There’s been a noticeable lack of innovation in tactical gear for over a decade now. A Delta operator in 2026 looks nearly indistinguishable from one in 2016. Why are we in this gear plateau? Have we reached the maximum potential for development?
>>64743928Is there currently a problem with the current setup?>yes Then change happens sooner or later>noThen leave it alone
>>64743928yep, we finished the tech tree, nothing will ever change again
>>64743928Ahem
This applies to all technology. All real development and innovation has stagnated, the world has been reduced to faggots in software. Nothing tangible.
>>64743928Possibly for now, gear is very situational and it's likely the next war will encourage heavier armor or full body light armor, ultimately the current PC and high cut setup works great for people doing quick, high intensity operations but it's suboptimal if you were say doing long range patrols al la SADF or MACVSOG
>>64743928>A Delta operator in 2026 looks nearly indistinguishable from one in 2016. Why are we in this gear plateau?Same thing happened to the rifles. It got good enough that stuff didn't need to change significantly (small incremental improvements notwithstanding, like more networked systems, thermal fusion, lighter armor)
>>64743979Their plates are absolutely baller and mog anything civ side
Squad level quadcopters in Gaza seems like a genuine advantage in urban warfare, being able to look around every corner and into every room, and blow it up if you want
>>64743928Theres not much to drive change. Like look at all the soft armor packages popular in ukraine, apart from the segmented groin panels, its all direct copies of crye shit from 15 years ago. And on the more minimalist front, a plate carrier is just two bags with some straps, which was figured out a decade ago. Materials might change with hypalon falling out of fashion and laser cutting replacing stitched molle, and rigid shit like tegris might be integrated into cummerbunds; but beyond that there's not a huge amount separating a JPC 1.0 from 2010 and an LV-120 from last month. The biggest change has been breaking the carriers down into smaller components to be sold separately at a markup. The plates might improve, but unless we stray from the SAPI shape, the carriers don't need to change.
>>64743928>>64743945yea this, XR/AR is coming but its still in development for now
>>64744004Armor is getting better incrementally, but it's damn slow and top shelf from 2005 is still able to run with high end in 2026.I could see some of the Israeli full coverage cuts going international.
>>64744012>meta in the military industrial complexthank you marky mark very based i will sleep comfy in my American bed now
>>64744016>Israeli full coverage cutscan I get an example
>>64744034Yes captain. These measure 14.4x16" and provide extended torso protection.https://iweapons.com/product/iweapons-idf-hashmonai-front-armor-plate-level-iii-3kg/
>>64743928Mission drives gear.
>>64744039Unlikely to take off, not so dissimilar to british osprey plates and they ditched them because they were the only user and using the international standard made it much easier to procure gear.
>>64743928>lasercutIt's proliferated>boron carbideIt's proliferated>ATAKIt's proliferated>EBXIt's proliferated>120kpsi triple base microcaliber polymer hybrid case 556 EPR carbinesIt's too much bureaucratic investment>FPVsIt's proliferated>ESMIt's proliferatedtl;dr gear's just a tool nigger. the rich bought the pay2win. now the poor are buying it too and that leaves us all back at the start: circumstances, skills, tactics, support and luck. There is no shortcut to being a professional soldier. If you read the 1990s or 2010s operational research papers they're all basically accurate forecasts out to 30 years. It goes like this:>reconnaissance improves a lot>artillery improves a little>resupply doesn't improve at allThe consequences should be obvious, and they're exactly what we'd expect in Ukraine. The logistics soldiers who used to have a lazy, cozy charmed life are now dying at infantry rates as a result whole fronts have slowed to a grind.
>>64743941More like low-hanging fruit have been plucked, doing better needs serious R&D.Like we still can't mass-produce CNTs to make useful amounts of fabric from it.
>>64743928Take a look at these Delta operators in 1989 getting ready to do a hostage rescue in Panama>protec skateboard helmets>basic plate carriers with glorified chicom chest rigs>regular cotton BDU uniforms>likely basic jungle bootsApart from the plate carriers and personal radios they weren't much different from Vietnam guys. In 1989 South Africa actually had superior nylon gear.Bong SAS unironically went into Afghanistan in 2001 with no plate carriers, no NODs and gigantic night vision sites mounted on their M4s.
>>64743945Tactical cat ears?
>>64743945Is this on Etsy yet?
>>64745291>Nylon!>If you want to burn!
>completely ignoring the IVAS system because it ruins your point.
>>64745515Hot. Imaging looking at yourself wearing them in your picatiny mounted cosmetic mirror.https://armoredoptics.com/products/hindsightHot.
>>64745539Just make some out of paper, velcro, and duct tape who's paying $20 for some ears?
>shock and awe
>>64743928because Drones, AI, and Robots are coming.The logical next step to infantry/smalkl arms warfare was exosuits & power armor but that's too expensive now that there's a cheaper solutionand not to mention much less dangerous to those in chargewe're heading towards a globohomo technocracycyberpunk but gay basically
>>64743946Weird to look back and realize that selfie sticks and whatever those weird hoverboard things people rolled around on for like 8 months 11 years ago was the pinnacle of consumer technology and it never got any better.
>>64746091
>>64745813>cyberpunk but gay basicallyI hate how accurate this is.
>>64745813More like Half Life 2 but gay
>>64746091>r those weird hoverboard things people rolled around on for like 8 months 11 years ago was the pinnacle of consumer technology and it never got any better.Hoverboards developed quite much actually.
