US Military to buy new Exoskeleton

[OGREDaddy]

The technology is getting there ... it's amazing to see that an exoskeleton today can use hotswap batteries that last hours instead of minutes, doesn't have to have a tethered power cable to operate and can do the same amount of work for 1/10th the amount of energy that previous models required. Multiple branches of the armed forces and even Ford are staring to order exoskeletons. Can a true battlesuit be too far behind? I know that DARPA has been putting money into various "power armor" concepts and proof of service technologies but here I think might just be the first step towards actually moving towards having a functioning MI type suit for soldiers.

Link to article.

https://futurism.com/military-full-b..._1h3wSpg30Tjjk

[Kax]

A note, based on design research done by some friends of mine that I helped with: you won't get all-around armour that'll handle anything more than smallarms with present materials technology.

And as armour, albeit small armour, it will be the target of more than small-arms fire as soon as it's visible.

The best they could do, they found, was laminated layers of boron/boron carbide armour. And if you want to handle 20mm AP rounds and still move you need to have steeply-angled armour on the front, and that's the only direction you have any serious cover from.

And it has /no/ real protection from an IED.


Battlesuits are for support roles, basically, until we find something better than boron/boron carbide.

They'll be great for loading artillery and carrying anti-tank missiles and so on.

But /not/ front-line roles.

[Ashley]

However, it's not always about the armour, but what the power exoskeleton allows the wearer to do.


Still, until there are some more advances in material tech, as you say, this is limited to rear echelon maintenance forces, but in the future who knows?


I will lightly pimp my own fictional take on these by mentioning my novels: Bad Dog, Strike Dog, and Ghost Dog, which feature power armour and combat armour suits; the latter being things you ride in rather than wear.


The future's bright, the future is...

[dwalend]

Originally Posted by Kax

A note, based on design research done by some friends of mine that I helped with: you won't get all-around armour that'll handle anything more than smallarms with present materials technology.

That doesn't really line up with the evolution in Afghanistan and Iraq of remote control cars, small drones, and bomb disposal robots.

The troops really liked all of those things for their intended purpose. However, it didn't take them long before they were taping grenades and rifles to them and sending them on the offensive.

I wouldn't be surprised to see an exoskeleton with a squad-level weapon attached shortly after the exoskeleton is in the field, bolted on, with a coating of duct tape. Give it maybe a year or three of R&D before it becomes a product.

The armor is likely to evolve on its own, but (just as in most of history) it will trail behind the weapons of the day.

In Ogre it takes a few big steps in line with the sci-fi tech of the day: BPC encouraged nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons dispersed the infantry, that dispersal pushed most shots out to indirect fire, then let electronic warfare help infantry. That first step - BPC - is still unobtainium.

[cedric18]

Originally Posted by dwalend

That doesn't really line up with the evolution in Afghanistan and Iraq of remote control cars, small drones, and bomb disposal robots.

The troops really liked all of those things for their intended purpose. However, it didn't take them long before they were taping grenades and rifles to them and sending them on the offensive.

I wouldn't be surprised to see an exoskeleton with a squad-level weapon attached shortly after the exoskeleton is in the field, bolted on, with a coating of duct tape. Give it maybe a year or three of R&D before it becomes a product.

The armor is likely to evolve on its own, but (just as in most of history) it will trail behind the weapons of the day.

In Ogre it takes a few big steps in line with the sci-fi tech of the day: BPC encouraged nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons dispersed the infantry, that dispersal pushed most shots out to indirect fire, then let electronic warfare help infantry. That first step - BPC - is still unobtainium.

I could be wrong in my interpretation, but I read the post you are quoting as referring to the ability of the armor to protect the wearer, not to its ability to carry more powerful weapons.

[ColBosch]

From what I understand, the US is interested in combat exoskeletons mostly to reduce soldier fatigue. Tromping around 80-100 lbs. for hours on end is exhausting. Even halving the felt load would greatly increase field endurance. Once exoskeletons reach 24 hours operational runtime, with the ability to recharge from support vehicles while remaining relatively active, then they'll start looking into deploying them on infantry.

Better armor and heavier guns are perhaps a tertiary goal. NIJ Level IV with inserts is available right now and is considered adequate against small arms; the exoskeleton would just help with its weight. As for weapons, the 5.56mm M4 carbine has been selected as the standard-issue weapon for reasons beyond absolute lethality. It's more probable that an exoskeleton would allow soldiers to carry more one-shot anti-tank rockets, grenades (thrown and for the M203), and extra belts of ammo for the squad machine gun instead of returning to a 7.62mm primary arm.

[Racer]

Not sure if it's up there with Biphase Carbide yet , by I'm given to understand that the generation-after-next Cobham Armour - the 'G' Armour - will contain sheets/grids/mesh of artificial diamond .

Not sure if any Patents will be released due to secrecy , but expect a revolution in these types of constructions over next few years in many fields .
A cost effective process of continuous manufacturing of diamond sheets , rods & hollow supports will be a total game changer across the board .

[ColBosch]

Originally Posted by Racer

A cost effective process of continuous manufacturing of diamond sheets , rods & hollow supports will be

...a moderate improvement in some applications where the expense can be justified, while all of the other areas it could theoretically be applied are ignored because there's either little profit to be made or unforeseen limitations make it impractical.

[Racer]

Some of the information I've seen predicts that like 3-D printing , the cost will decrease dramatically within 6 years or less . I'm talking about less than Carbon Fibre prices . Small turbine blades are already being considered for testing , for example .