Future of the Military

[Colonel]

Note this isn't a USA chanting thread as some may think coming from me. And I'm not trying to troll anyone.

Anyway, as the US currently is the only country that can expend vast sums on military technology, how do you see the future advanceing with other country's militarys who don't have the resources to counteract American technology. I'm mainly aiming this at the Chinese as they are the closest thing to a Global power. How do you see them counteracting say something like American Stealth or advanced infantry armour that is currently in devolpment. Or our newest Stealth boats and new attack submarines.

 

[hossam]

the us military should develop power armor with jump jets i would join the military then.

 

[Perfection]

Conventional warfare is old hat.

 

[MadScotsMan]

They counter by having several billion people

 

[Mulholland]

Note this isn't a USA chanting thread as some may think coming from me. And I'm not trying to troll anyone.

Anyway, as the US currently is the only country that can expend vast sums on military technology,

The US is actually borrowing vast sums of money to pay for military technology. Money happily lent out by China. In all reality, any country can go into debt to finance an Army. It's just a question of whether it's smart to do it.

 

[Ecofarm]

Not every country has a credit rating like the US. Further, most countries could borrow 10 times their GNP, every year for 50 years, and not have a military anywhere near the US. Your subtle attempt to make the US appear "not smart" has failed.

 

[cubsfan6506]

Doesn't make it any less dumb. At current rates we'll never pay it all back.

 

[Perfection]

We don't need to pay off the national debt, we just have to keep it manageable.

 

[QuoVadisNation]

Although advanced technology is always a leg up in warfare, advanced planes, infantry, and incredible ships would do little to prevent more common unconventional methods of warfare; i.e: nuclear terrorism from within enemy borders. With all such terrible capabilities, like anthrax, small pox, and both real and electronic sabotage, any rich enemy like China, France, or the UK, could counteract and undermine future American technology superiority in a heart beat.

So as stated before, Conventional armed forces are overrated. They're still useful, of course, but they're not everything that should factor in.

 

[Colonel]

France and UK are enemies now ? As for the borrowing vast sums of money, have you seen the US GNP, if the US increased taxes by 10% if that we could pay it off rather quickly, not to mention a large sum of that is owed to a potential enemy so it wouldn't be a disadvantage. Now the question was what could they do to counteract technology short of all out war. As an example

As a result of massive technological devolpments by the US Air Force, the Soviet Union devolped quite possibly the best integrated Air Defense system ever devised between 1960-1990. One was created by the other.

 

[Mulholland]

We don't need to pay off the national debt, we just have to keep it manageable.

Good luck with that.

Free National Debt Clock

 

[QuoVadisNation]

France and UK are enemies now ?.

It was just an example

Our true enemy, of course, being Ireland.

 

[Mulholland]

As for the borrowing vast sums of money, have you seen the US GNP, if the US increased taxes by 10% if that we could pay it off rather quickly, not to mention a large sum of that is owed to a potential enemy so it wouldn't be a disadvantage.

You know as well as I do that raising taxes in the US by 10% is political suicide. Not to mention that it would hurt the economy. Sorry about going so far off your topic by the way.

 

[Perfection]

Good luck with that.

Free National Debt Clock

Oh we'll be fine. Yes, the debt is bigger then it should be but with some tweaking and growth we could get it down to a better size.

 

[QuoVadisNation]

Oh we'll be fine.

Famous last words?

 

[Mulholland]

Oh we'll be fine. Yes, the debt is bigger then it should be but with some tweaking and growth we could get it down to a better size.

I hope you're right. The world would go right to . .. .. .. . if the US imploded. I say this despite my worry of its current direction.

 

[Perfection]

Well, certainly bad financial policy could ruin the situation and I do have some concerns about this (though few catastrophic concerns) but my main point is this: The contention that US mlitary spending at current or above current rates is untenable in the long term is unsupportable. Yes Bush has a hawk militaristc policy and increased the debt but those two don't have to go hand in hand.

 

[Winner]

Note this isn't a USA chanting thread as some may think coming from me. And I'm not trying to troll anyone.

Anyway, as the US currently is the only country that can expend vast sums on military technology, how do you see the future advanceing with other country's militarys who don't have the resources to counteract American technology. I'm mainly aiming this at the Chinese as they are the closest thing to a Global power. How do you see them counteracting say something like American Stealth or advanced infantry armour that is currently in devolpment. Or our newest Stealth boats and new attack submarines.

China will try to avoid direct confrontation and it will not aspire to a global superpower status as some Americans think. They're well aware of their present inadequacies.

IIRC, few months ago, RAND published a paper dealing with Chinese power. They came to conclusion, that China could win a conventional war against the US even with inferior force.

Of course, there are many "yes, but..." objections, nevertheless I tend to agree. The point is to concentrate your force, which is otherwise inferior to the US, to a certain region, where it will be sufficient to overwhelm the US forces and deny them further access to the battlefield.

China will focus on the airforce and navy, that's clear - it lags behind greatly in both. Chinese army will get smaller, but better trained and equipped. Chinese will soon find out that they need to protect their interests abroad, and large conscript army equipped with 40 years old weaponry won't help them much in that.

EDIT: I forgot about space forces: anti-satellite weapons, spy and G.P.S. satellites, perhaps even EMP bombs.

 

[Winner]

Conventional warfare is old hat.

No. All that fuss about info-wars etc. is a bit premature.

 

[Perfection]

What the hell is info wars?

I'm talking more about unconventional warfare, I don't see conventional warfare occuring in the developed world any more.