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Project Mecha
The Weapons of War
Neon Genesis Evangelion's Unit 01 and its anti-Angel arsenal, which include mecha-scale blades, large particle guns, and a positron rifle.
Directed Energy Weapons
While not particularly unique to mecha, high-energy beam weapons are common equipment in reasonably advanced mecha. Mecha battles, especially in space, are often situations in which pilots have to dance through thick webs of deadly, criss-crossing beams.In reality, such exotic weapons remain in the province of capital defense. Size, heat, and dispersion in atmosphere are some of the most serious hindrances to the development of beam weapons as standard equipment in real armies. In battlefield conditions, smoke from burning wreckages tend to scatter beams, and specific kinds of materials may reflect them, mitigating their effects. It is unlikely that fighter craft will mount beam weapons in the future due to the bulkiness of equipment, and beam weapons as antitank or personal weapons are obviously out of the question, for the reasons given above and for reasons of cost. Even if the equipment becomes compact, it would simply be inefficient to supply foot soldiers with equipment as expensive and as potentially powerful as beam weapons in an antipersonnel role.
Laser Beams
High-energy laser beam weapons work their damage by depositing an energy of 1 KJ or more (the DoD defines an HEL as having a single pulse energy of at least 30kJ or power output of 20kW) on material, creating 'serious secondary thermonuclear effects' that rupture armor and equipment. Lasers are particularly suited to outer space, where the beams enjoy unobstructed propagation. In the atmosphere, they must be pulsed in nanosecond bursts and at particular wavelengths to produce self-focusing effects (on the plus side, pulsing creates even more complicated thermonuclear effects on surfaces, leading to more severe rupturing of target materiel). Lasers travel at a very flat trajectory and at the speed of light, are noiseless and invisible.Unfortunately, the size and space required for the equipment of a laser beam projector capable of inflicting significant damage to a target is considerable. The equipment is also noisy and generates a large amount of heat in a characteristic fashion (creating an easily identifiable thermal signature). Laser weapons are more likely to be adopted as air defense weapons by the Navy, where it would be ideal as an antimissile defense system for carriers.
Low-energy lasers (LELW) are also being considered for use as handheld anti-sensor and anti-personnel weapons. While they would be unable to burn materiel, it could be used to destroy or disrupt the sophisticated targeting equipment and sensors of modern weapons. Some are even considering the use of LELWs as anti-personnel weapons, to literally put out the enemy's eyes.Particle Beams
Particle beam weapons use standard accelerator technology to project particles at high velocities. By virtue of the characteristics of the particle used, there are two classes of particle beam weapons, both of which have their own unique problems and advantages.
A neutral particle beam weapon (NPB) accelerates particles produced by stripping negatively-charged hydrogen atoms of electrons. Having no charge, the particle beam is unaffected by magnetic fields in space, but quickly degrades in atmosphere due to ionization. The American designation for research into these devices was White Horse.
A charged particle beam weapon (CPB) is more suited to the atmosphere, where the charged beam experiences self-focusing effects. In space, the beam suffers dispersion due to electrostatic repulsion and bending due to fluctuations in geomagnetic fields. Research into CPBs fell under the Chair Heritage program.
A CPB is especially wicked in that the beam energy is not deposited in a narrow surface layer, unlike with LBs, and there are a number of other effects, including the generation of heat, X-rays, and electric currents destroying sensitive electronics. A CPBW also generates a shower of energetic radiation around the beam axis, which may be lethal or incapacitating to personnel up to distances of several tens of meters.
In terms of the application of PBWs in the SDI program, it was found that PBWs were simply too expensive and too restricted in application to be of any use as space-based weaponry. The estimated cost to launch the necessary equipment into space orbit was simply too much.
Missiles
Battles especially in the Macross tradition tend to be a spectacle of missile swarms. Here the mecha genre has taken the queue from real warfare. Advanced detection and targeting systems allow a pilot to detect his opponent from miles away, then launch projectiles that relentlessly pursue the enemy. Macross simply upped the level one more, giving their Reflex missiles the ability to veer almost instantaneously into a new course and even dodge attempts at intercepting them. As guidance and maneuvering technology improve, real missiles are beginning to perform more and more like they do in anime.
A renegade battlearmor fires a spread of reflex missiles in classic Macross fashion. (taken from Macross Plus)
Contact Weapons
Some settings, such as the Battletech universe, feature strange circumstances wherein the technology to create advanced ranged weapons and fire-and-forget systems has been lost, (although mecha can still be maintained) so that the only reliable means of destroying your enemy is by direct fire, and battles are often engaged in close combat. The space-based battlefields of Mobile Suit Gundam are littered with Minovsky particles that diminish the usefulness of radar, so that combat becomes a personal affair, and beam sabers and shields become the order of the day. Finally, fantasy settings tend to have only crude, close-range weapons such as swords and maces, so combat is always conducted up close.The technology for contact weapons usually tend to be primitive, so whether mecha-sized swords and hatchets are used in real mecha battles or not is more a question of whether the need requires it. Barring special circumstances, the modern battle is usually conducted at long ranges, so that contact weapons would find use only in the most dire situations.