Re: Mobile mines

In a message dated 5/18/98 1:55:06 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
NVDoyle@AOL.COM
writes:

<SNIP>

>  I can't remember where I saw this other thing, but it made a real
impression
>  on me:
>  
>  Delivered by air, a medium sized (1m diameter?) squat cylinder sits
on the
>  ground.  After deployment, it raises a short mortar barrel up out of
the
top.
> 
>  It sits and waits, listening with seismic sensors for any mechanized 
> movement.
>  When it senses such within range, it adjusts the barrel and fires a 
> projectile
>  or 10.  These projectiles, upon reaching the apogee of their arc,
deploy
>  parachutes, and float gently down.  Using the IR sensor in their
nose, they
>  look for the heat bloom from vehicle engines.  When they detect one,
they
>  explode downward, firing their internal projectile with great force,
usually 
> a
>  SEFOP round (SElf FOrging Penetrator) into the thin top armor.  All
>  autonomously. 
>  
>  Neat, but (probably) not Dirtside.  However, i think that the
autonomous
>  robotic weapon systems do add something to the game.  I'll give up on

> crawling
>  mines, but you can't have my Ogre!
>  
>  Noah V. Doyle
>  Who thinks that 'rapid-firing cannon with micronuke warheads' are a
pretty
>  cool idea

What you just described is the Wide Area Mine (WAM) being developed for
the US
armed forces.  Each mine carries two projectiles allowing it to engage
follow-
up targets.  They are also being modified to make use of the arcing
flight you
describe to engage low-flying, slow aircraft like helicopters;	thus the
reason in Dirtside II that minefields can attack VTOLs.  Jon modeled his
minefields off the WAM program, so yes they definitely are Dirtside.

SGT Chris Ruhl
A Company, 9th PSYOP Bn (Abn)
Sine Pari
Airborne All The Way!