HARDER HARDWARE? - A PILOT STUDY INTO GAINING SOLDIERS PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR WEAPONS APPEARANCE

摘要

Making the soldier look more aggressive, powerful and threatening has long been seen as giving a psychological edge in combat. Modem warfare and equipment development has given this aspect low priority. The changing nature of the role of soldiers within society, has highlighted the need for the semantics of soldiers equipment to be addressed. This paper presents a pilot study undertaken with Royal Marines where alternative weapon designs were presented, based on existing SA-80 assault rifle architecture. The designs were presented to eight marines The outcomes were that soldiers prioritised functionality and initially were dismissive of the change in appearance between proposed concept designs. However, further discussion highlighted that a more aggressively styled rifle would help deter potential aggressors within peacekeeping activities. Although others might consider a less aggressively styled weapon could diffuse some situations. The outcomes of this pilot study warrant further investigation.