Times: US about to deploy Space Marines The Sunday Times sold off another little bit of its credibility at the weekend, as it told the world about the imminent launch of the US Marine Corps into space. According to the Thunderer: The American military is planning a “spaceplane” designed to fly a crack squad of heavily armed marines to trouble spots anywhere in the …
1st problem is crashign a rocket into the ground at a high enough speed to dodge missles - the G-force (and sudden stopping) will kill the Marines inside.
2nd solution - if they do survive the impact and the subquent fighting, they'll be relieved by regular Special Ops coming in the old fashioned way - by plane/sub etc. The aim of SUSTAIN is to get people in fast and fighting now to allow time for the regulars to get there.
Obviously snce they're Americans, they'd be captured as they land and we'd have to send in the SAS to get them out and hush up the entire war. Now where did they do that recently !!!!
I think I saw this movie, where they load up the super Winebago in the reentry vehicle, drop in, and the Marines kick butt...oh wait, the Marines got eaten by the aliens, but that doesn't matter.
Hopefully the final version will have some 49 cent locking straps to keep that phased plasma pulse rifle from floating around in the cabin as they showed it. Also an invisibility cloak to keep the baddies from shooting the landing craft during the several minutes it will take to offload the tanks.
Who made this, a 14 year old with a power fetish? Uselessly long, terrible soundtrack and no decent combat footage in the end that would make it worth the pain. Also: Nice how they remembered that it would make sense to tie down tanks inside transporters, especially when zero gravity is involved. Nice how they forgot to tie down the grunts' FN SCARs. That'll be fun.
That has to be the worst concept video I've ever seen, for anything.
I'm especially fond of the Blackbirds in space bit when the camera panning sideways reveals that the earth is in fact a small slightly bump mapped ball close to the camera.
It's so sh1t it's almost brilliant ...almost
... of an old'un but a good'un:
When asked to "secure a building", the Services each respond in a different way -
- Army: sends squads to search floor-by-floor, quarter and sweep style, until the building is confirmed free from hostiles. When finished, the building is declared 'secured'.
- Navy: sends one man to close all the doors and turn off all the lights. When finished, the building is declared 'secured'.
- Air Force: sends a legal staffer to take out a 5-year lease with option to extend. When finished, the building is declared 'secured'.
The Space Marines would "take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
This post has been deleted by its author
Getting the operators out of the target isn't really a problem. Behind-the-lines operations already include hiking to and back so this would mainly reduce the amount of hiking involved. The Russians have demonstrated this kind of operations already when they crash-landed a plane carrying spetsnaz troops on a mountain hill - and successfully completed an operation thereafter - near a capital of some Asian or Caucasian capital during a war whose name I can't remember.
A bunch of this kind of planes placed in e.g. Diego Garcia could provide rapid insertion in most of Africa and Middle East where the radar systems and air defenses aren't as comprehensive as in Europe, Russia or the States. I can even imagine hideously expensive planes which could allow the troops to parachute out and then fly, on autopilot, back to some friendly territory.
Amusing, though I think the most recent (and thus, fresh in the minds of people) military "doh!" followed by "we surrender" belongs to the Royal Navy. Something about getting back in the boat to go greet some approaching Iranians - or something like that, instead of taking defensive positions.
Maybe they should have asked the Australians how to handle approaching boats of unknown intent.
... They should have used the classic 80's hit "99 Red Balloons" by Nena:
"This is what we've waited for,
This is it, Boys, this is war!
The President is on the line as
99 red balloons go by.
"99 Knights of the Air
Ride super high-tech jet fighters
Everyone's a super hero,
Everyone's a Captain Kirk.
"With orders to identify,
To clarify and classify,
Scramble in the summer sky as
99 red balloons go by."
Still, it's only a song about a massive military over-reaction, isn't it...?!
"The aim of SUSTAIN is to get people in fast and fighting now to allow time for the regulars to get there."
So we take some marines who are not in theater (If they knew what they were doing, they'd be there already) and smash them into a hill. Awsome.
If we're going to do that, why go the hundred million dollar ICBM way? Take some troops already there and shoot them in with a cruise missle or something? BTW I'm reminded of the beginning of Quake II
Scrap the rocket planes and the super troopers, all you need is well armed librarians and instead of using sub-orbital space they can use `L´ space. Having arrived completely without detection via `L´space at right angles to the enemy space they can carry out their mission and return to base through any nearby newspaper or paperback. Job done!
Terry Pratchett's concepts are certainly no more ridiculous and much more entertaining.
do you want to live forever???
Me thinks someone has read/watched Starship Troopers, or played Quake 2. Though if it works, it definitely sounds like a nice idea!
Better idea: Station the troops in orbit, and then just send 'em down when needed. Oh, zero-G affects the body ... nevermind.
Seems to me, given the cost of something like this hardware, it would be vastly cheaper to go through a massive expansion of personnel and keep them "deployed" by holidaying all over the globe.
That should also do wonders for recruiting and provide a nice rotation out of the sandbox.
Paris 'cos she knows how to have a good time all over and is in the hotel business.
BTW if you want a really good update on Starship Troopers, read John Ringo's Posleen war series, the first two of which are free at Baen - http://www.webscription.net/c-1-free-library.aspx - "A Hymn Before Battle" and "Gust Front"
"Who made this, a 14 year old with a power fetish?"
Maybe it was made *for* 14-year olds. Recruitment for the armed forces can't be all that easy these days.
By logging access and then using 'Einstein' and 'server in the sky' to do a bit of automated background checking over a period of a couple of years it would be fairly simple to generate a list of potential recruits.
Anyone (else) remember the Wobblin' Gobblin? And the stories of funny black airplanes scooting around the night skies courtesy of Uncle Sam's Flying Fibreglass Factories?
All the "experts" **knew** that the odd report or two of aircraft all but invisible to radar must be false because they diodn't know how it was done, therefore it couldn't be done. At least, until the pilots got to go play smash-and-grab on Saddam's air defense network and the USAF finally admitted they *had* been flying these things around for a while.
And now they try to tell us they *might* be working on something to deliver a combat-ready force anywhere on the planet within a couple of hours, but (you) decide it it must be false because the Times mentioned it... c'est la guerre...
The ubiquitous "they" have already been dreaming up short-orbit object-tossing schemes.
It was known as the "THOR" weapons system. Basically ...fire up a launching platform complete with several very large ceramo-metallic pillars. Wait for the "Baddies-du-Jour" to make themselves plain, hit the button and the orbital platform simply drops a nasty gravity-enhanced mass o' splat on the offenders, with the benefit of short turnaround repetition if need be.
That was 20 or so years ago. Haven't heard of anything recently.
Wait......what's that growing whistling sou
You would need at least 5 vehicles for this to work:
– a Hypersonic variable geometry rocket plane used for fast response, rescue zone reconnaissance, and as a mobile control base.
– a Heavy supersonic VTOL carrier lifting body aircraft used for the transport of major rescue equipment and vehicles.
– a Reusable, vertically launched SSTO (Single Stage To Orbit) spaceship used for space rescue and maintenance.
– a Small utility submarine for underwater rescue.
– an Earth-orbiting space station which monitors all broadcasts around the globe for calls for help and also manages communications.
Oh, and a secret base somewhere in the Pacific
Thanks Wikipedia...FAB
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
