Toxn

Oh ye of little faith. We have not even begun plumb the depths of silliness.
 

The one thing I do not understand is why no one is designing a good, portable, heavy grenade launcher.
 
The problem with every rifle is paradigmatic.  Modern western military forces needs a weapon to create an exclusion zone to 500 meters around an infantry unit.  At 500 meters delivered ordnance takes over and as it gets smarter it has dominated the battlefield.  Under 500 meters danger close fire missions are life and death only for good reason, the failure rate of even the smartest munitions is simply too high.  
 
So what we need is an explosive device with simple smarts launched from the shoulder to a range of 250 - 500 meters.  The French make this work by having a recoiless gun and a huge number of rifle grenades in each unit, but tests of the 20mm grenade from the OICW and even the 40mm grenade show that the blast radius for each weapon is too low - the M203 has a larger miss circle at 200 meters than the blast radius x2 of the weapon.
 
However we know from lots of AARs that weapons like the old British 50mm mortar carried a big percentage of an infantry unit's firepower.
 
So how about finding a way to take the AC58 and boost its effectiveness then hand three to everyone in a squad but the GP and DM gunners.  All of the effort to reach a perfect rifle seems like all the efforts people made to reach the perfect bayonet in WW1.  Dump the 20mm OICW - they cost too much and are too heavy and not effective enough, and throw the 40mm grenades down after them.  Having a rifle squad with 30 weapons that have 4-7 times the explosive power of a 40mm would represent the initial fire power of the unit, allowing the close in battle to be accomplished during the time that on call artillery is getting its act together. The soldiers would still have their rifles after that.  

30. Love his later stuff (especially year zero) more than his earlier stuff.

Perhaps you are making a more nuanced argument here, and I'm just reacting to the aforementioned 1000 times in which I get to hear the bar-room version recited above.
 
  Yup, looks like it's me.
So now I'll try and make a more nuanced argument.
 
 
The reference to 'lack of political will', when combined with the denial of 'military failure', evokes a mindset in which 'conflicts' have separate and distinct military and political components. They do not.
 
'Conflicts' are fully and wholly political, in that they further (or fail to further) political aims. When casting an eye over the second Iraq war, it is clear that lack of political will to prosecute the war is not a problem. Instead, lack of a coherent and sustained strategic goal, as well as a clear understanding of the approach needed to reach that goal, is to blame. This is a political failure in as much as military organisations are the tools of politicians. But it is clearly a military failure in as much as politicians (as the masters of military affairs) are the drivers of strategy.
 
To somehow divorce (inherently political) strategic concerns from their function as the arbiters of successful military interventions is to create a false dichotomy whose sole purpose is to deflect and diffuse blame. That so many people buy wholeheartedly into this narrative (often for social or political reasons) is proof that there is a fundamental misunderstanding concerning the nature and prosecution of war amongst the public at large.

Hmmm... given that velocity and around 2kj of muzzle energy, you end up with a projo weighing 11.93g (184 grains).
 
Which results in a 7mm lead bullet something like 4-5cm long in order to pack in the mass.
So, yeah. Not doable.
 
Edit: doing some more rough maths, a long-ass 7mm bullet will weigh something like 8-9g (I used an approximation: 3cm total length, 2cm tube + 1cm cone. lead mass = ~8.8g). Best case scenario, your SCHV 7mm round produces around 1450J at the muzzle.
 
Edit again: just realised that the cartridge I'm describing is essentially a warmed-over .303 (original recipe). For reference: ~14g (215 grains) bullet, ~4.5g (50 grains) powder, ~564m/s(1850 fps) velocity and a muzzle energy of around 2200J.

Norman Borlaug as god of fertility and agriculture.
My personal religion has him returning to the earth to drive out the hippy, cleanse the anti-GMO, return the sacred funds of research and double yeilds on all major food crops.

It even sucks in pilots trying to bail out. Truly the complete package...

So, holiday drawings didn't get very far...
 

 
Bottom right is an ancient horseshoe crab. Top left is a flesh spider (ie: an arthropod reimagined with an endoskeleton) which very much fitted in with the theme of the holiday house. As we were next to a salt pan, I got to do a few quick sketches of flamingos in flight. All the rest is KSP-related bullshit.

Having conclusively proven that the Olifant is the best (and most terrifying) MBT ever released into the wild in a tragic move for which we all suffer on an continuous basis, I thought that interested parties might like to know some more about recent military developments in South Africa.
 
First off: here is a picture of the SAS Thabo Mbeki (our recently acquired President-class carrier) seen entering Cape Town harbour:
 

 
The South African Navy, who obtained the vessel for what has been described as a 'suspiciously low' price from an anonymous third-party vendor, are reputedly very happy with the increase in long-range striking power that it provides to our armed forces, along with the freshly repainted finish.
 
Another new development has been the recent acquisition by the SANDF of a large amount of 'surplus' equipment. This has begun showing up at army exercises, where it has proved popular with the troops:

 
Note the light-weight rifle and snazzy sunglasses - two items especially appreciated by our hard-working lads.
 
Other recent equipment purchases - widely praised for their 'made-in-China affordability', have been focused towards filling specific niches which have become apparent over the last few years:

 
Finally, the SANDF is proud to introduce a new line of MBTs to our existing fleet - the Iphisi Main Battle Tank:

It is hoped that these placid, benign vehicles will help to stem the Oliphant scourge which we, in our arrogance and pride, unleashed upon the country.

Having conclusively proven that the Olifant is the best (and most terrifying) MBT ever released into the wild in a tragic move for which we all suffer on an continuous basis, I thought that interested parties might like to know some more about recent military developments in South Africa.
 
First off: here is a picture of the SAS Thabo Mbeki (our recently acquired President-class carrier) seen entering Cape Town harbour:
 

 
The South African Navy, who obtained the vessel for what has been described as a 'suspiciously low' price from an anonymous third-party vendor, are reputedly very happy with the increase in long-range striking power that it provides to our armed forces, along with the freshly repainted finish.
 
Another new development has been the recent acquisition by the SANDF of a large amount of 'surplus' equipment. This has begun showing up at army exercises, where it has proved popular with the troops:

 
Note the light-weight rifle and snazzy sunglasses - two items especially appreciated by our hard-working lads.
 
Other recent equipment purchases - widely praised for their 'made-in-China affordability', have been focused towards filling specific niches which have become apparent over the last few years:

 
Finally, the SANDF is proud to introduce a new line of MBTs to our existing fleet - the Iphisi Main Battle Tank:

It is hoped that these placid, benign vehicles will help to stem the Oliphant scourge which we, in our arrogance and pride, unleashed upon the country.

Having conclusively proven that the Olifant is the best (and most terrifying) MBT ever released into the wild in a tragic move for which we all suffer on an continuous basis, I thought that interested parties might like to know some more about recent military developments in South Africa.
 
First off: here is a picture of the SAS Thabo Mbeki (our recently acquired President-class carrier) seen entering Cape Town harbour:
 

 
The South African Navy, who obtained the vessel for what has been described as a 'suspiciously low' price from an anonymous third-party vendor, are reputedly very happy with the increase in long-range striking power that it provides to our armed forces, along with the freshly repainted finish.
 
Another new development has been the recent acquisition by the SANDF of a large amount of 'surplus' equipment. This has begun showing up at army exercises, where it has proved popular with the troops:

 
Note the light-weight rifle and snazzy sunglasses - two items especially appreciated by our hard-working lads.
 
Other recent equipment purchases - widely praised for their 'made-in-China affordability', have been focused towards filling specific niches which have become apparent over the last few years:

 
Finally, the SANDF is proud to introduce a new line of MBTs to our existing fleet - the Iphisi Main Battle Tank:

It is hoped that these placid, benign vehicles will help to stem the Oliphant scourge which we, in our arrogance and pride, unleashed upon the country.

Dear [iNSERT NAME OF COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE HERE],
 
Congratulations!
Your company has been selected to partake in a competition to design an aircraft for the Republic of Kerbalia. The competition will be in the form of a fly-off, with entrant designs being assessed relative to each other and the current front-line multirole fighter of the Republic (specifications included in data pack attached hereto).
 
Should you choose to partake in this process, initial development funds of up to 40 000 Kerbalians will be made available to you. Technological limitations being what they are, the use of speculative engine designs (SABRE et al.) will not be accepted as a means of achieving competition goals.
 
The aircraft submitted must be of the multirole fighter type, with the ability to perform a variety of missions while still being able to outfight current aircraft on a 1-to-1 basis. Significant leeway will, however, provided as to the details of the design. If required, a flyable example of the current front-line aircraft will be provided for internal comparison.
 
Submissions must include, at minimum:
- A name and internal design number (a prototype designation number will be assigned)
- A full list of specifications
- A background and detailed description 
- One or more images of the submission
 
We wish you the best of luck with your undertakings in this regards.
 
Yours Sincerely,
 
Lotho Kerman
 
Head Company Wrangler,
Department of Defence,
Republic of Kerbalia 

Getting out of character for a bit:
 
Anyone who wants to can enter. I will talk to management about advertising the contest in other forums, but for now that hasn't happened. The prize hasn't been decided yet, so suggestions are welcome. Mods for KSP include: Ferram Aerospace or similar (non-negotiable, as the baseline flight mechanics are waaay too easy to exploit), B9 aerospace (optional) and BD armory (optional, but recommended for that loaded-plane look). Other mod suggestions are welcome, but I'd advise against dicking around too much with fantasy engines as that's against the spirit of the contest. Similarly against the spirit of the competition: invisible or sneakily stacked surfaces, stacked or hidden engines, and other tricks which rely too much on min-maxing the game at the expense of a realistic design. I can send over the file for the K-21 upon request, so that people can test it against their aircraft directly. I can't get the multiplayer mod to work, but if people want to use that to test things directly then that would be sweet. Edit: A couple bunch of other things I forgot/need to be added for clarity:
The competition will run till May 15, with the winner announced after comparison of the entries (probably early to mid June). Planes can have any sort of crew setup (including unmanned), but would have to justify accordingly. Unmanned planes would also have to include something (comms, extra sensors, space for a super-computer) on the model itself to show how it will do its thing. The Republic of Kerbalia is basically Chimerica; with a large central landmass, lots of coastline and a few neighbouring countries that it has uneasy relationships with. Accordingly, the K-21 was made as a do-it-all fighter: great manoeuvre and climb capability for short-ranged interception, great range for long-distance strikes and great carrying capacity (at the expense of manoeuvre, climb and range) for bomb-truck duties. Unfortunately, it's slow, non-stealthy and has an outdated avionics suite. The honchos at RoK think they simply want an updated version, capable of meeting or exceeding the K-21's specifications while providing improved speed, stealth and avionics. The kicker, however, is that they've provided a fairly limited budget (less than double that of the basic K-21 model) and are committed to having a fly-off between the K-21 and the competitor aircraft. Entrants can thus opt to simply provide an improved aircraft, bust the budget and then justify, or do something clever at own risk. A big part of what will get accepted will come down to arguments provided, as well as performance versus K-21 and the competition.

Dear [iNSERT NAME OF COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE HERE],
 
Congratulations!
Your company has been selected to partake in a competition to design an aircraft for the Republic of Kerbalia. The competition will be in the form of a fly-off, with entrant designs being assessed relative to each other and the current front-line multirole fighter of the Republic (specifications included in data pack attached hereto).
 
Should you choose to partake in this process, initial development funds of up to 40 000 Kerbalians will be made available to you. Technological limitations being what they are, the use of speculative engine designs (SABRE et al.) will not be accepted as a means of achieving competition goals.
 
The aircraft submitted must be of the multirole fighter type, with the ability to perform a variety of missions while still being able to outfight current aircraft on a 1-to-1 basis. Significant leeway will, however, provided as to the details of the design. If required, a flyable example of the current front-line aircraft will be provided for internal comparison.
 
Submissions must include, at minimum:
- A name and internal design number (a prototype designation number will be assigned)
- A full list of specifications
- A background and detailed description 
- One or more images of the submission
 
We wish you the best of luck with your undertakings in this regards.
 
Yours Sincerely,
 
Lotho Kerman
 
Head Company Wrangler,
Department of Defence,
Republic of Kerbalia 

Don't forget sutface area to volume.
From what I remember from tetrapod zoology, it is entirely possible to have a hella slow metabolism and be in danger of overheating once you get large enough. At that point, feathers become useful as a way of insulating yourself from external heat sources which would make the problem worse.

For birthday gifts and suchlike, I used to draw simplified versions of various ancient critters and put them on cards. I was particularly fond of Ostracoderms.
 

Someone else's example ^
 
edit: forgot to include a point to this little aside. As there's a long weekend coming up, I'll have a go at a few ancient arthropod-based pictures.
 
If anything comes of it I will scan and poast.

Look at that poor soul, he can barely lift all that SUPERIOR TEUTONIC ENGINEERING.

Tamisiocaris borealis:
 

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CZR6aBuPVk

Enalikter aphson
 
Leanchoilia superlata:
 

Yawunik:
 

 

Looks like a bootleg copy of the 6th day made it to Russia.

Part of it was entertainment value, no doubt.
But part of it was the simple acknowledgement that, even when intentionally speaking drivel, you still made a better argument than ISS and company. You beat them on form when they couldn't even dream of offering content.
Good show, in other words.

The K class: packed with more doomed British seamen than a cabin boy.

Oh hell yes.
 
I support mandatory body cams for cops 3000%.
 
Protects the cops, protects the people.  Any missing footage during a shift = automatic suspension until the cause is found. If it could be done technologically, I'd say it automatically flags footage or broadcasts to the station when a weapon is drawn.
 
Edit:  47% drop in use of force and 41% drop in complaints in San Diego.  31% drop in use of pepper spray.
 
http://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2015/03/26/body-cameras-shown-to-limit-use-of-force-by-san-diego-police/

Part of it was entertainment value, no doubt.
But part of it was the simple acknowledgement that, even when intentionally speaking drivel, you still made a better argument than ISS and company. You beat them on form when they couldn't even dream of offering content.
Good show, in other words.