Continuing with “The Future of War” Symposium, I will discuss some of the technology that I think we will see in the future. Obviously prognostication is a dodgy endeavor, but even if the specific technologies I mention never come to be, the general concepts might still have some accuracy. The great hope of all prognosticators is that they will either be dead long before their idiocy is proven or alive long enough to say “I told you so”.

MASP

The Mobile Adminstrative and Support Platform is a 300 foot wide disk with a gently sloping roof 60 feet tall. It can hover above the ground to move and upon landing drills four legs into the ground to anchor it. On the roof is a large helicopter pad and on the side is a large door. Most of the structure is a large cargo bay, but there is also a hospital, barracks, control room, and war room. Robots perform many of the functions on board, like maintenance, defense, recieving supplies, and loading supply trucks. A small human crew runs the hospital, control room, and war room.

The primary function of the platform is to allow generals and their staff to be close to the front lines and move with the troops as they advance, while still having all of the conveniences of a headquarters. The cargo bay helps shorten supply lines, but can be refitted to perform other functions like a garage for repairing vehicles or barracks facilities for troops. The platform could also be used in an urban setting as a temporary seat of government. Multiple platforms could be placed together to make a large and fully-functional military base.

Gelatin Bullets

These bullets are made from a metalic gelatin that can be fired at high velocity from a rail gun. While it maintains its shape in the air, the gel bullet spreads out upon impact without penatrating the target. It can be used in crowd-control situations as a non-lethal weapon. For instance, a sniper could fire the bullet at a specific target; when it impacts it transfers its force into the target without perforating. This makes the bullet like a long-distance punch–the target falls down or gets knocked out, but doesn’t die.

However, the metalic gelatin can also be infused with powerful acids. When fired at a vehicle, it quickly burns a hole through the armor, wheels, or engine block. When fired at troops, it inflicts massive damage. Also, because it is sticky and expands, it is very hard to remove quickly.

Wall-Truck

The wall-truck is a large flat-bed with a built-in crane. It is loaded with metal sheets that can be quickly assembled into a wall of different heights or widths. Urban police forces use the wall-trucks to seal off streets, trapping angry mobs or providing extra protection for vital buildings. On the battle-field, the wall-trucks are used to quickly make temporary defensive positions, repair holes in permanet walls, or fortify damaged structures.

Mobile Factory

The Mobile Factory consists of a sculpting robot, a computer terminal, and a vat of high-density plastic. The sculpting robot uses its various arms and laser cutters to ’hand-make’ small items from the plastic. It has a large number of schematics already built in, but a trained tech can make custom ones with the computer terminal.

The Mobile Factory is designed to be compact so that it can fit on a MASP or large truck, allowing it to be moved close to the front lines. It is primarly used to make critical replacement parts for vehicles, but can also manufacture a wide array of small arms and amunition. While the manufacturing process is slower and less efficient than a traditional factory, it is quicker to use the Mobile Factory than to have an item shipped to the front lines.

Attack Satellite

The Attack Satellite is an orbital weapons platform specifically designed to destroy enemy communications satellites. Essentially it is a large metal box that contains several dozen small rockets. When it attacks, it launches a rocket that slowly manuevers itself into a trajectory that will contact the target. The process is slow, but with proper planning a single Attack Satellite can cripple an enemy’s orbital communications resources.