Thread 64100295

What weapon was once seen as a "Wunderwaffe" before drones took over?

nvg

>Longbows
>Greek Fire
>Cannons
>Firearms
>Camouflage
>Rifling
>Cartridges
>Machine Guns
>Bolt-Action
>Radio
>Planes
>Dreadnoughts
>Submarines
>Tanks
>Foldable Shovels
>Aircraft Carriers
>Nukes
>Helicopters
>Full-Auto modes on infantry rifles
>Jets
>Faster Jets
>Faster Jets that you can fly through a cloud
>Rockets
>Satellites
>Drones
>Kevlar
>Everything Is Computer
>Stealth Bombers
>Night Vision
>Grenade Launcher on your rifle
>Bad Camo patterns
>Little drones <---(You) are here
>AI assistance
>Lasers
>Autonomous Vehicles
>Exoskeletons
>AI soldiers
>AI generals
>AI ships
>AI policymakers
>Weird looking camo designed to fuck with pattern recognition software
>AI psyops designed to increase the suicide rate of the country you're at war with
>AI botnets that completely disrupt online communication in the country you're at war with
>AI designed to fuck with the massive energy grids required to keep data centers running in the country you're at war with
>Longbows

>>64100500
>tech designed to cause the sun to solar flare and cook the entire planet
goes between longbows and your second to last one

>>64100295 (OP)
Wunderwaffe is such a retarded concept only authoritarians making propaganda could come up with it.
No single system is decisive, no new system enters service at it's full potential, nothing can't be countered.

>>64100295 (OP)
but the thing is, drones haven't taken over much

>>64101764
counter point: dreyse rifle

>>64101764
There are many cases where a new weapn or concept proved to be tactically very effective, and its presence may have resulted in a victory.
This concept or weapon is then celebrated by people who were not there, and who often do not understand the circumstances, as a wonder weapon that will from now on win any and all battles.
This can be seen from chariots at Kadesh to Legions to heavy cavalry to crossbows to gunpowder to Vauban's siegecraft to Napoleoon's columns to
>>64101797
and breach loading steel artillery to Maxim guns to airplanes to tanks to HEAT rounds to nukes

>>64100295 (OP)
Smart bombs aka Paveways. They were touted and did changed warfare. Suddenly the Air Force could win wars without the Army doing much.

Drones, but wrong.
Some dipshits used to think the future of war was "asymmetrical" and mostly "intrastate" bullshittery wherein all fighting is done by autonomous and very expensive bombers vs. AK dragging trogladytes.
I wager that it's always hyped up retards pushing that AI will be the next step. Never happens.
The current mix was not correctly predicted by many people. When people thought drones, it was a bunch of fanciful nonsense. Don't get me started on "all war will be cyber and information" horseshit.

>>64100500
>Foldable Shovels

In the 1990s the widespread use of night vision by the U.S. during Desert Storm was fucking wild. Yeah night vision has been around for ages, but seeing a huge chunk of frontline forces using it as a regular thing was pretty scifi to the public. In in the early GWOT, seeing the widespread use of lasers on rifles was kind of nuts to see. These days night vision is blase and in the tactical world using lasers is kind of seen as dated and everyone wants passive aiming, but back then it was the most futuristic shit ever