Vehicle: Catapult
Bungee Paratroopers   (+23, -3)  [vote for, against]
Why do true elite troops need to land for long?

This is a new, fearsome weapon of war for mobile infantry who are very skilled at being very mobile.

The idea is that instead of releasing air-borne troops from a support plane by parachute, with all the attendent problems of extraction, instead you could use bungee cords calibrated to allow momentary ground contact.

You squad of troops land, act very fast and then bounce back into the hold of the support plane.
-- Aristotle, Oct 11 2004

This is different to a helicopter insertion/extraction using rappel and zipline? I have an image of a soldier on a bungee line, wrapped around powerlines at 115mph (about as slow as a Caribou troop transporter can go without falling out of the sky).
-- UnaBubba, Oct 11 2004


It was all well and good until the pinata massacre at Crakzisnutzen falls.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Oct 12 2004


"Son, welcome to the Bouncing 132nd Airborne, "The Big Green Wrecking Balls", as we're known."
-- UnaBubba, Oct 12 2004


And Best Idea Since Bakery Resuscitation goes to....[Aristotle]! I loves it, when recruiting starts:
"I" BOIING "Want" BOIING "You!" BOIING let me know.
-- DocBrown, Oct 12 2004


This idea is ridiculous.

croissant.
-- benfrost, Oct 12 2004


Perfect for removing dictators from holes in the ground.
-- wagster, Oct 12 2004


Sounds like broken legs, whiplash, and friendly fire to me. Bun! [+]
-- Letsbuildafort, Oct 12 2004


is head first obligatory?
-- po, Oct 12 2004


ha+
-- theircompetitor, Oct 12 2004


Stupid, yet tasty.
-- ldischler, Oct 12 2004


Great if it were a hover plane, or somehow was able to suspend itself stationary until the bungee rangers came back up
-- shaneism16, Oct 12 2004


Then it would be a helicopter, I guess.
-- UnaBubba, Oct 13 2004


I just don't understand how they stay on the ground, but you could have the plane circle close and low and then on take off the troopers would be pulled forcefully back to the plane.
-- schematics, Oct 13 2004


A heli? Duck on the return trip.
-- RayfordSteele, Oct 13 2004


Yup, I'll never forget the day the air wing dropped our platoon just few feet too low, lost whole squads that day. Well, we didn't loose them per se, but it was a black day for the Bouncing 132nd.
-- Laughs Last, Oct 13 2004


He who laughs last, laughs last....
-- DesertFox, Dec 24 2004



halfbakery