South Korea to develop new high-tech battle uniform - Halo fans approve wholeheartedly

In an obvious attempt to seduce impressionable teenage gamers into their armed forces the Republic of Korea will begin development of their own totally badass science fiction battle uniform early next year. In addition to a whopping 95% increase in awesomeness, the uniforms will feature a number of other technical enhancements, including a multifunction helmet with video transmitter, GPS display and voice recognition, a backpack with command / control and friendly-or-foe identification systems, a BDU that offers protection from nuclear, biological and chemical attacks, and the laser-guided, multi-function XK11 assault rifle, which shoots both standard NATO 5.56mm rounds and 20mm grenades. Did the future just get way cooler, or way scarier? Or both? We're not sure. But you can check that gun out yourself in the video after the break.

[rock99rock @ Nov 18th 2008 1:05PM]

Is that a high-powered dremel on the end of that gun? Awesome.

[MastrCake @ Nov 18th 2008 1:09PM]

Well, they couldn't use chain saws, those are reserved for North Korea. :)

[Matthew Hilario @ Nov 18th 2008 1:12PM]

it's the Craftsman magnum.

[MastrCake @ Nov 18th 2008 1:13PM]

Nah... more like a Craftsman BR.

[SimbaDogg @ Nov 18th 2008 2:09PM]

yeah...and whats up w/ the MGS music playing in the backround.

[Flashpoint @ Nov 18th 2008 7:27PM]

I hope these battlesuits don't suffer from the Stormtrooper effect.

[Flashpoint @ Nov 18th 2008 7:38PM]

5.56 rounds + 20mm grenade launcher sounds alot like the OICW.

The way I see it, unless your HUD is contained in a small, form fitting suit like the nanosuit in Crysis, rather than these huge helmets - or the weapon itself, the developers will run into the age old problem of bulky devices that hinder soldier performance.

Otherwise, the soldiers will be to expensive to field, when carrying all that stuff.

I think we should go another route.

Why not use military satellites or UAVS to accurately place fin stabilized/directed smart munitions - like rockets - fired by soldiers?

Why not build military GPS units the size of iPhones into soldier's suits and have them disable or destroy themselves if the soldier is K.I.A or his hear rate indicates unconsciousness?

Hell, in Crysis, if you risked your technology falling into North Korean hands, THEY VAPORIZED YOU !

[SpydaKat 17 @ Nov 18th 2008 8:40PM]

All we need now are energy swords and we can call it a day.

[Unique Gift Ideas @ Nov 19th 2008 12:02PM]

Bayonets were so 18th century, it's about time for a revamp.

[Techie @ Nov 18th 2008 1:08PM]

I won't be surprise if Samsung developed 50% of those gears.

[Lowest Ranked @ Nov 18th 2008 1:29PM]

Halo! The game was Halo, not Gears!...

[rwfu666 @ Nov 18th 2008 1:08PM]

"mini missile system"?

awesome

[PynkFloydd @ Nov 18th 2008 2:20PM]

...it's only 20mm.

Our military uses 40mm grenades and they only have a kill radius of 5m. If I remember right, the maximum effective range is 400m for our 40mm. Even an HEDP (high explosive dual penetration) round isn't as powerful as you see in the movies. Actually, nothing is like you see in the movies or TV...

Granted, it's got a precision arming system after you use the range finder...the soldier still has to accurately aim and fire to even injure the target. ...that's if he even has eyes on the target.

[Stem $ell @ Nov 18th 2008 4:47PM]

To urinate? HUD select 'Alt_mini-missle'

[Benson @ Nov 18th 2008 7:13PM]

Well, first off, a High-Explosive Dual Penetration is a sex act, not a projectile type. Maybe you meant High-Explosive Dual Purpose, the purposes being anti-personnel and armor-piercing (up to 2" of steel).

But you're largely correct; 5m kill radius, 130m casualty radius for both HE and HEDP rounds. Maximum effective range 350m against area targets, and 150m against point targets.

But the idea of 20mm (or so) grenade launcher / assault rifle combos has been around since the 80s (OICW). The advantages claimed for such a system:
* Everybody with a rifle has grenades, instead of about half with M203s.
* You can carry more ammo.
* For the same recoil, you can have a flatter trajectory.
* Terminal effects of 20mm air-burst munitions are comparable to 40mm impact-burst munitions.

[michas_pi @ Nov 18th 2008 9:19PM]

"Dual Penetration"

Like a double penetration station, right?

[Leindurstit @ Nov 18th 2008 1:11PM]

But will they be able to play Cr.... ah hell, I'm just going to stop right there.

[Decoy @ Nov 18th 2008 3:29PM]

Maximum fail.

[Patriks7 @ Nov 18th 2008 4:30PM]

Play? No
Recreate? Yes! :p

[SpydaKat 17 @ Nov 18th 2008 8:59PM]

Exactly, the North Koreans are right next door. Live LAN parties FTW

[Eric R @ Nov 18th 2008 1:11PM]

Look at his stature...what a nancy!

[EricR @ Nov 18th 2008 1:59PM]

Where did you come from?

[travis @ Nov 18th 2008 1:13PM]

good thing they have bad aim, otherwise they might be able to actually do something with those guns

[sip @ Nov 18th 2008 1:13PM]

I was hoping they would demo the suit in the video... The gun looks freakin sweet though

[PynkFloydd @ Nov 18th 2008 2:32PM]

It says that they just began development on this. I wouldn't expect to see anything like this come out in the next 20+ years...

They're talking about making a light suit that is battery effecient, repels nuclear attacks, is completely bullet-proof, maintains homeostasis while under extreme stress, and doesn't restrict any range of motion. They might as well add a jetpack and cloaking ability in for good measure.

Seriously, that's just wishful thinking at this point...

[rony @ Nov 18th 2008 1:14PM]

so South Korea equips their soldiers with halo gear and in reaction North Korea equips its soldiers with Crysis gear.............now...... WHO WINS?


has a nerdgasm and scuttles off to make a comprehensive list and comparision between Crysis and Halo gear........

[r3loaded @ Nov 18th 2008 8:08PM]

You mean Chinese made knock-off Crysis gear? :P

[Canoo @ Nov 18th 2008 1:15PM]

why can't they give him better footwear then a pair of, what looks like, chuck taylors?

[shamowfski @ Nov 18th 2008 2:34PM]

I think he just has woman feet. Unless it's woman, then she just has feet.

[prnkmonkie @ Nov 18th 2008 2:37PM]

Hey now, nothing says I kick ass on the battlefield than some serious indie cred!

[diego @ Nov 18th 2008 1:20PM]

looks like the LAND WARRIOR for the army

[PynkFloydd @ Nov 18th 2008 2:03PM]

Land Warrior has been in development since the 90s (maybe even earlier). I went in the army late 90s and never saw it and I was in a unit that got all of the toys first. They still can't get an efficient battery and comfortable weight to make it worth the cost. ...and we're the richest country in the world (with the most technologically advanced military). I highly doubt that we'll see Koreans with this in our lifetime.

...take my word for it. The only effective military weapon is a well-trained soldier.

[bob sakamano @ Nov 18th 2008 1:20PM]

who needs guns? in ten years war will be run by iphones

[Lowest Ranked @ Nov 18th 2008 1:33PM]

You would send your iPhone into war unnarmed?

[Mobius_1 @ Nov 18th 2008 2:51PM]

Of course SkyNet wouldn't send their iPhones into combat unarmed in its campaign to wipe out humanity.

Or is it Steve Jobs?

[Sisyphus @ Nov 18th 2008 5:28PM]

Unarmed?

Don't forget about the KILL SWITCH.

[yida @ Nov 18th 2008 1:20PM]

They don't need to seduce any teenagers, they are forced to join.

[TRLK @ Nov 18th 2008 1:40PM]

Yep, compulsary military service ftw! For 2 years... though they are gradually reducing it to 1 and a half by 2012

[Big Al @ Nov 18th 2008 3:30PM]

You can avoid service almost all together if you get a PhD. (The military here probably had too many bad experiences with bookworms trying to fire a rifle...)

[burt @ Nov 18th 2008 1:21PM]

Uh... I hope that thing's air-conditioned for use in desert climates, and heated / defrosted for use in winter climates. Scifi is cool, but warfare is about breaking things and killing people -- not getting broken or killed.

OTOH, where can I buy one now!?!?!?

[Oli D @ Nov 18th 2008 1:29PM]

clearly propganda... Korea cant afford that for any more than 1000 soldiers, its just spin.


They will make a suit that looks like that, but doesnt do any of the stuff it claims.

[Samboini @ Nov 18th 2008 2:44PM]

As with most things in life then! What's new?!

[don @ Nov 18th 2008 3:03PM]

Do you mean SOUTH Korea? Because they can afford things just fine. I think you are confusing the two Koreas.

[Oli D @ Nov 18th 2008 5:04PM]

i know my Korea's chief, i spent 2 years studying the Korean war, i didn't bother to include the south because the article was clearly about south Korea... common sense don Giovanni.

South Korea say they can afford things just fine, but in a country that censors the weather report you can never be too sure whats true. The fact is that the majority of the population live as peasants, the government is floating on the gains of a regime and this is just a bit of scaremongering to rile up the USA, they've been doing it for years.

Do you remember the grand hotel in S. Korea? The one that cost millions and was seen as the greatest building in the east and then got abandoned because Someone ran out of money?

So... please don't be pedantic.

[852 @ Nov 18th 2008 10:57PM]

I hope you aren't referring to this "grand hotel in S. Korea":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryugyong_Hotel

[Aaron P @ Nov 19th 2008 2:14AM]

Oli, as a korean, i feel qualified to say this.

GTFO the internet.

kthxbai.

Btw, all korean males must join the military for 24 months, I believe, so it's not a ploy. They're just way ahead in many technological fields.

[Eric @ Nov 19th 2008 12:00AM]

He knows his Koreas fine, dudes. He just doesn't know north from south, or his head from his ass.

[Oli D @ Nov 19th 2008 2:33AM]

ey ey ey ey, i made a mistake getting political here didn't i?

Right, lets round this off with the comment i was expected to leave

"Awsome! hitech battle gear! They should bulid lasers into the battle mittens! ROFL."

Lets see whos being so cynical when bush goes and fucks the pony by declaring war and ruining everything for poor Obama.

oops i did it again.

(p.s. i was talking about that hotel, and believe it or not, the re-construction is going veeeeeeery slowly, i wonder why)

[martin @ Nov 18th 2008 1:30PM]

looks more like an ODST.

http://www.bungie.net/images/Games/Halo2/Gallery/Renders/ODST.jpg

[bachviet @ Nov 18th 2008 1:32PM]

BDU with NBC protection + NBC mask will be a pain to wear.

That gun is cool and it is more compact than the US M203 but the M203 shoots 40mm round. That gun weighs a ton though.