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The biggest challenges for true combat power armor will be combining armor, power, and mobility. Would really suck to have a suit that is so large and slow it becomes free kills for guys with things like Javelin missile launchers.

Besides...power armor is only a short stop on the way to the really cool stuff...mechs.

Ma55ter_fett wrote:The Aliens movie taught us that even freight handling mechs can be utilized to dispatch a rogue queen.

Funny that is exactly what I was thinking

My buddy is a buyer for the forces, and he was at a trade show last year. Saw a user wearing a powered exoskeleton, carrying 600 lbs and jogging on the spot.

It's my belief that a few hundred pounds of kevlar, dual-wielded jackhammers and a diesel engine (not unlike Big Dog) is only a logical step away.

I give it ten years until powered armour is a feasable reality.
The main point, as has already been made, is whether or not we'd actually ever find a feasable use for them, which is... unlikely.
Death Watch Killteams in areas of heavy insurgency would work pretty well though IMO.

But, as my buddy said - suits of awesome would cost literally millions apiece. You can buy an RPG7 for about $200 in Afghan. Do the math

I love Big Dog! Youve got to love a robotic donkey, Its hilarious; anyone seen the spoof version?

It seems like the main thing is that finding a 'niche' for power armor (or, to be the shill I often am, the smaller mecha of settings like Heavy Gear.

I kind of wonder if a more realistic possible doctrine for use of power armor would be 'heavy' infantry squads. Fire teams based around light 'assistance' style armor to keep up with 1 or more heavy weapon power armor types.They wouldn't replace normal infantry as they're still probably going to be very vulnerable in urban environments, which really limits usage for modern conflicts.

They can move around just fine in them, just like Tek said. I could see specialized strike teams being outfitted with it and easily doing the work of half a squad of infantrymen by themselves. With such a force multiplier "increasing" the users strength, a shoulder fired .50 machine gun may be a dream come true some day... A man can dream right?