Minute man 2020. Game changers.
Robert Murphy has looked at free market defence.
http://mises.org/store/Chaos-Theory-P190.aspxIt can be argued that a free market system guided by the profit and loss system would make use of a slightly different set of weapons.
Some weapons that a libertarian society might prefer can be predicted. Nuclear weapons are out; cheap weapons that save lives even enemy lives are in. Weapons that minimise property damage make better sense than bombs.
Here's 25 links and some notes. Note this technology is not in the Bob's book its the logical choice of a private defence entity.
Infantry - Armour, ballistic shields for the light infantry. Some solutions are simple.
One company is designing a ballistic apron but will soldiers wear it if they look like a butcher? This ones for factory workers but its the same technology.
For the elite specialists.
The biggest factor will be at the building design level. If a society takes on the challenge of defending its self rather than leaving it to the government they will build different kinds of buildings. A common feature of Israeli housing developments since the katyusha rocket attacks of the second Lebanon war (2006) has been to build bunkers in housing complexes.
Gear and supply's too heavy? Try a pair of robot legs.
or 4 robot legs. Big dog.
or errr just watch this after the one above. I couldn't resist neither could the researchers.
Intel is essential, particularly in urban warfare. Thrown cameras help. The Israelis are way a head on this stuff. Micro drones may supersede these. A soldier could carry several of either.
Or send in this little fellow. One version has a gun.
Want to fight at lower risk.
Corner shot. Now being used yet still new. This will save many civilians who get caught up in a fight and get hit because an exposed fighter can't risk a second glance.
In an ambush context this will take them down without killing them.
For the heavy hit.
Sniper bus rounds. A grenade launcher with the range of a sniper rifle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrett_XM109 Now deploying.
If all else fails send this guy in. Its only CGI but all the hardware exists except power supply.
Armoured corps – Tanks are useful for retaking territory the enemy has taken and for defending open farmland, desert and plains. Fixed defences are sitting ducks in the GPS age.
The future light tank will be armed with sensor drones to check for mines and ambush ahead. It will fire smaller calibre but more versatile rounds. It may deploy ground robots as it main weapon system rather than a turret or APC infantry. It will be expensive but we will only need a few not thousands. Air-mobility will still matter. The enemy will try to cut units off.
However a free market society may not want to telegraph its punches or attract the ire of foes by deploying a tank. It may use something like the Rhino Runner. With digital ink advertising and a little cheap camouflage this could drive past you and you would not know it was an armoured vehicle.
Yet this could carry dozens of troops, robots, or an entire swarm drone command centre and drones. A truck version would look like a civilian truck. http://www.armored-trucks.com/
Robotic cars are also off the drawing board and may be 3 to 6 years away. In an emergency these robot taxi's could be sent in to rescue people where a driver may fear to go. They can deliver supplies or could be sent in to create an automated traffic jam around the enemies convoy.
Check the video's here. http://www.templetons.com/brad/robocars/
or this Wikipedia page, Its a little out of date.
Militia air-force and intelligence. -
Coffee cup sized flying Swarm robots. These gather intelligence and can hunt down foes. Their down playing the attack function in the video. It can be lethal or non lethal. A swarm of 30 could take down a squad of infantry in seconds. This scares even governments because at $200 a robot, half the population of a free city or enclave could own one. By 2020 the sophisticated communications technology to control these at long range will be in civilian hands. New power systems means they will be silent unlike the whining toys of today.
One prototype.
If you need more hiting power.
Getting gear where its needed.
and
Navy.
Have a coast line or sea stead to protect? 10 of these can cover 50 miles of coast for the cost of a patrol boat. Add some micro drones and they can inspect vessels.
Robotic submersibles loitering on the coast provides underwater coverage. Set them up with a sea bed charging station or battery swap system for long endurance. Neptune Canada is a seabed sensor network with a robot sub based on the sea bed. Its for oceanographic studies but the technology could be adapted to "own the sea".
Most of the strife of naval war is about getting cargo and fuel in and out through blockades. Cargo-submarines has always been a good answer but for some reason never used by the good guys.
What they can't see they can't stop. Ports need camouflaged sub pens.
All of these systems are an order of magnitude cheaper than the alternatives. They are all force multipliers and reduce casualties and soldier training requirements. You don't have to be fit to control a drone from your lounge, office or bomb shelter. Because of communications and intelligence limitations they favour defensive operations. Yet in combination some can deliver a strategic strike capability (non nuclear) where needed.
