Are Mecha a feasible alternative to tanks.
Are they a feasible or not
Voting for this poll has ended.
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Well AA batteries aren't very good for powering mechs they don't put out enough juice that is why when building modern electric cars they use laptop batteries. However it still takes a crap ton of those to get that car to run long enough to not have to recharge it everywhere you go.
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ShadowRonald wrote...
Hmmm batteries.Wonder how many AA batteries needed to move a mecha.Usually needed two(2) AA batteries for my mecha to like walk and turn and light and stuff.Power supply then get the bills rolling.a few thousand, at least. Mind you, that'll only supply a few minutes worth of power.
What if we use solar power.Not meant for space thou.Oh and Lunar for night.
Actually, it would work much better in space. Since there's no atmosphere, solar light and radiation is MUCH stronger, meaning the panels can take in a lot more energy.
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Jericho Antares
FAKKU Writer
In space a fighter/corvette class ship would work better than a mech anyway. The fact that a fighter has no limbs ensures that its planned trajectory is the one traveled. With a mech the movements required for gyroscope and other systems to effectively aim the mech's gun would send it off course. A fighter can move faster, deliver more firepower easily, and outmaneuver a mech in space. However, eve fighter class ships may be obsolete in space combat. Frigate-Capital class ships will likely be fitted with point defense systems that will negate the need for fighter escorts. Space battles will also be waged at such long ranges that fighters/mechs would never be able to close the distance easily enough to deliver any kind of good damage.
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Fighters will probably be useful in space, as good as point defense weaponry is it only takes a little bit of effort up-armoring your fighters to make them tougher than most point defenses weaponry can handle without combined fire, which negates point-defense anyhow. The fighter spacecraft will be used much as modern fighter craft are used, in dealing with other fighters so that the bombers can get through and for hitting various targets in support of ground troops.
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Well, tanks are super tough, so you'd have to place all that protection or more for a real-life mecha to be useful. Secondly, all that weight would mean even a stronger skeleton would be needed to support the mecha(of course, if it was in space, it wouldn't matter.)
Also, if the mechs are going to fly on earth or space, they'll need an assload of energy, so that means you'd need to consume lots and lot of batteries.
Also, judging by the huge size of a mech(unless you're going Gantz and have a supersuit or something), it would be hard to outmanuever smaller fighter things like planes.
For now, the tanks and jets are more useful in Earth to Earth combat. But if the time comes for space combat, mechas could possibly come in use, if we find something that can provide infinite energy. :)
Also, if the mechs are going to fly on earth or space, they'll need an assload of energy, so that means you'd need to consume lots and lot of batteries.
Also, judging by the huge size of a mech(unless you're going Gantz and have a supersuit or something), it would be hard to outmanuever smaller fighter things like planes.
For now, the tanks and jets are more useful in Earth to Earth combat. But if the time comes for space combat, mechas could possibly come in use, if we find something that can provide infinite energy. :)
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No, because they would cost too much and unlike animes WE are on short supply of resources to mass produce an army. Also the robots will get owned really easily unless people ahve been secretly making nuclear powered robots with energy shield and super beam weapons and then surprise the world all of a sudden one day like the first dropping of the atom bomb.
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g-money wrote...
Put this way, given slightly more advanced technology. One of the reasons why gundams were used in the series was due to the mobility advantage they had. They towered over the battlefield, being able to spot enemies from long distance, and have 360 x,y-axis movement and Z-axis sight as well. Technology also allows gundams to be fast on the field to dodge shells and missiles and gundams house complex sensors in its circuitry. I'm refering to Gundam 08th MS Team where the series was completely land-based combat. Gundams can also fly on hover/jet-propulsion systems.
Now, Full Metal Panic features why ASs (Armored slave) are the edge in warfare. Tanks are too slow to move and operate while you have greenbacks jumping from one place to another, shooting bullets that can penetrate any type of armored vechicle. (I'm not going to refer to the ECS and lambda drive because that's way out of our league.)
Varitech fighters are also viable due to their mobility. Having air superiority is sometimes very key in battles, due to the fact that ground forces usually don't have the right firepower or equipment to shoot down jets. The F-14 Tomcat is a great invention, able to fold back wings to achieve mach 3+ speed while unfolding for superior air dogfighting maneuverability. Cross that with the ability to take the fight to the ground, and they are the ultimate armor/backup support. Think of Kiss Dum Engage Planet (the shitty anime it was for bad plot but great animation) and the way the jet can split into a ground-based fighter is a great and useful concept. Also reminds me of the viking unit from Starcraft II. (Once I get that game, and I play Terran, those Vikings are going to make a difference in combat for sure - they're goliaths, but better.)
Now, all this technology is supposedly too advanced for us now. I remember someone mentioning the cumbersome weight and clumsiness of a bipedal robot. I agree with that, and something like a quadruple-legged robot would be more practical, since it has the ability to traverse any type of terrain at the cost of speed but increased mobility. I keep thinking of dragoons and immortals from Starcraft I & II, and having something like that on the battlefield would be awesome in my opinion.
Very well, put. The biggest advantage a mech has over a tank or any land vehical used today is its mobility and agility. (comparatively) It's like compairing a jet to a helicopter, we use helicopters because they are a lot more manueverable with quick take-off and landing capabilities. The only drawback on a heli is it's speed thereby making jets useful. The thing about mechs is it has the potential to be as fast as a tank, have as much armor and even more fire power without losing the mobility. With that side to side mobility and full 360 degree attack range and possibly attacking 2 targets simaltaneously, it could have huge tactical advantages. But we're talking major technological advances here.
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Currently, no. Give us till the end of the century, and.......maybe. Currently we lack the technology to build an effective mech, so, right now, tanks are the best way to go. Besides, who sais it had to be tanks or mechs. Why not have a mech with tanks for support?
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A mecha could easily overpower tank....... If only u make them rights. A standard humanoid mecha would beat tank by manuverbility hand down if using travel by booster and wheel rather than the awark walking. Of course I can't think of any one would actaully try to make mecha walk in battle, that down right dumb. Humanoid Mecha can utilize their enviroment better than tank, opposable thumb and all :P, so it would be base on the mecha design the determine the out come of MECH VS TANK
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PersonDude wrote...
Very well, put. The biggest advantage a mech has over a tank or any land vehical used today is its mobility and agility. (comparatively) It's like compairing a jet to a helicopter, we use helicopters because they are a lot more manueverable with quick take-off and landing capabilities. The only drawback on a heli is it's speed thereby making jets useful. The thing about mechs is it has the potential to be as fast as a tank, have as much armor and even more fire power without losing the mobility. With that side to side mobility and full 360 degree attack range and possibly attacking 2 targets simaltaneously, it could have huge tactical advantages. But we're talking major technological advances here.You can mount almost as many weapons on a tank as you can a standard build mecha, unless you decide to make your mech like Heavy Arms, at which point you suffer what Heavy Arms suffered, and that is running out of ammo really fast.
@ZLD: the problem with that is a standard tank has incredible maneuverability, it is asking way too much out of physics to make a vehicle, which has the high a center of gravity that mechs will have, while still maintaining the same level of durability, if the mech is going to maintain the same standards it will fall apart or come up short somewhere, not as fast so it doesn't fall apart or not as heavily armored or armed to save weight so it can go faster, or they took out sensors to keep the thing from falling on its' face when it has to stop all of a sudden, hypothetically of course. Admittedly when you get to the math behind a mech it is possible but due to the complexity of a humanoid design it will come up short of a tank in combat.
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Kais86 wrote...
PersonDude wrote...
Very well, put. The biggest advantage a mech has over a tank or any land vehical used today is its mobility and agility. (comparatively) It's like compairing a jet to a helicopter, we use helicopters because they are a lot more manueverable with quick take-off and landing capabilities. The only drawback on a heli is it's speed thereby making jets useful. The thing about mechs is it has the potential to be as fast as a tank, have as much armor and even more fire power without losing the mobility. With that side to side mobility and full 360 degree attack range and possibly attacking 2 targets simaltaneously, it could have huge tactical advantages. But we're talking major technological advances here.You can mount almost as many weapons on a tank as you can a standard build mecha, unless you decide to make your mech like Heavy Arms, at which point you suffer what Heavy Arms suffered, and that is running out of ammo really fast.
@ZLD: the problem with that is a standard tank has incredible maneuverability, it is asking way too much out of physics to make a vehicle, which has the high a center of gravity that mechs will have, while still maintaining the same level of durability, if the mech is going to maintain the same standards it will fall apart or come up short somewhere, not as fast so it doesn't fall apart or not as heavily armored or armed to save weight so it can go faster, or they took out sensors to keep the thing from falling on its' face when it has to stop all of a sudden, hypothetically of course. Admittedly when you get to the math behind a mech it is possible but due to the complexity of a humanoid design it will come up short of a tank in combat.
Well I guess the best way to make mecha technology come a little close to reality is to actually take the term "Mobile Suit" in a literal sense. Shrink it down and strap it on a human. Althought one of the problem might rise up is the suit boots the human physical ability beyond that the brain could handle and so the suit could end up hurting the wearer. In term of weapon, if we can find new material and energy we can make weapon small yet easily blowing up a tank with one shot.
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That is what we call "Powered armor", yes powered armor is valid in every sense, there is no reason not to use it other than it is expensive and is kinda hard to mass produce right now, it makes our infantry better in almost every way. Powered armor of that quality only takes training to get used to, it's no big deal really. You could have really powerful "small arms" but those weapons would simply find their way into powered armor infantry hands and both the mech and the tank would become obsolete if they can be fired more than once or twice.
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ZLD wrote...
Kais86 wrote...
PersonDude wrote...
Very well, put. The biggest advantage a mech has over a tank or any land vehical used today is its mobility and agility. (comparatively) It's like compairing a jet to a helicopter, we use helicopters because they are a lot more manueverable with quick take-off and landing capabilities. The only drawback on a heli is it's speed thereby making jets useful. The thing about mechs is it has the potential to be as fast as a tank, have as much armor and even more fire power without losing the mobility. With that side to side mobility and full 360 degree attack range and possibly attacking 2 targets simaltaneously, it could have huge tactical advantages. But we're talking major technological advances here.You can mount almost as many weapons on a tank as you can a standard build mecha, unless you decide to make your mech like Heavy Arms, at which point you suffer what Heavy Arms suffered, and that is running out of ammo really fast.
@ZLD: the problem with that is a standard tank has incredible maneuverability, it is asking way too much out of physics to make a vehicle, which has the high a center of gravity that mechs will have, while still maintaining the same level of durability, if the mech is going to maintain the same standards it will fall apart or come up short somewhere, not as fast so it doesn't fall apart or not as heavily armored or armed to save weight so it can go faster, or they took out sensors to keep the thing from falling on its' face when it has to stop all of a sudden, hypothetically of course. Admittedly when you get to the math behind a mech it is possible but due to the complexity of a humanoid design it will come up short of a tank in combat.
Well I guess the best way to make mecha technology come a little close to reality is to actually take the term "Mobile Suit" in a literal sense. Shrink it down and strap it on a human. Althought one of the problem might rise up is the suit boots the human physical ability beyond that the brain could handle and so the suit could end up hurting the wearer. In term of weapon, if we can find new material and energy we can make weapon small yet easily blowing up a tank with one shot.
anybody thinking iron man?
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GSDAkatsuki wrote...
ZLD wrote...
Kais86 wrote...
PersonDude wrote...
Very well, put. The biggest advantage a mech has over a tank or any land vehical used today is its mobility and agility. (comparatively) It's like compairing a jet to a helicopter, we use helicopters because they are a lot more manueverable with quick take-off and landing capabilities. The only drawback on a heli is it's speed thereby making jets useful. The thing about mechs is it has the potential to be as fast as a tank, have as much armor and even more fire power without losing the mobility. With that side to side mobility and full 360 degree attack range and possibly attacking 2 targets simaltaneously, it could have huge tactical advantages. But we're talking major technological advances here.You can mount almost as many weapons on a tank as you can a standard build mecha, unless you decide to make your mech like Heavy Arms, at which point you suffer what Heavy Arms suffered, and that is running out of ammo really fast.
@ZLD: the problem with that is a standard tank has incredible maneuverability, it is asking way too much out of physics to make a vehicle, which has the high a center of gravity that mechs will have, while still maintaining the same level of durability, if the mech is going to maintain the same standards it will fall apart or come up short somewhere, not as fast so it doesn't fall apart or not as heavily armored or armed to save weight so it can go faster, or they took out sensors to keep the thing from falling on its' face when it has to stop all of a sudden, hypothetically of course. Admittedly when you get to the math behind a mech it is possible but due to the complexity of a humanoid design it will come up short of a tank in combat.
Well I guess the best way to make mecha technology come a little close to reality is to actually take the term "Mobile Suit" in a literal sense. Shrink it down and strap it on a human. Althought one of the problem might rise up is the suit boots the human physical ability beyond that the brain could handle and so the suit could end up hurting the wearer. In term of weapon, if we can find new material and energy we can make weapon small yet easily blowing up a tank with one shot.
anybody thinking iron man?
Yes. Indeed I am. But that kind of technology would cost so much for just one suit. Also, in comes the need for energy still, seeing as you'll be (I'm assuming) flying, and shooting laser beams like Iron Man, you'd need to find a huge amount of energy.
OORRRRR an arc generator. Infinite energy. Those are easy to find.
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Kais86 wrote...
PersonDude wrote...
Very well, put. The biggest advantage a mech has over a tank or any land vehical used today is its mobility and agility. (comparatively) It's like compairing a jet to a helicopter, we use helicopters because they are a lot more manueverable with quick take-off and landing capabilities. The only drawback on a heli is it's speed thereby making jets useful. The thing about mechs is it has the potential to be as fast as a tank, have as much armor and even more fire power without losing the mobility. With that side to side mobility and full 360 degree attack range and possibly attacking 2 targets simaltaneously, it could have huge tactical advantages. But we're talking major technological advances here.You can mount almost as many weapons on a tank as you can a standard build mecha, unless you decide to make your mech like Heavy Arms, at which point you suffer what Heavy Arms suffered, and that is running out of ammo really fast.
:!:
The turrets on a tank would be hard to swap out compared to a mechs arm or hands if we are talking about much farther advances in technology. As for running out of ammo, tanks have an ammo limit too, either having just one weapon or many everything has a limit to it.
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PersonDude wrote...
:!:
The turrets on a tank would be hard to swap out compared to a mechs arm or hands if we are talking about much farther advances in technology. As for running out of ammo, tanks have an ammo limit too, either having just one weapon or many everything has a limit to it.
True, but why are you going to waste money on switching out the weapons on a tank when its easier to develop new shells for the cannon, like canister rounds for settling the hash of unruly infantry, or better armor piercing rounds to get rid of other tanks, or guided missiles for planes, or explosive rounds for buildings. Even compared to modern vehicles Heavy Arms ran out of ammo quick, and while there is a limit that limit is about 2 minutes of constant firing, which you can't actually field enough things in any given area to make modern tanks fire that much anyhow, the main gun(another problem which occurs here is that the loader becomes exhausted at a certain point and your rate slows down some), then you still have to empty the 3 machine guns 2 rifles and 4 pistols assuming there aren't any more weapons that the crew has squirreled away. That is a ton of firepower, almost quite literally(counting ammo only). Meanwhile most mechs come with a large caliber machine gun (usually 80MM+) a few missiles, and the pilot may have a personal weapon.
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Ammo and weapons are a tough issue, I mean in both tanks and mechs there is this issue that I red in a magazine years ago and I never forgot. Ammo explodes, it was made for that. While I am a mecha lover, I know that they aren't practical.
Taking Heavy Arms for example, that thing is a walking bomb, a well placed shot in any of it's ammo supplies and the whole thing goes boom. I mean it has several rockets, countless rounds of machine gun ammo, it all stored inside it's body.
Looking at that perspective tanks are in a slightly better place than mecha. Though it is a known fact that with the right kind of ammo and a lot of luck a shot in a tank will hit the ammo and the whole tank goes boom too.
So here is another nail for the coffin, maybe a bolt in the cryo chamber, mechas are more inclined to be hit in the ammo depots than tanks, even if mechas can carry more ammo than tanks, that only make them more explosive. Until someone comes with a way to protect the ammo better I don't think that mecha will be developed either, even with a avaliable power supply, and on this issue, this is something that also affect powered armors, with more ammunition capacity than a normal soldier the powered soldier is more explosive than a regular soldier.
Taking Heavy Arms for example, that thing is a walking bomb, a well placed shot in any of it's ammo supplies and the whole thing goes boom. I mean it has several rockets, countless rounds of machine gun ammo, it all stored inside it's body.
Looking at that perspective tanks are in a slightly better place than mecha. Though it is a known fact that with the right kind of ammo and a lot of luck a shot in a tank will hit the ammo and the whole tank goes boom too.
So here is another nail for the coffin, maybe a bolt in the cryo chamber, mechas are more inclined to be hit in the ammo depots than tanks, even if mechas can carry more ammo than tanks, that only make them more explosive. Until someone comes with a way to protect the ammo better I don't think that mecha will be developed either, even with a avaliable power supply, and on this issue, this is something that also affect powered armors, with more ammunition capacity than a normal soldier the powered soldier is more explosive than a regular soldier.
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Modern tanks have ammo compartments which are designed to force any explosion from the inside to go up instead of into the crew or engine compartments, or at least the M1 Abrams does.
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Kais86 wrote...
Modern tanks have ammo compartments which are designed to force any explosion from the inside to go up instead of into the crew or engine compartments, or at least the M1 Abrams does.Yeah it's not jstu teh Abrams, some of the otehr super power's ranks are built liek that too.