posted on Oct, 31 2017 @ 11:14 PM
I was never exposed to direct knowledge of classified technology.
But I do know this: Compact, extremely-high-powered laser and particle beam weapons are coming.
It's what the Pentagon wants. They want man portable powerful directed energy weapons. They want ship board rail guns and directed energy defensive
capabilities. They want airborne directed energy countermeasures as well as offensive weapons. They want space based extreme high energy particle
beams for large targets. They want laser systems for missile and anti-air purposes.
They want "10 times better than what is available today". That only says one thing: The pentagon doesn't believe(and rightly so) that much innovation
can really be achieved with conventional weapons. A 5.56mm platform is ALWAYS going to be just a 5.56mm platform. It doesn't matter what toys you
attach to it, they will be keeping the M4 rifle for a long time to come. It's already modular systems are developed and being developed to augment
existing capability. The only real step forward is directed energy, and those systems are decades away from the practical applications listed above.
The Pentagon knows this, lamenting the lack of innovation in the arms industry recently, they are moving away from issuing too many contracts unless
that particular system fits a needed purpose. Those contracts don't tend to be very large and are for specialized by-the-mission use for end products
contracted to SF teams and that kind of stuff. If there are currently directed energy weapons that can meet anywhere close to the requirements for
those kinds of weapons, these guys would probably be testing them somewhere. I seriously doubt it. We do have actively deployed systems on ships,
jets, and currently one experimental pod on an Apache that will likely turn into something down the line for the platform.
I expect to see an EXPLOSION in DEW research in the next 5 years as potential contractors scramble to produce systems that are effective, reusable,
and can handle the strain of being exposed to soldiers in combat conditions.