Mecha vs. Tanks.

[Lonestar]

The big "Heavy weapons" of most sci-fiverse are Mechs. Modern Heavy Calvery are Main Battle tanks, such as the Abrams and T-80U Black Eagle.

What's the future of war? Are Mecha just a fanboy masturbation fantasy(yes)? What do you think?

[Kropotkin]

Do you mean those robots with arms and legs? That's not in any way based on reality.

There's of cource quite possible that the day of the MBT is comming to an end with more and better AT weapons that can destroy them with ease.

[Elok]

Mecha? Are you talking about the giant manga-style robots with people inside a cockpit in the head? What's the point of those? As long as you're expending energy to move, get a fleet of helicopters. Jeez.
If so, it's definitely a fantasy. Like the prominent bridges on the Star Destroyers from Star Wars. It's like the designer wanted a big sign that said, "to completely cripple ship and assassinate multiple flag officers, shoot here." Why the hell did the bridge need to stick out a third of a mile over the rest of the ship? Did they think they needed increased visibility or what?
Anyway, I voted banana because I wasn't sure if the big humanoid clunkers were what you referred to.

[BeBMan]

I can´t imagine Mechs replacing MBTs, that seems pure scifi. Why shouls one build giant walkers that make also giant targets when we prefer driving vehicles for every purpose?

I only can think of mechanic exo-skeletons (-sp?) for infantry, but even that is future stuff.

[Lonestar]

/me created this thread mostly to poke at DD

[Dis]

mechs have too high of a profile. They can be hit miles away by vehicles with a much lower profile.

Plus legs are a vulnerable point.

[Az]

"That f***er didn't go too far away with only one foot, did he?" - Unknown soldier, 4ID, Kamchatka peninsula, May 2083.

[Kassiopeia]

IMHO in fiction mecha work only with the "strange enemy can only be defeated with mecha piloted by person X or working with miracle technology Y" plot device, in reality they are much too inefficient compared to MBTs. The control interface alone would be a ***** to say the least, you'd need a VR sort of suit or system that still doesn't have lethal amounts of lag. Pedals and joysticks would be a possiblity but not intuitive enough: you'd need way too much training to make it work fluidly. And you'd need a pretty impressive servo to make the limbs move nimbly enough to not make it a lumbering piece of junk.

Then there're the maintenance and logistics problems. More moving parts means more wear and tear and more possible occurrences of malfunctions. And you need to transport more spare parts, and the technology might be so advanced you'd need much more training for the repair staff. And on troublesome terrain a mecha will probably just trip over.

Then again, mecha, if they ever show up, would not be used for the same role MBTs are used. I doubt they'd form the core of a fighting force, though I can't think of anything unmanned recon planes or just infantry couldn't do better with less complication.

They're still cool though

Why the hell did the bridge need to stick out a third of a mile over the rest of the ship? Did they think they needed increased visibility or what?

Aye, if they must insist on putting the entire command staff in one small location, at least put it deep inside the ship so that less important things can act as sacrificial armour.

Edit: Took me 1½ hours to notice I'd typed "IHMO" instead of "IMHO". Eek.

[JCG]

MBTs for now...but probably a third (non-Mecha) alternative will pop up in the long term...

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Kassiopeia
They're still cool though

Damn straight!

[Kassiopeia]

Originally posted by BeBro
I only can think of mechanic exo-skeletons (-sp?) for infantry, but even that is future stuff.

I actually saw somewhere on the net a picture of a Japanese-built (surprise surprise) exoskeleton of sorts that was worn by a person. Pictures even. It was very clunky but the news story claimed that it allowed the person to lift twice as much as he could without it. Might be of use for construction workers. Of course, with the same price you could probably hire a few bulldozers and an army of workers to lift and move things.

[Kuciwalker]

That's different from a Mecha. Exo-skeletons are part of the whole uberinfantry thing.

[Sava]

I think large Mecha's would be impractical...

but rather, I think bio-technology will eventually give way to a change in modern infantry tactics...

but in the short-term/near-future... I see remote controlled unmanned vehicles becoming more common. As the technology gets smarter, I think it will get smaller and more utilitarian. I suspect that there will be more recon and patrol UV (unmanned vehicles) in future conflicts. I doubt AI will be created any-time soon. Intelligence, as we know it, requires a brain that can function like a living brain. I don't see existing computer hardware being capable of such intelligence. I don't buy the whole "machines taking over" stories in sci-fi. I think there will be humans contolling those machines.

[Sandman]

They are completely impractical. They're slower than wheeled vehicles, have a downright stupid surface area, are crammed with unnecessary moving parts and cannot be stored efficiently.

The age of the tank has only just begun.

[Dis]

eventually we will move towards unmanned tanks. although there will be a need for manned tanks for a while yet. Perhaps 3/4 could be unmanned, and the other 1/4 will be manned. But that would have to await better automated features. As of yet there is no good way to reload the main gun automatically. If it jams there would be no one to unjam it.