoff motion
Buy water filters.
>>29162269
y- ... you do realize that part of the maintenance on the tread is going into the complex array of motor, springs, hydraulics, sensors, and computers needed for even a tank-assisted dismissive rutting motion, right?
Buy a fucking wrench.
>>29162077
Cool, so ~25mm of armor.
Ignoring for a moment ground pressure and how you would just sink like a rock in more than a few envrionments, thats easily penetrated.
>b-but it can't get penned by 7.62AP!
Yeah, nobody cares.
The moment you put a fusion-powered anime robbit on the field, especially if you want it to carry ATGMs, you just made it enemy number one, and made it economically feasible for people to field simple 20mm systems to fuck you
>>29161171
>disliking robots
lost job to automation?
>>29162365
as far as I know, 20mm ammo has the same level of penetration as the upper tiers of .50 BMG
your response to a force fielding multiple shitkicker elements of multi-role soldiers in AM-resistant armor is to give soldiers anti-vehicle rifles and expect a stiatic force of reactionary shooters to compete with an active and dynamic force that can bring the same levels of firepower or better to bear while remaining mobile?
that seems like an unrealistic strawman
>it'll sink in mud and soft earth
as if wheeled vehicles don't have insanely high ground pressure?
give it bigger feet, longer shins (troopers feet don't need to be in the armor's feet, just like the trooper's hands don't need to be in the armor's gloves), and enough horsepower in the locomotive and engine departments to Abrams itself out of muck
>thinking mud affects bipedal mobility the same as wheels
>>29162458
>as far as I know, 20mm ammo has the same level of penetration as the upper tiers of .50 BMG
You don't know much, then.
>>29162478
give me the data, I need to know more
>>29160635
>Will powered bodyarmor make tanks obsolete
Daily reminder, why you will never want to be in power armor in a modern era of unmanned warfare.
>>29162533
The Animatrix was fuckin' brutal.
>>29162533
Why do you think this is any different than a vehicle penetrated by HEAT?
>>29160635
As much as I love powered armor, I have no illusions that it's going to make tanks obsolete. If anything, Tanks will become more important as being able to face down powered armor in the open and win or a direct fire support unit for assaulting fortified positions. I mean, sure, you could call in arty or air support but a tank fires one shot every ten seconds.
>>29162010
>>29162024
>>29162035
Yes
>>29162590
Modern heavy tanks and future heavy BMPs are impenetrable by HEAT shells. You need a best APDS round to kill this things.
>>29161124
Replacing a tread is only difficult because it's attached to a 70 ton vehicle, and hence requires a lot of force. They are not complex at all.
>>29162434
pretty poor analysis of the post. sounds like you are reading into your own psyche, not mine
>>29161483
Being able to afford and operate your robust system? Yeah doesn't sound relevant to me.
>>29162644
>future heavy BMPs are impenetrable by HEAT shells
fukken lel
>>29163583
don't analog systems tend to be much less expensive?
as far as operate, everything has a learning curve, a thing that you operate by moving in it has almost no learning curve
>>29160635
>Is anime real?
No, anime is not real.
>>29162833
Not necessarily.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nkewFZBK-Yg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
>>29162833
https://youtu.be/0yZks3hDXZI
https://youtu.be/nkewFZBK-Yg
https://youtu.be/CEjTGlwhVnw?t=1m38s
There's a good deal of info here but the gist of it is that typically replacing a tread involves bleeding of hydraulic pressure before prying out the track with wedges and and the very least a crowbar. After that you might need to thread a new tread through the entire track if it's metal or stretch it out with crowbars if it's rubber.
Unless it's a snowmobile. In that case you need to disassemble a good chunk of the machine.
In Starship Troopers, the granddaddy of modern power armor, they still had ground combat vehicles. It is just that Mobile Infantry in power armor was a hell of a lot more mobile.
>>29164765
Combined arms is and forever will be a thing.
>>29164978
They still used a lot of air power.
