Giant Robots for Japan (and why it might just work)

According to Geekosystem (who, admittedly, credits Kotaku, but there's no way in hell I'm linking to that terrible site), two members of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, Tadamori Oshima and Bunmei Ibuki, plan to discuss the plausibility of building a real, fully operational giant robot. Now, you may recall that the Japanese have previously built a 1:1 scale model of a Gundam, but building a Gundam that is capable of actually moving, nevermind operating in a live-fire combat environment, is a significantly more difficult challenge.

Now, don't get me wrong - I love my 'Mechs. My desk currently has a pair of BattleTech miniatures on it - a Clan Jade Falcon Loki and a Clan Nova Cat Shadow Cat, to be precise - the vast majority of my PS2 games have "Armored Core" in the title, and in high school, any time not spent at the FLGS playing MechWarrior: Dark Age was spent at home playing MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries online. You dig giant robots, I dig giant robots, we dig giant robots, chicks dig giant robots. It's an unavoidable part of being a nerd.

Unfortunately, in real life, giant robots (hereafter referred to as 'Mechs, because I grew up using the BattleTech term) are...well, stupid, especially those that are bipedal. Really stupid, in fact. There's a number of issues with the concept from both engineering and tactical standpoints that make the idea of Atlases serving in the future U.S. Army ridiculous.



Without going into too much detail, let's look at the shortcomings of the 'Mech platform, assuming one wanted to build a "traditional" 'Mech in the vein of a BattleTech Timber Wolf/Mad Cat:

• Energy: In BattleTech, BattleMechs use miniature fusion reactors to power their movements, electronic equipment, and weapons systems. IndustrialMechs use internal combustion engines, but are much slower and more primitive than their bigger, combat-ready cousins. In real life, 'Mechs would likely be fairly slow and difficult to field, as they would either need nuclear reactors like BattleMechs or would be tied closely to supply lines like IndustrialMechs due to the mass consumption of fuel involved.
• Reliability: 'Mechs are depicted in most sci-fi as unstoppable killing machines that shrug off heavy ordnance with ease and can annihilate entire tank battalions with ease. BattleTech is a bit more realistic about this, and BattleMechs can be disabled in any number of ways - critical engine hits in the torso, destroying leg actuators (causing them to fall), destroying a 'Mech's gyroscope and making it lose balance...the list goes on. A real 'Mech would encounter all of these issues and more, with exceptional vulnerability in the joints, as armoring the joint would slow it down even further due to the reduced range of movement, and leaving it unarmored means a single RPG, tank shell, or even tripping and falling could potentially cripple the entire 'Mech. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Speaking of falling over...

Ow.

• Movement and Profile: Mechanically speaking, bipedal movement is woefully inefficient, especially for a war machine in the 75t+ range. This is a large part of why a 'Mech would probably be very slow without vast amounts of energy. With something like a bipedal BattleMech, it also means it will have a very high center of gravity, making it prone to being knocked over/falling over and potentially injuring the pilot, which could render the whole thing useless. There's also the matter of BattleMechs being very, very tall, thus presenting a much larger target for long-range weapons and making it very difficult to conceal their movement. A BattleMech would likely be carrying far more firepower than a modern MBT (main battle tank) and thus be a prime target for hostile forces - making it such an obvious target isn't going to help.
• Cost: Any 'Mech that is capable of overcoming the previously mentioned engineering issues and is still able to mount a lot of weaponry is not going to be cheap. In fact, designing a power plant to make it move, armor to make it survivable, and internals to keep it from falling on its face while it walks around and shoots things is going to make it very, very expensive. At a certain point, one has to think "why develop all that technology and then have to design a 'Mech to use it when we could just build a bunch of MBTs that use it for cheaper? Then we'd have more firepower, less risk, and more money to boot!"

At this point, I'm sure someone is going "well then, why -would- you build a 'Mech if the idea sucks so hard?" The fact is, as much as I love 'Mechs, I can't see them being viable for 98% of the world's militaries. If anything, powered armor that bridges the gap between traditional infantry and armor, a la Starship Troopers (the book, not the movie), is a much more worthwhile concept for the world's militaries to develop.  

However, there are still potential roles that a 'Mech could fill. Assuming all other engineering hurdles can be overcome, quadrupedal 'Mechs akin to the Stalking Spider or Scorpion could in fact prove exceptionally useful in extremely difficult terrain such as mountains or heavy forests. Traditional armor is capable of moving across some very rough areas, but a quadrupedal 'Mech has the potential to go where even they would have to stop and look for a way around. The designs also have the added benefits of a much lower profile compared to bipedal 'Mechs that can drop low and evade fire on short notice, the lower center of gravity makes them less prone to falling, and the increased number of limbs makes it easier to balance on uneven terrain while also maintaining better mobility should one leg become crippled.

In addition, urban areas are notorious for presenting a challenging environment for armored operations. Close quarters and a plethora of elevated positions can make it very difficult for large tanks to move around and fight in. Enter the bipedal 'Mech. While a bipedal 'Mech would still need infantry support to keep it from being swarmed just like traditional armor, its taller profile and smaller width mean that it can bring heavy firepower where an MBT would never dream of going, and bring that firepower to bear against enemies hiding in positions that traditional armor simply would not be able to angle towards. As an added bonus, dense urban areas would provide plenty of cover to maneuver around, which would negate bipedal 'Mechs' inherent target profile and speed issues.

Now that we've looked the why 'Mechs wouldn't work for the vast majority of the world, it should become clear why they would work for Japan. Japan doesn't have an army; rather, they have a self-defense force, known collectively as the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), which is made up of the Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), and Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). By its very nature, Japan's military does not engage in long-term overseas conflicts around the globe like the American military. While JSDF forces can be found supporting allied operations such as the war in Afghanistan and various UN peacekeeping duties, their primary mission is the domestic defense of the Japanese homeland - a volcanic archipelago with numerous mountains, forests, and densely populated urban centers. 

In other words, the JGSDF finds itself in a very unique position where the development and deployment of 'Mechs could give it the edge in domestic defense missions. Combine that with the Japanese robotics industry and an entertainment culture where 'Mechs of all sorts are featured prominently (remember, they built a 1:1 scale Gundam for fun), and what would be an absolutely ridiculous proposal in any other government is suddenly not only plausible, but possibly ideal. 

In other news, I'm going to start brushing up on my Japanese. The future is going to be awesome...at least until the Clans arrive.