Navys newest destroyer USS Zumwalt

[streck]

http://www.skynet.com/

[Eurodriver]

Have any of you been in a US Navy destroyer? Today’s destroyers are basically the same as the ones from the 1960s with computers in the bridge. They desperately need an upgraded destroyer fleet, and the Zumwalt is simply a newly designed hull with the US Government equivalent of OnStar and an ADT security system install on her. Not the end of the world, and a far cry from intelligent-learning computer driven humanoid robots.

P.S. Some of the above responses are why middle America thinks gun owners are psychopaths.

[Alex_V]

@Grizzly16

I’d be more worried about foreign powers gaining control of the robots.

I was about to say “How long before this thing becomes self aware?” lol

[Grizzly16]

@Fjallhrafn

I’ve heard that life is somewhat surreal for drone operators: They spend hours a day surrounded by a war on the far side of the planet… and then they go home to their families and “return” to the “real world”. Without a middle ground between that daily violence and desperation and the more pacific qualities of domestic existence.

I imagine that it would be even worse for (what I’ll call) battle droid operators. They spent hours on patrol, got involved in a firefight, shoved their arm through the face of a Talib, &c. And then went home to their wives and children, going from an ultra-violent/boring job to going back home and dealing with an environment where violence is incredibly rare.

Of course, the good/bad news is that command could give insane ROE (like only shoot at those who are shooting at you) and not have to worry about any of their soldiers/sailors/Marines/airmen dying because of it. And then there will be a shooting at the base where these battle droid operators are located and all (or a large number of) American infantry combat operations will cease for hours or days.

Thankfully we have an entire generation of youngsters training on CoD/Battlefield now. Kill, curse the enemy, respawn etc. Then go eat some taco bell.

[montanadave]

@Alex_V

I was about to say “How long before this thing becomes self aware?” lol

Who’s to say it already isn’t . . . and the plan is proceeding precisely as planned.

001000101010101010101010101010101*

• That’s “Bwahahahahahahahahaha!” for all you meat puppets.

[Big_A1]

@Fjallhrafn

Nerd alert:

In Star Wars, Mandalorian Supercommandos aren’t genetically modified or -augmented soldiers, they’re just extremely well-trained dudes (and dudettes) from a clannish warrior culture in armor with more functions than a Swiss Army Knife.

Semi-related, the Six Acts of a Mandalorian:

[ul][li]Wearing armor.
[/li][li]Speaking the language [Mandalorian].
[/li][li]Defending yourself and your family.
[/li][li]Raising your children as Mandalorians.
[/li][li]Contributing to the clan’s welfare.
[/li][li]When called upon by the Mand’alor, rallying to his cause.[/ul]
[/li]

I’m familiar with the Resol’nare.

I was pissed when Lucas declared the clone wars cartoon part of the official Star Wars canon and made the Mandalorians a bunch of pacifists with the exception of a few who were still clinging to their guns and religion and by doing so ruined a terrific series of books by Karen Traviss.

I haven’t read any Star Wars books since the Fate of the Jedi series which was thoroughly disappointing.

If there are any good new ones to read send me a PM as we have taken this thread way off course.

My reference to Mandalorians was just to say that once we figure out how to make designer human beings we will see the creation of super soldiers either through gene manipulation of already live candidates (ala Captain America) or with the cloning of someone (ala Star Wars EPII)

And I stand by my statement we will see androids fighting on battle fields in the future. I doubt they will fully replace humans. More likely supplement human forces. And I don’t believe they will be drones but rather semi autonomous.

To the topic at hand, the new U.S.S. Zumwalt, like Eurodriver said it’s just a more advanced and much needed ship as most of the Navy’s support vessels are practically antiques and need to be replaced. Unfortunately due to budget cuts the Navy is only going to get 3 of them instead of the original number they wanted.

[MountainRaven]

@Moose-Knuckle

Correct, and we all know that the Clone Troopers/ Imperial Stormtroopers are clones of the Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett.

With the addition of a biological “inhibition” chip implanted at a young age (key to the execution of Order 66). And reduced independence. &c.

(And by the time of the Galactic Civil War, the Clones are effectively out of the Stormtrooper Corps, replaced with conscripts.)

Yup, and there are more than one party working fast and furious on this tech, bending light, cameras, etc. There was a vid that surfaced several years ago that was supposed to be a guy running around Iraq in an invisibility cloak. Not sure how authentic it was but damn, if it is real then you can only imagine the shit we don’t know about. Nothing new really as the Philadelphia Experiment which was conducted in the fall of 1943 was an attempt to see if a ship could be cloaked or masked from enemy radar. The results were more than controversial . . .

I was misquoting Cmdr Spock from the episode ‘Balance of Terror’, regarding the existence of a cloaking device.

[Moose-Knuckle]

@Fjallhrafn

I was misquoting Cmdr Spock from the episode ‘Balance of Terror’, regarding the existence of a cloaking device.

Oh I figured it was something tongue and cheek, I was just commenting on the fact that this tech has been and is being worked on.

[Moose-Knuckle]

Double tap.

[Endur]

@streck

http://www.skynet.com/

(voice from Family Guy) - Ohhhh noooo!

I think this destroyer is pretty cool.

[montanadave]

Along the “this is cool” theme, check out the video of the Navy’s new electromagnetic railgun: http://complex.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/04/07/watch_the_navy_s_futuristic_star_wars_railgun_blow_things_up

More here: http://intellihub.com/us-navy-plans-test-star-wars-electromagnetic-energy-weapon/

[SteveS]

@alienb1212

Just had a rather disturbing thought. With the growing trend to unmanned, remotely-controlled military hardware…what’s to stop those in power from eventually ruling from their ivory towers, with remote-controlled robots to keep us scared…

Sounds like a movie plot. I’ll be right back.

That is pretty much what is being done now. Cept they use government paid people.

[MountainRaven]

@Moose-Knuckle

Oh I figured it was something tongue and cheek, I was just commenting on the fact that this tech has been and is being worked on.

I remember reading about it in Popular Science years and years ago. Cover had a ‘cloaked’ F-35 on it. But yeah, I know that it’s coming. Just a matter of when.

Total invisibility will be somewhat more difficult, though. (By total, I mean hiding from radar, electromagnetics, &c.)

@SteveS

That is pretty much what is being done now. Cept they use government paid people.

This whole thread is a nerd-gasm. You and/or alienb1212 should watch the new Captain America movie.

[GeorgiaBoy]

@alienb1212

Just had a rather disturbing thought. With the growing trend to unmanned, remotely-controlled military hardware…what’s to stop those in power from eventually ruling from their ivory towers, with remote-controlled robots to keep us scared…

Sounds like a movie plot. I’ll be right back.

That basically happened in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Except it was an enemy who got control of the UAV’s.

[MountainRaven]

@GeorgiaBoy

That basically happened in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Except it was an enemy who got control of the UAV’s.

“We can bring peace to seven billion people. Sacrificing twenty million is a small price to pay.”
(Misquoting HYDRA operative from Captain America: The Winter Soldier)