CLONE ARMY from Star Wars in REALITY! Is it possible?
Clone Army, in the real world. How possible is this, and why is it pointless? Today we will answer these and other questions, and find out, why a clone army makes no sense at all, and is a very stupid idea. The Grand Army of the Republic consisted not only of millions of clones dressed in stylish armor, but also of hundreds of thousands of military equipment - from small ground walkers to Star Destroyers. You can learn about the realism of many of these war machines in a number of videos on the channel.
You can also find out the approximate size of the clone army in the corresponding video, and today we will look at the realism of the clone soldiers themselves with their uniforms and equipment. On the scroll bar we get closer to the first chapter. Fasten your seat belts and subscribe to the channel. Nordy is with you and we are starting! The Clone Army is based on the technology of cloning living organisms. Let's put aside all ethical issues and legal restrictions, and consider directly the scientific and technological side of this issue.
Modern cloning science has made several significant advances, most notably in the context of animal cloning. These advances primarily concern laboratory animals, but they have important implications for understanding cloning in general. One of the important achievements was the cloning of mammals. In 1996, the famous sheep Dolly, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell, was born. This experiment showed that the nucleus of an adult cell can be inserted into an egg and cause the development of a new organism.
In the ensuing decades, various cloning techniques were developed and refined, including nuclear transfer, egg cloning, and stem cell culture technologies. Various experiments on different animals not only confirmed the possibility of cloning different species, but also helped to better understand the mechanisms and limitations of this process. Current research focuses on the use of cloned stem cells for medical applications. Also cloning for a number of other purposes, such as the conservation of endangered species. Although advances in animal cloning have been impressive, applying the technology to human cloning remains a scientific and ethical impossibility due to complex issues and limitations, such as the high error rate and ethical questions raised by the creation of human clones. Genome fidelity, in the context of human cloning, means creating an exact copy of the genetic information contained in the DNA of the original organism.
This process involves various technical and biological aspects that can influence the success of cloning. Initially, for successful cloning it is necessary to have an accurate and reliable DNA sequence of the original. DNA sequencing technologies must be highly accurate and minimize errors in determining the genetic code. Cloning processes such as PCR (polymerase chain reaction), which are used to multiply genetic material, can be subject to errors and mutations. These errors can lead to changes in the genome of the cloned organism.
The processes of cellular replication and DNA repair affect genome stability. Failures in these processes can lead to errors and changes in the genetic information of the cloned organism. There may also be problems with telomeres - the ends of chromosomes that decrease during each cell division.
Problems with telomeres can cause cells to age prematurely and limit the lifespan of the cloned organism. There is a possible risk of complications during ontogenesis - the individual development of the body. Different stages of embryonic development involve the activation and deactivation of various genes. Accurately recreating this process under cloning conditions is difficult. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has its own characteristics and can also undergo changes.
Successful cloning requires accurate copying and stability of mtDNA. The environment plays a very important role, including cell culture conditions and exposure to external factors that can influence the accuracy of cloning. The accuracy of genome copying is a complex and multifaceted process that depends on the accuracy of the technologies used, the understanding of biological mechanisms and the ability to minimize errors at all stages of cloning. Technical difficulties in this aspect are one of the key challenges in creating accurate human clones. Also, problems can arise at the stage of genetic acceleration of the growth of clones by 2 times, and as Tech from BadBatch said - “programming” the mental behavior of clones. By the way, the implementation of inhibitor chips should be a relatively simple task, since they are already being actively used in real life, including Elon Musk’s Neuralink.
So, despite the obvious successes of modern science in genetic engineering, it is too early to talk about mass cloning and the creation of a full-fledged army. But with the rapid development of science, in the coming decades cloning technology may reach the level necessary for the mass cloning of millions of creatures. But cloning is only the first problem in creating an army of Star Wars clones in the real world. Soldiers need equipment and weapons.
In the context of Star Wars, armor has advanced properties and materials that are very different from those available in the real world. Among the many armored suits, there are two main models - Phase-1 and Phase-2 - on the basis of which specialized variations were created. Only the helmets differ in appearance. The main internal difference was weight - the armor of the first phase weighed 40 kilograms, while the armor of the second phase weighed only 16.
Despite the weight reduction, protection improved. Internal differences were minor - mostly improvements to existing devices. Therefore, we will consider the standard equipment of clones as a whole, without strong division into phases. The clones' armor consists of 20 armor plates and a helmet made from plastoid. In a Galaxy far, far away, Plastoid is a heat-resistant composite that can withstand the impact of a plasma charge and dissipate its thermal energy over the entire area of the armor plate.
In reality, such a material as a plastoid, capable of withstanding the energy of plasma charges whose temperature is at least 5 thousand degrees Celsius, simply does not exist. At the moment, humanity does not have materials comparable in strength and melting point to plastoid. The closest in properties to a plastoid is Tungsten. Its melting point is 3 thousand 422 degrees Celsius.
But this is still not enough to withstand the impact of a plasma charge. Also, clone armor is capable of dampening the kinetic energy of bullet weapons, that is, acting as a full-fledged body armor. When one layer directly stops the projectile, and the other layer dampens the kinetic energy, which will protect the soldier from receiving internal damage.
This requires not only strong plastoid composite armor, but also a shock-absorbing base that softens the energy of the bullet. In the clones' equipment, the role of the second layer - the shock-absorbing base - is played by the underarmor - a tight-fitting black jumpsuit made of an unknown material, onto which armor plates were fixed using an unknown method. Thus, clone armor can withstand both energy and bullet projectiles, and is quite usable from a physics point of view. However, the question arises when the films show situations where clones are injured and knocked unconscious by metal objects - including droid blasters and Grievous' claws. It looks even more absurd scene of hand-to-hand combat between clones and Mandalorians in the 7th season of the animated series The Clone Wars, when soldiers of both sides fell from blows with a fist, knee or elbow.
In reality, the attackers themselves would have received damage. It's like hitting a metal wall with your fist. That is, in the aspect of hand-to-hand combat, the properties of armor contradict logic.
In the real world, a soldier wearing such armor would be invulnerable in hand-to-hand combat. In addition to the function of fastening armor and dampening the kinetic energy of impacts, gambeson was used for climate control to thermoregulate the body and ensure the comfort of the soldier, to ensure tightness after putting on a helmet, and also protected against fragments and sudden changes in ambient temperature, including plasma-heated air and armor plates. In reality, it is currently impossible to create a similar thin material capable of fully performing all these functions at once.
In modern times, materials that protect against fire exist and are actively used. For example, fire-resistant suits for firefighters are made from them. But they are not even close to the clones' underarmor.
Another interesting feature of the clones' equipment is the built-in magnetic grips in their boots. The most technological element of the armor was the helmet. The visors, visible from the outside of the helmet, are a complex optical system with cameras with a wide viewing angle that transmit already processed information to the internal screen of the helmet - HUD - head-up display, from which the information is already read by the soldier’s eyes. Similar technology is used in military aviation and civil vehicles, which allows the pilot not to be distracted by instrument panels. In Star Wars, such a system provided good visibility through visual obstacles such as smoke, fog or flames, and protected the eyes from flashes and sudden changes in light intensity.
Some helmets had a built-in thermal imager. There were no built-in NVGs in clone`s helmets. The helmet's advanced aiming system, coupled with the weapon's sights, allowed the clones to conduct targeted fire from the hip, and even from behind a wall, sticking out only the barrel of the rifle. The helmet also integrated a sound control system - an analogue of active headphones from the real world. This system made it possible to muffle the loud sounds of battle to avoid stunning the soldier, and also amplified quiet sounds, for example, a quiet order from the commander.
The helmet contained a built-in short-range communication system with a built-in signal encryption system - comlink. In the first phase armor, the encryption system was quite weak, which is why CIS troops often intercepted and jammed the communications of units of the Grand Army of the Republic. The comlink antenna was located in the crest of the helmet. An air purification system has been added to Phase 2 armor helmets, allowing clones to be in an environment unsuitable for breathing, including in space. The oxygen supply of the suits is enough for 30 minutes of vigorous activity, and the possibility of attaching additional oxygen cylinders is also provided.
The helmet systems were controlled through a virtual menu interfaced with the HUD, using the gaze and facial expressions of the soldier’s facial muscles. A similar system is used in the Apple Vision mixed reality headset. All the technologies described above are already actively used in reality to one degree or another. The most difficult thing will be to fit all these devices into a compact helmet that can also protect the soldier. Thus, the armor of clones from Star Wars does not contradict the laws of physics, and in the real world in hand-to-hand combat it would be even more effective than in the Galaxy Far, Far Away, in view of ordinary physics and logic.
But at this stage of human development, it is impossible to create similar equipment. Interestingly, the technological filling of the helmet will be the easiest to implement. The Grand Army of the Republic was armed with various models of small plasma blasters, the main ones being the DC-15A rifle, DC-15S carbine, and DC-17 pistol, manufactured by BlasTech Industries. Plasma is useful for destroying any target, but is most effective against droids due to the nature of plasma, which is a superheated ionized gas.
Droids are vulnerable to ion energy, and a plasma blaster is the obvious choice to deal with them. This explains the choice of the BlasTech DC series for arming the clones. In a plasma blaster, high-energy gas (for example, Tibanna in the DC series from BlasTech) is supplied from a gas cavity to a cavity, where it is converted into plasma. The charge is then passed through a collimator system, turning into a deadly bolt of energy. Creating a plasma blaster in the real world is an extremely complex and difficult task that is currently beyond the limits of existing technology. The implementation of such a device faces many technical, energy and engineering problems.
First of all, creating and maintaining plasma requires enormous amounts of energy. Such energy requirements greatly exceed current portable power capabilities, even with advanced technologies. Compact blaster cannons require powerful power supplies that do not currently exist in a compact, portable form suitable for a weapon. Plasma also tends to have a very high temperature.
When faced with thermal dissipation issues, creating a stable and controllable plasma without causing device destruction is a significant challenge. Plasma containment and management are also challenging. Plasma tends to spread quickly and react to its surroundings, making it difficult to precisely direct its flow. Plasma blasters can pose serious dangers to others due to their high energy, heat and ionization, making it difficult to ensure safety when using such weapons.
Controlling and confining the plasma may require the use of complex magnetic fields, which poses a technological challenge. But even if it is possible to accomplish all of the above, the question will arise of creating a plasma blaster with high efficiency, which not only creates plasma, but also effectively transfers it to the target, without significant loss of energy, which is also a difficult task. At the moment, the plasma blaster concept is unlikely to be implemented in the real world due to the above technical, energy and safety limitations. Similar problems are inherent in laser weapons, but in a lesser form, which allows the creation of experimental combat installations. Thus, creating the Clone Army from Star Wars in the real world in its unchanged form is currently an impossible task, but in the future, with the further development of scientific and technological progress, this will become quite possible. But what would such an army look like in reality? Let's imagine that as modern science progresses by leaps and bounds, several significant breakthroughs have occurred in a number of areas - from genetic engineering to plasma physics.
This made it possible to bring technology to the required level for the creation of the Clone Army. First of all, the clones' armor will be changed. And not its filling, but its appearance. In the Galaxy Far, Far Away, Phase 1 armor was typically white or gray in color. Or rather, to human vision the armor looks like this.
In fact, the armor has intricate camouflage patterns that serve as camouflage. But these patterns are visible only in the ultraviolet spectrum. This is caused by the visual characteristics of the Kaminoans, whose eyes saw in the ultraviolet spectrum.
So, formally the armor has camouflage, but in fact it does not. In reality, the first thing that will be applied to the armor is protective camouflage, which will change depending on the terrain. It is also possible to use camouflage suits. The color of the underarmor will most likely be changed to match the armor. In Star Wars there was also a color difference on the officers' armor, probably to aid enemy snipers.
For example, sergeants wore armor with green stripes, lieutenants with blue, captains with red, and commanders with yellow. In a real modern battle, it will play into the hands of the enemy, so that such markings will be immediately abandoned, and the identification of soldiers and officers will take place using a high-tech helmet filling, with a recognition system. In addition to cosmetic changes, there will also be functional ones. Although clone armor protects soldiers quite well, it has a number of significant drawbacks.
First of all, the presence of weak points in the joints between the armor plates in the armpits, elbows, knees and hip joints. The most critical are gaps in the groin area. If they get hit, there is a high risk of damage to the femoral arteries, which can lead to the rapid death of a fighter from blood loss.
In reality, this problem will be solved by using a petal armored apron made of three armor plates. This will not affect the fighter’s mobility in any way. This protection will also be optimized. When a fighter squats, the two side petals rest on the hips, and the central element covers the groin, like a hip bandage. In a standing position, the fighter will especially not have any problems. The remaining gaps in the articulations of the arms and legs can also be eliminated with additional protection, similar in appearance to elements of knightly armor.
Its also possible add a protective collar to cover the soldier's neck. In addition, to increase mobility, the chest and back armor plates will have to be redone. Left unchanged, they can restrict movement around the waist, forcing the soldier to keep his back straight. For greater flexibility of the fighter, the armor in this area can be made of a group of movable segments, similar to those of a knight. For example, the armor used a system of long transverse segments that overlapped each other, thanks to which in such armor a person could somersault, roll, and perform various acrobatic stunts. In Star Wars, during the Clone Wars, armor was constantly improved, with new specialized options appearing.
The armor of the second phase was more comfortable and did not restrict the movement of the fighter, which was greatly facilitated by a twofold reduction in the weight of the uniform. The color distinction by rank was partially abolished, and fighters during battle were identified only by the ID chain. In addition, the armor was often repainted to match the color of the area, which greatly increased the chances of survival. That is, the armor of the second phase is much more practical in reality due to camouflage and increased mobility. It is important to note that different GAR units could have their own unique colors and emblems, which created variety in armor coloring from legion to legion. For example, most of the clone`s armor of the 7th Sky Corps could be painted green or yellow, while the 501st Legion chose blue, and the 187th Legion chose lilac, and so on.
In reality, there most likely will not be such striking distinctive features. Their role will be played by signs on chevrons that will not unmask the soldier. Also, the armor of the second phase was often subject to various modifications and modifications - different types of helmets, additional pouches with ammunition, visors, antennas, jetpacks and others, which was facilitated by the high modularity of the armor of the second phase. In reality, such tuning also takes place. It is also very likely that clone suits will be upgraded with exoskeletons, which will significantly increase the endurance, speed and strength of each combat unit, which will play a huge role on the battlefield. Most likely, this will be the main element of modification of clone armor.
Compact exoskeletons, with some modifications, can be built into the armor plates themselves, or worn between the underarmor suit and the armor, which is more likely. Even a light, compact exoskeleton will allow a soldier to take additional weapons, or strengthen existing ones. Also, due to the increased carrying capacity, it is possible to further strengthen the armor plates, including the creation of full-fledged power armor, similar to other fictional universes, such as the armor of sportsmen in Hallo, space marines in Warhammer, and so on. But this will be too different from the usual armor of clones and stormtroopers from Star Wars, so let’s stop thinking in this direction. Let's focus on lightweight exoskeletons, which will become one of the branches of the evolution of similar modern tested samples, such as the Turkish ASYA and others.
Thus, the earthly version of the clone armor will retain the iconic appearance of Republican and Imperial soldiers, and at the same time will be more practical and adapted to earthly conditions. But what about weapons? In addition to the usual plasma blasters of various models, the Earth's army of clones will use different types of firearms, and perhaps even more so than blasters. The main advantages of blasters are the enormous damage they cause, the ability to regulate the power of the shot, and the low weight of the gas ammunition. For example, ten thousand blaster shots will require a gas supply weighing approximately several kilograms.
At the same time, the weight of ten thousand cartridges for a 7.62 mm caliber for firearms will weigh approximately 20 kg. Also, plasma blasters of the Grand Army of the Republic are excellent for destroying droids, that is, robots. In the real world in the future, it is quite possible that robots will be massively used for military purposes, and blasters will be used to combat them. However, to combat enemy personnel, especially light infantry, of which the clones themselves are an analogue, faster-firing heavy machine guns and 20-millimeter automatic cannons are much better suited. Yes, such weapons have a considerable weight, but our earthly clones will be equipped with exoskeletons, which will allow us to equip a soldier with large-caliber weapons and sufficient ammunition for them.
The kinetic energy of a 14 mm bullet, and even more so a 20 mm projectile, will be enough to penetrate an enemy exoskeleton, or at least to cause critical damage from the post-armor effect of ammunition. By the way, large-caliber firearms are also perfect for fighting the clones themselves in the equipment described above. And a confrontation between two armies of clones is quite likely, since if one earthly state can make such an armada, then its opponents may well be capable of this. Plasma weapons will perform well in the fight against combat robots - an analogue of droids from Star Wars, as well as in the destruction of armored vehicles and enemy fortifications, which is facilitated by the high destructive power of plasma charges, whose actions are somewhat similar topost-armor effect cumulative projectile. For example, at maximum power, a shot from a DC-15A rifle could leave a hole in a reinforced concrete wall 0.5 meters deep.
Considering the lifting capabilities of the exoskeleton and the not very heavy weight of plasma blasters from Star Wars - the DC-15A weighed four and a half kilograms, each soldier can be equipped with a heavy machine gun to combat enemy personnel, and a plasma blaster to destroy other targets. It is quite possible that these devices will be combined into one complex multi-barreled rifle system. As a result, the Earth's cloned army will have modified combat equipment and a variety of weapons to perform a wider range of combat missions.
The only catch is that such an army will never be created. So why is an army of clones from Star Wars, even with all the modifications described above, in the real world an irrational, and even stupid idea? First of all, the very concept of an army of clones implies cloning on an industrial scale, and here the task is not so much scientific and biological as economic and social. Let me remind you that the exact size of the clone army is unknown; this is discussed in detail in another video on the channel.
Let me briefly remind you that there are two main theories, according to the first, Lama Su in his conversation with Obi-Wan meant soldiers, not units, and as a result, by the end of the war, the clone army numbered approximately 3 million clones. According to the second theory, by the word “unit” the Kaminoan meant military units - a battalion or a regiment, and depending on the choice of unit rank, the total number of the army ranges from 1,728,000,000 clones to 6,912,000,000 clones. Now imagine that such an armada is being grown on Earth. By the way, what’s interesting is that there are enough food reserves on our planet to feed such a multi-billion-dollar crowd, and there will still be some left.
And there is enough not only food, but also territory - in theory, our planet is quite capable of accommodating another 7 billion people. That is, in theory, even an army of clones with the maximum number is capable of existing on our planet, but how much scientific and industrial capacity will need to be used for this? Even growing 3 million clones will require enormous costs - human, material, territorial, and most importantly - time. After all, even with accelerated genetic growth, clones must grow for 10 years. That is, ten whole years of constant provision with zero return, and for what? For the sake of the army, which in 20-30 years will require complete replacement. After all, 30 years after the start of cultivation, the biological age of the genetically modified clone will be 60 years. And in fact, according to their physical characteristics, these are ordinary people who can be replaced by well-trained military personnel, or droids.
Sorry, robots! In general, an army of robots in the real world, like an army of droids in a Galaxy Far, Far Away, is significantly superior to a cloned army in terms of price/quality ratio, and more. For example, the cost of raising and fully training a clone trooper could be approximately $500,000 over 20 years, plus armor, weapons, and ongoing maintenance over the course of the trooper's life, including medical treatment and retirement benefits. At the same time, with the required level of technology, the cost of one combat robot capable of performing the functions of line infantry in the First World War, that is, the functions of cannon fodder, will be approximately a couple of thousand dollars, hardly more than 10 thousand.
At the same time, the service life of a clone soldier is limited to a maximum of 30 years, and the robot can serve for a potentially unlimited time - the main thing is to promptly replace failing parts. That is, for one clone, suitable for 20-30 years of active service, you can build at least a hundred combat robots. In addition, there is a colossal difference in time costs. And in principle, these requirements could be accepted if the clones were super-cool special forces soldiers, capable of destroying enemy bases in small squads and successfully carrying out unrealistic combat operations. That is, clone commandos, or an analogue of space marines from Warhammer 40 thousand. But standard Star Wars clones are cannon fodder.
Very expensive cannon fodder. Which is much more reasonable to replace with cannon iron - robots. But if for some reason robots are not suitable for manning infantry units, then they can be replaced by ordinary people - regular military personnel. A well-trained soldier will be able to compare in physical characteristics with clones who have been trained in military craft since childhood. An example of such a replacement is in Star Wars itself, and this is Stormtrooper Corps.
In both the new canon and the legends, that is, in the Expanded Universe, also called the Old Canon, albeit in different proportions, Stormtroopers were people. (in the old canon, the Stormtrooper Corps of the Galactic Empire at first consisted entirely of clone veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic, and of new clones that continued to be grown, and not only on Kamino, and not only clones of Jango Fett, but also from clones of other people who had proven themselves well, and on other planets with the corresponding factories. Only by the 12th year before Yavin, during the uprising on Kamino, suppressed by parts of the 501st Legion under the leadership of Bobba Fett, and the curtailment of the cloning program, ordinary people began to be accepted into the ranks of the Stormtrooper Corps. And by the events of 4 episode, over 60 % of all Stormtroopers were human). The situation is similar with the New Order, in which there were no clones at all, and all Stormtroopers were mere mortals. That is, the combat effectiveness of clone troopers and human Stormtroopers was approximately at the same level.
Undoubtedly, clones have advantages over ordinary people. First of all, physical and psychological training from birth turned the clones into first-class fighters who were very difficult to scare in battle, and whose fighting spirit was almost impossible to break. Also, all the clones were incredibly loyal to the Republic. Isolated cases of betrayal and desertion, which the Kaminoans would call industrial defects, amount to less than one thousandth of a percent, which is an exception on the scale of a multi-million and multi-billion-strong army, and only confirms the general rule of unconditional loyalty of clones. But all these undoubted advantages are not worth the price that must be paid for such an army.
Yes, an ordinary person may be inferior to a genetically modified and trained clone in many parameters, but the presence of an exoskeleton and high-quality military training neutralize these differences, which actually makes creating an army of clones pointless. But if the clone army is so irrational, why did it become the basis of the Grand Army of the Republic? There are several good reasons for this in the lore of the Galaxy Far, Far Away. First of all, secrecy. The secrecy of the army made it impossible to recruit millions of soldiers from among the citizens of the Galactic Republic.
Such a large-scale mobilization could not be hidden in any way, and it was the secrecy of the army that was a key factor in the plan of the Sith - Darth Sidious and his mentor Darth Plagueis. After all, megacorporations and others who disagreed with the policies of the Republic risked taking the path of open confrontation and war only because, in their opinion, the Republic did not have the strength to resist them. Despite the huge population of the Galactic State and the presence of powerful local armies of subject systems, it would be impossible to create a large and cohesive army in a short time. Mobilization, combat coordination, organizing the structure of the army and equipping it with everything necessary required time that the Republic did not have. The only serious argument of the defenders of galactic democracy and knights in bathrobes could be the largest shipbuilding companies - Kuat, Corellia, and others, whose fleets posed a serious threat to the Confederation armada.
By the way, it was precisely to counter these trump cards of the Republic that the separatists built such a huge fleet and a colossal army of droids. And the war could have quickly ended in victory for the Confederates, if the Republic had not had another trump card, which the Republicans themselves had no idea about. If the separatists knew about the upcoming Great Army, they would never have openly fought openly and created the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
But it was precisely open mass war that the Sith needed to seize power. Thus, the secrecy of army was necessary to start a war. Secondly, the most important element of Palpatine’s plan was Order 66, which could only be carried out by clones with inhibitor chips, unquestioningly controlled by the Chancellor. The implementation of such an order could be disrupted due to the disobedience of ordinary soldiers from among the career military to kill their Jedi generals. And the whole plan of the adherents of the Dark Side could fail. Of course, inhibitor chips can be implanted into ordinary people, but it would be much more difficult and time-consuming than a similar installation for infant clones, and any information leak could provoke a riot with unforeseen consequences, including the overthrow of the Chancellor, and Palpatine needed guaranteed success . So, an army of ordinary people was
not suitable in any case. But why couldn't the army be made up of droids, similar to the Confederate army? Yes, they are programmed even better than people, in some places more efficient and so on, but there is a catch here too. An army consisting of living people, albeit clones, aroused much more trust and sympathy among the Jedi, which is why the knights of the order participated in battles along with their subordinates, leading troops in ground battles, leading a fleet into battle from a fighter in the first line, in the thick of battle. And naturally, many Jedi died, overestimating their strength. This also played a significant role in the downfall of the order.
The effectiveness of Order 66 was achieved in part due to the element of surprise, when the Jedi were caught off guard during battles, and many of them were caught between the two fires. Also, the betrayal of the clones stunned the Jedi, who considered them their comrades, which also played a role in the success of Order 66. And if the Jedi were in charge of mechanical droids, only a few would lead their battle, and the majority would sit in headquarters, in safety, which would significantly reduce the losses of the order, and the effect of surprise would manifest itself in a greatly reduced form.
It is worth noting that many clones, even without genetic programming, had the desire to kill their generals. The reason for this was the stupid actions of the Jedi in battle, which led to unjustified losses among the clones. Reckless tactical and strategic decisions greatly undermined the authority of the knights of the order among the clones, who saw the heaps of corpses of their brothers who fell due to the stupidity of the adherents of the light side. For this reason, many clones, with a special zeal inaccessible to insensitive droids, destroyed their generals.
There was another important argument against the Republic's use of the Droid Army. Related to politics. The fact is that among the citizens of the Galaxy Far, Far Away, the image of a mechanical army of droids is strongly entrenched with the Trade Federation and Confederation of Independent Systems.
And a similar robotic army in the Republic could have a detrimental effect on the image of the state and the state identity of its citizens, and caused confusion among the poorly educated segments of the population who did not distinguish one droids from another. At the same time, the biological army, in beautiful white armor, whose color in propaganda was associated with light and kind, clearly contrasted with the soulless separatist military machine, whose palette was largely dominated by dark, dirty and gray colors. Much the same real reason behind George Lucas' decision to give the Republic a cloned army as opposed to the CIS cybernetic army. This division looks very beautiful, and the very presence of both robotic and cloned armies in the universe increases the interest of viewers. Also from a cinematic perspective, the Republic's clone army from the prequels was supposed to be a logical predecessor to the Empire's Stormtrooper Corps in the original trilogy.
That is, in Star Wars, the use of a clone army in the context of the Sith plan is quite logical and correct. But even in a galaxy far, far away, such a concept of military forces was quickly abandoned. And the reasons are similar to the earthly ones described earlier in the video. Besides the Kamino Rebellion, the Empire abandoned further production of clones due to high costs, short service life, and long lead times.
After all, if necessary, it is impossible to quickly produce many clones; it will take a decade. By the way, they tried to solve this problem in Star Wars with the help of so-called Spaarti clones, which grow much faster - a combat-ready clone matured in one year, versus 10 years for Kamino. However, Kaminoan cloning was much more efficient: ten years of cultivation with constant study and training resulted in the creation of perfect warriors despite the long wait.
Spaarti clones received no training, instead their personalities were shaped through a process known as "instant memory", which implanted the memories of another person into the new clone's brain. The Spaarti clones, which were grown in less than a year, had a dangerous side effect - possible madness of the clones. As a result, the Spaarti program was recognized as unpromising and was curtailed in the same way as the Kaminoans’ cloning program. So, the concept of a clone army, in which expensively grown soldiers in expensive armor are cannon fodder, is neither logical nor effective. But don’t think that the very idea of cultivating clones for military purposes has no right to life. In fact, this idea is very interesting and has several promising directions.
But not in the field of line infantry soldiers, who are not much different from ordinary military personnel, but in the field of special forces. At a sufficient level of technology, genetic engineering and a training and nutrition program make it possible to grow a real mutant from the DNA of an ordinary person. Many genetic templates for clones for different purposes will make it possible to create a very effective, highly specialized combat unit.
For example, a fighter with unimaginable endurance, agility and intelligence, ideal for special missions behind enemy lines. Acting in small groups and even alone, such fighters will carry out sabotage at enemy strategic targets, eliminate high-ranking officials, obtain drawings of new secret weapons and plans for the enemy general staff, and engage in other top-secret and complex activities. Or a steroid clone, with abnormally high levels of strength and survivability. And in combination with powerful power armor, such a super-soldier will surpass a human in all physical characteristics, and can act on the battlefield as a light walking tank. By the way, a similar approach is used by the Space Marines from Warhammer.
Unless they are not clones, but people who, from the age of 12, undergo severe training, spiritual and mental training and are tens of times superior to other warriors of the Imperium. Interestingly, in Star Wars themselves there are examples of similar activities of mad Kaminoan scientists. For example, the already mentioned clone commandos. A Clone Commando or Republic Commando is a clone trooper of the Grand Army of the Republic trained for special operations.
In groups of four, the commandos were trained in a special intensive program to perform specific tasks that were too difficult for ordinary soldiers. Typically, these tasks were covert penetration of an object, reconnaissance, liquidation of specific objects and sabotage. The most famous of the commandos are Delta Squad, Omega Squad and Squad 99 - also known as "BadBatch". The first 10,000 Republic commandos were trained on Kamino by specialist mercenaries, three quarters of whom were Mandalorians.
Before the outbreak of the Clone Wars, they were consolidated into two Special Operations Brigades, each consisting of 10 battalions. Each battalion was divided into companies of 100 commandos, and those, in turn, into detachments of 4 soldiers. During the Battle of Geonosis, due to the unpreparedness of the Republican command for war, both brigades lost almost half of their personnel and were merged into one. That is, clone commandos are just an example of small numbers of highly specialized and highly effective clones. Undoubtedly, the costs for one commando clone will be higher than for a regular clone, but they will be more than offset by the effectiveness of such super soldiers.
Also, before the order of Sifo-Dyas, the Kaminoans raised small batches of clones for various fields of activity, including the military. Wealthy high-ranking officials of Republic planets could afford to order a small army of a couple of hundred or a thousand clone bodyguards, highly trained and equipped with the best equipment with the latest technology. To summarize, we can say that an army of clones from Star Wars is quite possible to create in theory, but very ineffective in practice, and modern technology does not allow making armor and weapons with similar characteristics, and cloning millions of organisms.
Still, the concept of special units of highly genetically modified clone troopers could be very promising, and it is quite possible that in the future we will see armies consisting of clone units, battle droids, andothers aspects science fiction.
2024-03-02 01:37
