The Speculist

Why should an infantryman always have to carry his ammunition? A soldier could be equipped with a modified rifle that forwards target coordinates to an artillery battery that would automatically fire on the target. The targeting and firing decisions would be made solely by the infantryman with the pull of a trigger.

The advantages to such a system would be significant. Each soldier would have a practically inexhaustible supply of ammunition that he doesn’t have to carry. And since the projectile is not launched from the soldier’s location, a single well-placed soldier could do incredible damage to the enemy without giving up his position.

Obviously this would not be the best weapon for all situations. Line-of-sight is often the best way to shoot. There are obvious problems with using such a system in close combat or indoors. And there are many cases where an artillery shell would be overkill. The soldier’s rifle would still need to shoot bullets.

The problems with artillery have always been accurate targeting, and on-time delivery. This system would address both problems. The forward soldier could provide precise target information, and the automatic pull-of-the-trigger firing would speed delivery.

Moving targets can’t wait on the arrival of an off-site artillery shell, but if this system were used to target a laser weapon, delay wouldn’t be a problem. Actually, such a system could be used to target any kind of long-distance weapon. Perhaps the soldier could even choose from a menu of options.