The trick I think is economy, maintainability, and simplicity. A normal human in powered armor would need the armor to have a very high degree of strength amplification: all motions, from the largest jump to the smallest finger twitch, would need to be handled by the suit. The suit would therefore be very complex, very sophisticated, and have high maintenance demands. And the suit would weigh a lot, and said normal human would need assistance putting it on and taking it off and even carrying it around. You could have a chosen few normal humans provided with this armor, but fielding an entire army would likely be uneconomic.
Consider the Space Marine. His strength is great enough that the suit only needs to provide a power amplification of more moderate degree, and much of the finer points of balance and dexterity could be handled directly by the Space Marines’ own musculature. The suit would be simpler, cheaper, more robust, and easier to maintain. In addition, the Space Marine would be strong enough to carry, maintain, and put on/take off the armor without assistance. Now fielding a unit of 1,000 of these elite troops gets a lot more practical.
An infantryman only needs to be able to carry a pack; firing a rifle takes little strength. In contrast, the soldiers operating those big tanks and ships etc. are more in need of brute muscle. Sure, the 70-ton tank has power steering. But when it throws a track, you need some guys to get out of the tank and beat on a stuck link pin with a 50-pound sledgehammer. Then you need to carry 100-pound main rounds through a tiny hatch and stick them in a bin. You get the idea.
There are giant earthmoving machines built to dig coal or iron ore from open pit mines, and some of these are very big, but the biggest tended to be relatively noneconomic. That’s because past a certain point, the individual bolts and wrenches, etc. needed to maintain the machines become too large for individual people to carry. If a beefy guy can pick up the bolt and stick it in the hole and fasten it, that’s one thing. If lifting the bolt requires assembling a crane, well, things get a lot slower.
It’s surprising how, with all of our powered construction machinery, human strength is still important. Watch a construction site: you will see cranes and bulldozers and such. You will also see big strong guys manhandling girders into final position, banging on pins with sledges, and so on. If ALL of these jobs had to be done via machine, the cost and complexity of construction would vastly increase.
Trying to maintain or move or put on 200+ kilograms of powered armor during an ice-storm is not something that a weak person is going to have a fun time doing.
As usual it will depend on the details, but it would not surprise me if powered combat armor put a premium on the physical strength of the soldiers wearing it. But we are thinking static strength – compact running backs and powerlifters, not basketball players or pole vaulters.
Concluding Thoughts
So will we eventually see powered armor on the battlefields of the future? My gut says no, that while none of the issues that I’ve raised here are intrinsically insoluble, the cost-effectiveness of soldiers in powered armor will likely always be inferior to alternative technologies and tactics. But you never know.
Ultimately what may bring powered armor into vogue is, perhaps, pure human psychology and status. A human in powered armor in the middle of a room would have absolutely complete physical authority over all unarmored humans present. Even if such power is not used, the potential would be intimidating. I could imagine generals, dictators, oligarchs, etc., wanting that sort of personal psychological edge over their fellows – and also the extra resistance to assassination or (in the case of a military commander) ‘decapitation’ type strikes by special forces or long-range strike drones.
An issue here is that most such elites would want the head uncovered, because it is the face that conveys expression and commands authority. Perhaps they will have rapid-acting cowls that can snap over the head at the first hint of danger. On the other hand, warlords and petty tyrants might want to have their heads covered at all times, maybe with some fear-inspiring demon mask face.
Powered armor for field use would, as Heinlein suggested, probably look rather ugly, with big feet for traction and low ground pressure, and a large hunchback for extra energy and supplies. Armor designed for the elites would likely be more elegant in proportion.
And for such elite people, we should not be too surprised if the armor is not plain, but is instead covered with beautiful engravings, or encrusted with medals and mementos. A symbol of power, and wealth, and status. After all, that’s how it worked four centuries ago. Perhaps those days will come again, at least in some form…
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Thanks go out to the usual suspects for help with this book, as well as beta readers Tim Halle, Jeff Hicks, Marshall Clowers, and J. Cameron McClain, and Mike Hughes.
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The Old Guy Universe
1. The Chronicles of Old Guy
2. Space Battleship Scharnhorst and the Library of Doom
3. Neoliberal Economists Must Die !
4. Confessions of a Sentient War Engine
5. Splendid Apocalypse: The Fall of Old Earth
6. The Old Guy and the Planet of Eternal Night
Old Guy and the Planet of Eternal Night (An Old Guy/Cybertank Adventure Book 6) Page 29
