Aren't those the poor man's humvee? i mean, that sort of vehicle has always been part of major armies, major armies just tend to put armor on them, what's the difference?

>>8941 Industrial robotics. You could make some very funky autoloaders with them, the kind of designs that carry more ammunition and load it faster than anything we've seen before, all the while taking up less space.

I dunno, maybe i am putting too much hope in this, but running stilts, Like the ones commercially sold, could provide a form of transport somewhere between light ground vehicles and simple marching by foot. It would allow soldiers to travel more quickly, while also not leaving obvious marks in the terrain. Just an idea

>>8955 The thought of a bunch of soldiers in full battle rattle and rucksacks jump-running across a desert with running stilts is completely absurd to me, I wish I could draw it.

Pack donkeys and torpedo-mounted speedboats. I think the disposable tools market in general isn't used heavily enough by 1st world militaries. Single-fire/single-use weapons systems/vehicular systems could be extremely valuable in the modern war environment, doubly so if the tracking/intelligence systems are disposable and built directly into the parts that gey destroyed. Think plexiglass/aluminum pump-and-dump launchers. I'm glad militaries are finally taking robotic warfare seriously even if it's just suicide drones.

>>8970 >torpedo mounted speedboats Couldn't you have some sort of drone bomb that skips over the surface of water incredibly erratically?

The use of robots as a replacement for necessary manpower or too boost thinning lines. We won't see any major development until there's a full blown war, though Afghanistan and Iraq saw several developments, pretty sure those wars doubled as training in the event of an Insurgency at home, which seems to be closer and closer to happening.

Can Van Riper-tier suicide attack boats be made semi-autonomous similar to what the Chair Force is cooking up with unmanned fighter drone wingmen for the F-35? So the Iranians need to send only a few dozen mechahideen flotilla commanders to paradise when facing off against a USN CVBG.

>>8976 You can already do that with arduinos and some solenoids.

>>8941 Technicals will definitely become a part a of a major military when they go against a near-peer adversary simply due to their abundance and the abundance of roads. Even if they aren't 'officially' adopted civilian trucks/cars will surely be made use of heavily in logistics and troop transportation simply due to abundance. In combat oriented roles I see troops on technicals acting in the same manner as dragoons, using the trucks to carry supplies, hmg's, atgm's, recoil-less rifles, mortars, and so on while the troops fight on foot. In a near-peer war I see the ability to move lots of manpower and materials will be decisive and as such technicals will quickly become extensively used. I think they aren't receiving attention because they don't fit into current prevailing doctrines and activities, and any development of technicals would purely be on their use.

>>8941 I think the 'hunter-killer' concept of tanks will be applied to the general army as well. That is the focus on spotting and engaging targets as quickly and accuracy as possible. Cheap Surveillance Drones will be more wide spread in armies and will see themselves organically embedded in smaller units of battle (ei battalion, company, platoon and even squad level) Optics on these will be more and more expensive and effective. Loitering munitions will be such an increased threat that they will be view which as much paranoia as IEDs are now in counter insurgency. A bomb can drop any where any time. Precision munitions. munitions that can reliably hit a vehicle, emplacement, building. Will be used to great effect in the next major conflict. Even more so one that can hit a moving target. On the other hand I think we might see a return of 'dumb munitions' for non western countries. Weaponry that has little to non adjust itself in flight, and therefor lest costly per shot/round/rocket, but is guided by state of the art launchers and FOs. I think massed rocket artillery might make a combat in this regard as it particularly suited for this.

With LEO being so crowded these days is it possible for ICBM launches to induce Kessler syndrome by accident?