Armor Novel Views
Armor is a military science fiction novel by John Steakley. It has some superficial similarities with Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers (such as the military use of exoskeletons and insect-like alien enemies) but concentrates more on the psychological effects of violence on human beings rather than on the political aspects of the military, which was the focus of Heinlein's novel.
In addition to Heinlein's political views, Starship Troopers popularized a number of military concepts and innovations, some of which have inspired real life research. The novel's most noted innovation is the powered armor exoskeletons used by the Mobile Infantry.[24] These suits were controlled by the wearer's own movements, but powerfully augmented a soldier's strength, speed, weight carrying capacity (which allowed much heavier personal armament), jumping ability (including jet and rocket boost assistance), and provided the wearer with improved senses (infrared vision and night vision, radar, and amplified hearing), a completely self-contained personal environment, sophisticated communications equipment, and tactical map displays. Their powered armor made the Mobile Infantry a hybrid between an infantry unit and an armored one.
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While powered armor is Starship Troopers' most famous legacy, its influence extends deep into contemporary warfare. Over half a century after its publication, Starship Troopers is on the reading lists of the United States Marine Corps,[25][26][27] and the United States Navy.[28] It is the first science fiction novel on the reading lists at three of the five United States military branches. When Heinlein wrote Starship Troopers the United States military was a largely conscripted force, with conscripts serving two year hitches. Today the U.S. military has incorporated many ideas similar to Heinlein's concept of an all-volunteer, high-tech strike force. In addition, references to the book keep appearing in military culture. In 2002 a Marine general described the future of Marine Corps clothing and equipment as needing to emulate the Mobile Infantry.[29]
The purpose of this case study was to investigate a novel biomechanical approach to evaluate extended body armor systems. The relationships between biomechanical measures of upper body joint motion and muscular activity were explored and compared to armor material properties and soldiers' opinions of body armor acceptability.
Armor Novel Images
