The famous phrase of the great scientist appeared at a time when progress in the field of weapons became a cause of concern for the fate of the entire planet. The means of destruction, as well as human zeal to use them, could lead to the most dire consequences. But over time, the doctrine of nuclear deterrence was formed, and people finally realized that a thin and shaky world is better than any war. Much credit for this belongs to nuclear weapons - two explosions over Japan eventually led to the fact that in the last sixty-odd years there has not been a single war between large and powerful countries. At the same time, no one stopped the development of weapons. By now, the military all over the world have views on such technologies that one is amazed. Among them there are interesting ideas regarding the improvement of existing weapons, and there are also cardinally new ones. Consider the possible prospects for the development and improvement of existing species.
First of all, let's talk about nuclear weapons. Nuclear and thermonuclear warheads are the most powerful means of destruction available to mankind. At the same time, in recent years, there have been no breakthroughs in terms of its power. There are constant reports of the creation of new delivery vehicles that ensure a more accurate hit of the warhead on the target. However, now the power of the overwhelming majority of nuclear warheads on duty ranges from 100 kilotons to 10 megatons. Large values, as it turned out, are redundant for most tasks, and not every delivery vehicle will "pull" a bomb of 20 Mt or more. It is unlikely that something will happen in the near future that will cause the nuclear powers to urgently increase the power of their weapons.
Nuclear weapons require delivery vehicles. These are rockets and airplanes. With regard to the former, one should expect an increase in the efficiency of engines and the fuel system, which will entail an increase in speed and range, or, alternatively, maximum load. Ballistic missiles of the future - from tactical to strategic - will be equipped with more advanced guidance systems. Due to this, the indicators of deviation from the target will decrease, which will allow equipping them with a warhead of less power. Among other things, it will be useful for "surgical" operations to engage small distant targets. A similar metamorphosis will occur with cruise missiles. The fact is that ballistic and cruise missiles, in general, have reached the level of development where major changes and upgrades can only be carried out with equipment, propulsion systems, etc.
It is the development of rocket engines and electronics that is the problem that directly affects the creation of anti-missile defense at any level. Currently, the United States and Russia have missiles designed to intercept ballistic targets outside the earth's atmosphere. Along with the development of delivery systems for nuclear and non-nuclear weapons, their interception systems must also be improved. Not so long ago, news came from the United States of the completion of work on a new modification of the subatmospheric SM-3 anti-missile missile. It is claimed that the maximum target hitting height has increased, as well as the guidance accuracy. It should be noted that American strategic missile defense missiles destroy the target by directly hitting it. Those. already at the current level of technology development, a fairly perfect guidance system can be made. In the future, guidance systems will improve in the direction of increasing the reliability of interception and increasing the likelihood of destroying a ballistic target with one missile.
Anti-aircraft missile systems will develop in a similar way. It is unlikely that new methods of target detection and missile guidance will appear in the near future. Infrared, radar (active, semi-active and passive), radio command, etc. guidance systems have proven themselves and are constantly being improved. Therefore, the air defense systems of the near future will have more advanced electronics responsible for collecting and processing information. In addition, using the example of domestic developments like the S-400 or the upcoming S-500, we can conclude that the functions are unified: the same complexes will be able to protect objects from any types of threats from the upper hemisphere - aerodynamic and ballistic.
Improving air defense systems is the primary threat to various aircraft. As in other areas of weapons and military technology, aviation will collect all the achievements of electronics. At the same time, the "iron" part of aviation will not lose a drop in its relevance. For several decades, aircraft manufacturers around the world have been working to reduce the visibility of their developments. Available so-called stealth technologies cannot be called 100% successful, but you cannot blame them for their complete futility. It is the decrease in radar signature that can become the cornerstone of the further development of the appearance of all types of aircraft. The creation of new power plants will be no less important. For example, among the requirements for a fifth generation fighter is the ability to fly at supersonic speed without using afterburner. Obviously, this requires new engines capable of delivering a sufficiently large thrust at an acceptable fuel consumption.
Aviation itself is not a weapon. Whatever one may say, but planes or helicopters are a platform for weapons. Barrel systems of aircraft weapons have already reached a high level and are unlikely to go further. A caliber of 30 millimeters and a rate of fire of at least one and a half rounds per minute is quite enough for the vast majority of tasks. But missile and bomb weapons will become one of the representatives of the arms vanguard. Already now there is a possibility of ensuring high accuracy for aircraft weapons. Over time, this opportunity will manifest itself more and more. It is worth noting that in the case of guided bombs, the American experience gained during the creation of the JDAM complex can gain particular popularity on a global scale. Several blocks of equipment of this set allow you to quickly and easily make a controlled free-fall bomb. In addition to reducing the cost of manufacturing ammunition and ease of use, this will also affect the ease of modernization. The block architecture of the current JDAM system theoretically makes it easy to change the composition of the guidance equipment. As for aircraft missiles - air-to-air and air-to-ground - in this area it is worth waiting for systematic development in the current direction: faster, more accurate and more powerful.
The improvement of aviation systems for the destruction of enemy armored vehicles entails the need to improve the tanks themselves, armored personnel carriers, etc. Currently, the most realistic way to modernize armored vehicles is the creation of modular vehicles with an uninhabited fighting compartment. This concept is able to satisfy two desires of the military at once: the possibility of maximum unification of various armored vehicles, as well as reducing the risk to the crew. If all crew members are accommodated in one relatively small volume, then they can be covered with a large amount of armor or protected by other methods. For example, in a number of projects of promising tanks of this layout, the front engine placement was implied - the power plant performed the functions of additional protection of the crew from attacks from the front. The armament of the tanks of the near future is likely to remain the same as it is now. Smooth-bore tank guns with caliber up to 125 millimeters have proven themselves well and do not give any reason to abandon them. Unless the range of ammunition, primarily guided, will expand. Russian gunsmiths have long ago created anti-tank missiles that can be launched through the barrel of a tank gun. In addition, guided missiles are being developed in many countries around the world.
As a matter of fact, the creation of new guided munitions will remain one of the main ways of developing weapons in the near future. Will not bypass "this cup" and artillery. The tasks of this kind of troops include not only massive strikes over large areas. Sometimes it is required to ensure the destruction of a small object surrounded by something. In the absence of any other possibility, the elimination of the target may be entrusted to the artillerymen. This task is within the power of domestic shells of the Krasnopol family or American Copperhead and Excalibur. Other improvements in artillery weapons are still either dubious or inexpedient. The fact is that cannon artillery is now at the peak of its development and a further improvement in combat performance will entail a number of different problems, not all of which can be solved. So, increasing the firing range by increasing the caliber of the projectile and the amount of gunpowder will certainly lead to a decrease in accuracy. Accordingly, to maintain this parameter, you need to use guided projectiles. If you use "smart" blanks, the economic component of shooting worsens - this kind of ammunition is much more expensive than the usual uncontrolled one.
The creators of multiple launch rocket systems faced a similar problem. Technology made it possible to make a long-range rocket. However, at a certain distance from the launcher, the spread of shells took indecent values. The solution was obvious: to equip the rockets with a course correction system. It is indeed capable of significantly increasing the effective range and accuracy of fire. True, two logical questions arise: how will such an MLRS differ from tactical missile systems and why duplicate this type of equipment? Therefore, in the domestic Smerch system, a range of more than 70 kilometers is achieved using a relatively simple inertial system, whose duties include stabilizing the projectile in flight. Direct correction of the trajectory to hit the specified point is not provided. Thanks to this, a balance is maintained between the cost of the projectile, its range and accuracy. It seems that in the future, shells for multiple launch rocket systems will not have a complex design.
The navies of the leading countries of the world now have several similar signs. The basis of the military fleets is made up of fairly large ships of the classical layout. Due to the peculiarities of this design, as well as because of the smooth surface of the seas and oceans, ships are quite easy to detect using standard methods - using radar stations. The only thing that saves ships from detection is the ability to be located almost anywhere in the World Ocean. This, to some extent, complicates the work of, for example, anti-submarine aviation. The only way out of the current impasse may be to rework the appearance of a modern warship. So, the American ships of the LCS and Zumwalt projects under construction now were created taking into account the difficulty of detecting with the help of radar means. According to available information, similar ships with a "licked" hull and superstructure are also being created in Russia and other countries.
The problem of ensuring stealth is also faced by the creators of submarines. A lot has been done in this area, and no less remains to be done. Search engines do not stand still, which spurs the development of submarines. Reducing the noise of submarines is achieved in several ways: lowering the inherent noise of the boat's units, isolating the equipment from sound-conducting structural elements, etc. In the future, even more effective methods will appear. With regard to diesel-electric submarines (diesel-electric submarines), an important issue is not only noise, but also the duration of diving. The leading countries of the world have already begun the transition to air-independent power plants for diesel-electric submarines. Thanks to such power plants, the latest submarines in submerged range will be able to surpass the existing ones several times. With regard to weapons for submarines, anti-ship and strategic missiles for them will develop in accordance with the trends described above.
Aviation, tanks, artillery and the navy are undoubtedly important participants in modern warfare. But still the main element of any army is the infantry. The technical equipment of this "queen of the fields" will also undergo changes. First of all, they will concern small arms. In recent years, there has been a trend towards equipping foot soldiers with a lot of electronics. These are communication devices, navigation equipment, and sighting devices. Moreover, in a number of countries, complexes of equipment for soldiers are now being created, which combine all these devices and apparatus. Thus, as part of one complex, all the things necessary for a soldier will be collected, from weapons and communication equipment to uniforms and a first-aid kit.
The armed forces of the leading countries are now engaged in the creation of unified communication and control systems. These funds will simplify the work of signalmen, as well as increase the efficiency of interaction between units of various combat arms. In the long term, the emergence of integrated control systems is expected, automatically distributing the available information among the system participants. Moreover, the commander of a company or platoon will receive on his equipment exactly the data that is necessary to complete the task assigned to him. Similarly, information will be distributed at other levels.
The current trends in the development of weapons and military equipment are likely to continue in the near future. To change this course of affairs will require the creation of some kind of radically new weapons systems. Perhaps they will be rail cannons or combat lasers. However, such a "revolution" will not happen tomorrow or even the day after tomorrow. The fact is that the first practically applicable rail gun will be installed on the ship for testing no earlier than 2018. As for lasers, they will become a full-fledged combat weapon even later.
