Re: Tank vision systems

In a message dated 2/3/00 3:52:44 PM Central Standard Time, 
books@mail.state.fl.us writes:

<< 
 horse drawn cannnons are more efficient killing machines therefore we
 will never do away with the horse.
  >>

Than a tank? and that hardly addresses the subject of the psychology of 
killing on the battlefield - I suggest you do some research, as I have.,

<We are going to have to agree to disagree on this one.  Human sensors
are trivially foxable by any number of things, hell, what is the 
biblical story about the soldiers with the polished shields?  You
aren't going to do this to multi-wavelength solid state sensors.> Within

months of the unveiling of any EW device there will be a perfectly
useable 
CEW device to fox it.

<Sure, you might take out 15% of them with an artillery barrage.
So what?  I have 5K of the things in the side of the tank, which
gives me eyes which are the size of the tank.  I can zoom in on
that ant if necessary, and the pattern recognition in the computer
will even highlight that tripwire that no human could pick out or
the difference in dirt color and heat radiation pattern that signals
a mine.  That guy with the RPG in the ghillie suit will be highlighted 
in bright orange.  Want to know if you can make it between those
buildings?  The optical systems will tell you how far apart they
are.  Want to know if you can drive through the wall?  A single
"ping" from your radar will give you complete info.
>
How does any of this replace the eyeball and sticking your head out of
the 
hatch - Hell, your tank commander and the loader who may have time to
stick 
his head out of the hatch will be wearing a helmet that let's him switch

between normal vision and a VR readout of everything you have just
mentioned 
- and the normal vision will be available when the sensors are foxed.

<The human will make the decision, but he is going to be much more
"intelligent" in the military sense of the word.  Much more information
presented in a manner which is quick and easy to understand (we're
learning from too much info in combat planes.)	It's going to make
the guy who gets out of his tank to look at the ground a complete
idiot.	You don't risk the tank driver for this, the soldiers on
the ground look, that's their job.  Because that is their job
they do a far better job of it than the tank driver.>
And the day that an experienced tank commander lets someone else check
the 
ground	he is going to bleed and die for is the day the UNIVERSE ends.