I'm Batman, (RL) U.S. Army testing personal gliders Options

[DMFubar]

Just found this after finding pics on militaryphotos.net and finding additional info here. One-man personal gliders give HAHO jumpers a range of 125 miles while reducing total time in the air by a third.

[CanRay]

Just further proof that you don't have to be insane for Special Forces...

Oh, wait, YOU DO!

[Muspellsheimr]

I want one.

But instead of playing Batman, I would bombard the PD with plushies....

Okay, maybe not the PD, or with plushies. But I would drop crap on something

[Earlydawn]

My understanding is that Special Forces bury their chutes when they HALO / HAHO into hostile territory. What's the plan with this thing? lol.

[CanRay]

Well, if they drop onto a snow-filled mountain, I bet it'd make a kick-hoop snowboard!

[Lionhearted]

My understanding is that Special Forces bury their chutes when they HALO / HAHO into hostile territory. What's the plan with this thing? lol.

This is eagle twenty, fox two fire!

[Fix-it]

My understanding is that Special Forces bury their chutes when they HALO / HAHO into hostile territory. What's the plan with this thing? lol.

I'd imagine you'd just have to do more digging.

[Oracle]

The German KSK is already using these.

[DocTaotsu]

It's only a matter of time before someone gets burned out of the sky over Russia during the 3 minute war....

[Siege]

Sigh.

This they can do. But we can't get rid of the ^&@*(! M4.

-Siege

[ludomastro]

Nice. Now, how would you use in your game?

[Fortune]

Now, how would you use in your game?

For flying. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Siege]

First, you'd have to resolve the HALO thread successfully.

Personally, I'm a fan of the plasma gun.

-Siege

[Method]

This they can do. But we can't get rid of the ^&@*(! M4.

Sounds like they are working on that...

[Siege]

Griping about the weapon is one thing - breaking Colt's hold and adjusting military thinking is something else.

In other words, I'll believe it when I see it.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/02/atCarbine070219/

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/12/army...umbers_071227w/

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/12/army...usttest_071217/

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/army_no416s_031008w/

The last one is a personal favorite.

-Siege

[Cthulhudreams]

I imagine the Us inventory of 'crap to support M16s/M4s' is huge, and that would be a major incentive not the change. The cost of replacing that infrastructure would be gigantic and the XM8, scar, 416 are not exactly a gigantic leap forward.

[Siege]

I haven't seen any figures or arguments from military sources, otherwise I might take that into consideration.

At the same time, however, as I might be standing all by my lonesome with nothing but a rifle, a combat load and a flashlight it's a little harder for me to be sympathetic when I know the current weapon system is unreliable and overpriced as is, never mind any other bells and whistles strapped on.

The HK 416 was designed expressly to slide in place of the M4 with a minimum of fuss to avoid re-training issues and accessory re-designs. The damn thing even looks pretty close to the existing M4 design. Edit: And for that matter, the design of the HK is more durable and longer lasting, cutting down on maintenance costs required to support the M16/M4.

Instead of admitting the current design and weapon is less than what it could be and taking steps to redress the situation, the Army is trying to put a bandaid on the Titanic. Iraq and Afghanistan are both ground wars in dusty environments. Instead of spending money on weapon systems that can't really be employed with any degree of effectiveness in the current range of hostilities, ensuring that at least the active combat troops are as well equipped as they can be to survive the mission might be a better way to spend the military budget.

Just a thought.

Of course, I may be just a tad jaded at the Army's indifference to details.

-Siege

[Cthulhudreams]

Any whole of army replacement programme for the M16 and M4 is going to take 5+ years. Just the manufacturing ramp up required to get sufficient volume would take at least one year and probably two.

That said, in Australia people constantly bleat about replacing the steyr with the M16 (I can only presume because they are mad, though it has a problem with not clearing the breech leading to occasional soldiers shooting themselves when not following the safety drill) so I try not to think about the fun complexities of military procurement.

[BookWyrm]

a) That glider-wing is closer to the old 1980's G.I. Joe cartoon than Batman. If it were more like Batman, the wings would be wider & designed closer to the bat's wings.

b) it won't be long until someone straps a heavier-than-the-wearer thruster to it & tries to take off from a standing position on the ground. And go KABLOOEY.

[Siege]

Any whole of army replacement programme for the M16 and M4 is going to take 5+ years. Just the manufacturing ramp up required to get sufficient volume would take at least one year and probably two.

That said, in Australia people constantly bleat about replacing the steyr with the M16 (I can only presume because they are mad, though it has a problem with not clearing the breech leading to occasional soldiers shooting themselves when not following the safety drill) so I try not to think about the fun complexities of military procurement.

I haven't seen any numbers on the amount of time it would take to put a new weapons system into place - I would like to think it wouldn't take nearly that long. But then again, this is the US Army.

I have to do some research on why the Aussies opted for the M16 - that just seems...odd. Thanks for the homework project.

-Siege

[Cthulhudreams]

Sorry not to make that clear - They didn't. They went for the Steyr.

But people like to complain about the steyr AUG endlessly and suggest (stupid) alternatives, on the web, in news paper columns, etc. Much the same as the brits complaining endlessly about their rifle.

[Siege]

Sorry not to make that clear - They didn't. They went for the Steyr.

But people like to complain about the steyr AUG endlessly and suggest (stupid) alternatives, on the web, in news paper columns, etc. Much the same as the brits complaining endlessly about their rifle.

Heh - trust me on this one, the grass ain't that greener. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

-Siege

[Method]

Are any militaries deploying the 416 en masse? I wonder what kind of results they're getting.

[FlakJacket]

Much the same as the brits complaining endlessly about their rifle.

Ooohh no, trust me on this but the original really was that bad. We had to hire Heckler & Koch to do a redesign and monkey around with a lot of the innards - redesigned cocking handle, modified bolt, extractor and redesigned hammer assembly - just to get it to work properly. Nowadays the A2 model is actually quite a good weapon, not that that's stopped squaddies moaning about things (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) , but when it first came out people were pining for the old FN SLRs.

On the whole M4/SCAR/416 debate I say sod it, lets just give them all M14s again. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Fix-it]

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/02/atCarbine070219/

ooh, this link is the best: and I'll tell you why.

read the reason WHY that ranger QRF was on the top of a mountain(LINK)

and the story gets even better.

wikipedia summarizes it better than I ever could (LINK), but basically they were trying to rescue a bunch of dumb ass seals who tried to insert right in front of an enemy they knew was there.