Are Metal Gears theoretically Possible?

I am not an expert on Nuclear weapons, obviousl; but are there any weapons similar to the Metal Gear?

It doesn't have to be REX or much less Arsenal Gear. Something like the Shagohod would do. And if there aren't, why not? They seem very plausible.

Like this?

This made me shit my pants.

I only have a passing knowledge of the series, but from what I gathered from a little research is that Metal Gears are Humongous Mechas that fire nukes. While it probably is possible to build one, I doubt that it will happen. In the current state of foreign affairs, nukes are mainly used as a way to deter other nations from firing nukes. The only groups that want nukes for the purpose of firing one don't have the resources needed to make a Humongous Mecha.

edited 8th Mar '11 9:48:44 AM by lrrose

bzzzzz

Basically, bipedalism doesn't work very well at that size. Walking is mechanically a sort of process of controlled falling, so there's no way a machine could be front-loaded like that without having impossibly strong legs. I think.

The Shagohod is much more practical than any actual Metal Gear, yes. Because it's not bipedal; it's a nuke-tank.

Giant mechs, in general, are not feasible. Not to any practical degree, especially as military weapons.

edited 8th Mar '11 10:02:16 AM by Miijhal

Square-Cube Law and all.

And it's true that it's not really politically feasible anyway. During the Cold War, if a nuke had been detected falling towards a superpower, the superpower would have assumed that it was the other superpower doing it anyway, and so retaliation/Threads etc. kicks in.

From the same people who built Big Dog:

yes, I know, but the POINT of the metal gear is to end the deterrence. It can fire from anywhere, non stop, without being detected. It could be used to essentially control other nations, since the Nukes used for it are undetectable (something about skipping the first part of the ignition cycle) I know the political consequences and how dangerous/idiotic would be to build one. I just wanna know if it is possible.

I mean, the Shagohod looks quite possible to me.

EDIT: Why did you put Big Dog in here?!?! That shit should never have existed. And that is coming from a Smile Dog enthusiast.

edited 8th Mar '11 10:31:22 AM by Polarity

• Railgun that fires nuclear warheads?
  • Prefectly plausable
• Railgun being untracable?
  • Aside from the obvious "the only other country with a decent number of nukes is likely the one, or at least an ally, of the people that fired this "untraceable" warhead." mentioned above, don't know.
• Bipedal mech that large?
  • No.

Short answer no. Long answer noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Shagohod then?

Well, I guess you could have a wheeled vehicle that launches nukes with a railgun, but nobody with half a brain who likes being alive would pay for it.

Hm... I'll have to look up artillery stats, though, transcontinental artillery seems redundant.

Oh, hey, I just realized, there are already subs if you want to do the launch-without-getting-caught thing.

edited 8th Mar '11 10:37:46 AM by Tzetze

Subs are less likely to get hit by a return barrage, too, on account of being able to submerge.

They're also better at "second wave" nuclear tactics, and this was one of their chief purposes during theoretical Cold War exchanges.

Even the game itself acknowledges the fact that a walking tank would be nigh impossible/useless to make. Here's an excerpt from MGS 3:

"Not only is making a tank walk on two legs a technical nightmare, but there's no point in making a walking tank to begin with. Putting legs on a tank would raise its clearance, increasing its frontal projection area. It'd also be less stable. Suppose the legs help the tank travel bad roads... I don't see the logic in that. Isn't that what treads are for?" -Sigint

It's about as plausible as cyborg ninjas, minigun-wielding Inuit, be-gasmasked psychics, snipers who can go without sleep for six months, vampires who can dodge bullets, fat rollerskating demolitions experts, evil presidents, spider-like soldiers, 100+ year old snipers, tentacle women and old-ass men relying on the help of tiny robots to fight insurmountable odds.

MGS is really kinda wacky on closer inspection.

Ahem.

METAL GEAR?!?

YOU KNEW!?

NANOMACHINES?!

No, it can't be!

BBRRROOOOOOTTTHHHHEEEERRRRRR

Just remember that the Shagohod was a ROCKET PROPELLED TANK WITH DRILLS FOR WHEELS.

IT'S NO GOOD. I CAN'T DO IT!

The shagohad itself simply doesn't work, the physics simply make it impossible. Any machine that heavy forced to move that fast would rip itself apart before it could get to a speed to actually launch an ICBM.