Is a future where wars are waged with Gundams possible?

[AnansiThePersona]

So I've been watching Gundam Seed and I got curious about how every one of these alternate Gundam universes results in wars being waged with mobile suits. I know, that's the premise of the series and there will always be Gundams and evil, corrupt nations to fight and whatnot. But then I thought about if mobile suits have a future in our world. Not that I want more violent methods of killing others, but would that even be possible? To mass produce suits for regular warfare. Like....spending millions upon millions of dollars to build a Zaku that gets one-shotted as soon as it comes face-to-face with a Gundam? And eventually, every nation will just start building a Gundam (which delves into G Gundam territory).

But is that even possible in our world? A future where wars are waged with mobile suits possible?

 

[Plywood]

No.

 

[ILikeFeet]

no they don't. bipedal robotics is just crazy inefficient when wheels and shit can do the same job better and with less moving parts. and that's all before you get to the scale

 

[HardTimesFamilyPride]

I think AI and robots like big dog will become feasible before something like a Gundam. Don't know the tech behind Gundams but I think the concept is feasible, although would be rare due to the amount of moving/human-controlled parts that would require maintenance as opposed to drone-style warfare.

I am not an engineer

EDIT: yeah bipedal locomotion is really tough and you'd likely only get to exoskeleton-level shit

 

[FUME5]

Giant bipedal robots are not efficient tools of war.

 

[Biske]

A far distant future maybe, certainly not ones portrayed in the show.

Would be expensive as hell to make and get busted almost instantly, let alone the insane amount of collateral damage that would be caused.

Likely when we got to the point of mass producing giant fighting robots, AI would be advanced enough that you wouldn't need human pilots and would probably be stupid to have them piloted by humans inside.

 

[Heromanz]

Nukes

 

[iAmPossum]

Waste of time and resources. I don't see it happening.

 

[Deleted member 18021]

In-universe, Mobile Suits became a thing due to the widespread use of Minovsky particles. Said particles disrupt communications and radar, making long-range engagements via more traditional means less than practical.

So probably not.

 

[EMT0]

Gundams are meant to look cool, not to be practical. While I'm not gonna say never ever, there's a whole host of reasons that the answer is probably no, the big ones being cost, purpose, and vulnerability. The only types of weapons that are big are the type that you anticipate/bank on being unable to get hit, like fighters, or mass replaceable like drones. Things like tanks are slowly on their way out due to modern arms permitting infantry to take one on and win with something like an RPG-7. Theoretical Gundams are going to end up being the tank in this scenario given enough time. The key thing about war is that it's a lot more assymetrical than in the past which means no giant trenches, no thousands of opposing tank lines, etc.. An opponent that's going to be overwhelmed is better served turning to urban warfare, terrorism, insurrection, propaganda, and sabotage than trying to create a superweapon. It's way more efficient and likely to succeed than trying to take on the US military's mechanized corps, for example. This means that the primary combatants are going to be infantry and what good does a Gundam do you there?

 

[ILikeFeet]

also remember Gundam had to invent a scientific plot device to make gundams work: minovsky particles

 

[Laiza]

I'll note that gundams do make sense if you provide the users with complete, 1:1 control of the machine, like a gigantic version of their physical self. There's a lot you can do when you have such control that you can't really do with standard wheeled or tracked vehicles.

That being said, the laws of physics really do make them highly impractical, and on top of that...

Likely when we got to the point of mass producing giant fighting robots, AI would be advanced enough that you wouldn't need human pilots and would probably be stupid to have them piloted by humans inside.

Click to shrink...

This right here. AI will have taken over our society long before we reach the point where such machines would be realistically feasible.

 

[Avitus]

They aren't efficient at carrying armor. The ability to mount a gun or missile on simple tracks that could pierce the armor would far outstrip the ability to manufacture gundams efficiently. Battletech already deals with this concept.

 

[Verelios]

No, highertech explosives, guided lasers and drones are the future and 100 times scarier.

 

[NTGYK]

You're more likely to get a small battle exo suit like District 9 than you would get a Gundam

 

[Opto]

If we still have top brass supporting the F-35, we're eventually going to have someone contract Lockheed Martin to build a gundam because it was part of their childhood. Don't worry, it'll never get deployed because someone will also want to make it a troop carrier

 

[Sandfox]

no they don't. bipedal robotics is just crazy inefficient when wheels and shit can do the same job better and with less moving parts. and that's all before you get to the scale

Click to shrink...

So you're saying Guntanks are the future:

 

[Dice]

Building giant robots makes the least amount of sense given their size, cost, and crazy risks of collateral damage. Drones and basically any computer-based remote warfare sounds way more possible and significantly less costly.

Absolutely not.

It'd be cool as fuck though.

 

[Deleted member 2802]

Making mechs like humans are incredibly complex to balance and stabilize

Why not make a million drones with the resources of a Gundam mech

 

[MeaningOfKarma]

No. Not even Gundam advances mobile suits as being natural extensions of warfare - they're usually made out of fictional super-strong alloys (Gundanium) and need special technology to maneuver and balance properly (Minovsky Particles)

If you made a gundam in real life you could literally just shoot a missile or a large enough artillery shell at it and it wouldn't be physically capable of avoiding or surviving the hit.

 

[iAmPossum]

You're more likely to get a small battle exo suit like District 9 than you would get a Gundam

Click to shrink...

This is more feasible.

 

[SkyOdin]

Mecha in the 20 meter tall range are wildly unlikely to ever be made. They would almost certainly be too heavy to stand up and too easy of a target for weapons fire.

Now, something smaller might be possible. A smaller mech in the four to five meter range would have a much more reasonable power to weight ratio and have a more practical size. Something like a VOTOM mech or VS from Lost Planet. More likely, a tank or armored car with four or more legs rather than treads or wheels. Legs do have advantages over wheels or treads, such as the ability to cross more obstacles and rougher terrain.

 

[lunarworks]

They certainly wouldn't be able to move at something that even resembles scaled-up human speed, that's for sure.

 

[Vulcano's Assistant]

No.Specially in space a drone with no pilot will be much faster, chances are that also much more intelligent.

By the time Gundams are possible, unmanned or AI weapons will be able to chew thru manned vehicles before pilots have time to react.

 

[Shogmaster]

No. Big giant robots are just big giant slow moving targets. It's stupid.

 

[NineConsonants]

I'll note that gundams do make sense if you provide the users with complete, 1:1 control of the machine, like a gigantic version of their physical self. There's a lot you can do when you have such control that you can't really do with standard wheeled or tracked vehicles.

That being said, the laws of physics really do make them highly impractical, and on top of that...

This right here. AI will have taken over our society long before we reach the point where such machines would be realistically feasible.

Click to shrink...

What is the point of gundams when we have nukes?

 

[Rhomega]

I heard something about a square-cube law where things just don't scale up like you think they would.

 

[HotHamBoy]

Anime was a mistake

 

[Seductivpancakes]

Even with minovsky particles being a plot device, they're still big ass, expensive targets for other weapons other then missiles, like tank guns.

 

[subpar spatula]

Not worth it. It's better to specialize in ammunition and small weaponry that's powerful. Why have a jaeger fight giant monsters when you can have an OP cannon head shot it? Large robots are inefficient nerd wank material, that's it.

 

[Booki]

Nah. It's easy to get caught up in the hype of your favorite Mobile Suit pilot zipping through space and adding to their body count with fancy lasers, but they're like...some of the best pilots ever. Much like sports leagues, the people out there in the mobile suits are the best talent available, yet the vast majority of them get totaled with ease.

Unless you're Space Jesus, a Psychic, a Genius, or some genetically modified soldier, you're gonna be *that* guy getting lit up by vulcan fire or being toyed with by some asshole bumping Jazz. There goes millions of dollars worth of resources, countless hours of training, and another life lost.

The best bet is some fancy VR setup to simulate your favorite mech-related fantasy.

 

[HStallion]

I'd say power armor is a lot more feasible a future to expect where it's a suit that increases all your natural abilities without the strain or damage while also providing a ton of protection. You'd probably be larger than most people in it but you're not piloting a robot big as a building.

 

[Slime]

Giant humanoid robots are cool af but make zero practical sense and will never, ever exist.

 

[Deleted member 18021]

What is the point of gundams when we have nukes?

Click to shrink...

Why not give Gundam a great big nuke bazooka?

 

[SugarNoodles]

no they don't. bipedal robotics is just crazy inefficient when wheels and shit can do the same job better and with less moving parts. and that's all before you get to the scale

Click to shrink...

But what about the ones that have legs but don't need to use them to walk because they're always hovering?

Follow up question: would humans with wheels be more efficient than leg humans?

 

[Deleted member 25600]

Absolutely not. They're wildly inefficient and not at all cost effective. If we need a weapons platform to be deployed in rough terrain, that's what helicopter gunships are for.

 

[signal]

chuuni thread

 

[Jaded Photographer]

We'll probably get something like VOTOMS over Gundams.

 

[wenis]

I wish. We just got boring ass shit in this universe.

 

[Siggy-P]

Any tech you could stick on a giant robot would be far better on a tank or jet.

 

[thewienke]

In some crazy high tech future, nanomachines are 100 times more likely than giant robots if there's going to be a drastic change in scale of machines.

Imagine waves of nanomachines chewing through things and you get the idea

 

[ILikeFeet]

But what about the ones that have legs but don't need to use them to walk because they're always hovering?

Follow up question: would humans with wheels be more efficient than leg humans?

Click to shrink...

would we be more efficient? depends. if we had wheels, we wouldn't evolve the way we have. but for doing the things humans do now, no, wheels wouldn't work as well. good thing a weapon of war wouldn't need to do even half the things we do

So you're saying Guntanks are the future:

Click to shrink...

closer, yea, but at the same time, they're just tanks, but more impractical. the humanoid portions serve no purpose other than waste

 

[Boiled Goose]

No. Traditional war is over.

There's nukes now

 

[808s & Villainy]

What is the point of gundams when we have nukes?

Click to shrink...

The same point of foot soldiers when we have nukes and ICBMs and drones and bombers

 

[principal]

Supply ISIS with Gundams so we can fight them with Gundams. Only way.

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

I don't see large sized mechs ever going past like a Metal Gear Rex at the absolute furthest,
Too impractical without enough upside.

I do expect crazy exo suits on troops at some point.

 

[More_Badass]

Gundams or any kind of giant robot/military super-mech is never ever happening

This, with a gun attached, working together in groups, is an infinitely more likely future of ground-based military robots

Click to shrink...

 

[corasaur]

whatever future war-droids look like, they won't have human pilots anyway.

unless of course the robot-civilization looks back on human cartoons after they're done inheriting the solar system and decides it would be sick to duel in gundam bodies.

 

[Riversands]

Not in this universe nor in the future eons

 

[mrjohill]

More importantly is a future like Gundam Build Fighters possible?