High Tech Toys
3) Aegis Cruisers These highlight one of the major problems with any system. You tend to use it wherever you need it rather than just the arena it was designed for. The Aegis system was designed for blue water (open ocean) operations, not restricted waterways that were bounded by several hostile countries and transected by numerous commercial air corridors. The technology actually worked in this case, but was apparently misinterpreted by the crew.
4) Stealth Aircraft There have been questions about the utility of Stealth aircraft especially after the F-117 Nighthawk was shot down. Considering the types of environment that these have been flying in, it's somewhat surprising that more haven't been hit by random fire. Apparently, the technology works to some degree.
5) M-16 Rifle Stoppages aren't normally a problem, if you keep it clean. In twenty years of use, I've had two stoppages, one due to wet blank ammunition and one due to carelessly getting sand into the chamber. Both stoppages could have happened in any other rifle because the chamber clearance is critical. Lack of stopping power? No one who thinks it lacks stopping power has ever volunteered to stand in front of one and prove their argument. It is popular around the world, and that says something. Fragility? Not near as bad as I worried about the first time I picked one up. I wouldn't use it to bash open a door, but it stands up to field use pretty well.
6) Bradley fighting vehicle Pretty much works as advertised. The idea that an IFV could stand up to a tank main round is ludicrous in the first place. Tank main ANYthingill kill tanks and ANYthing lighter. Thinking otherwise isn't the fault of the technology.
7) GPS receivers They WERE heavy and clumsy but they've improved MASSIVELY. No technology springs forth in its finished form.
So is high tech good or bad? Hopefully I've forced enough confusion to cause people to think about the balances involved in the good and bad points of any weapon. Nothing is perfect and the primary deciding factor should be; does the equipment do what it's intended to do, or some reasonable facsimile of that? Does it keep your people alive and help win the fight? Does it do the job better than the equipment that preceded it?
The human race has been dealing with these questions since approximately the time someone adopted a stout thighbone as a club in place
Latest Articles