shut the fuck up please, a plasma shield wtf?
the only melee weapon that made it to modern combat is the knife because it is a multi use tool that can if needed can be used as a weapon(bayonet for example).Now swords and axes and all the old mid-evil weapons didn't make the transfer because they aren't efficient you put your self in to much risk when using that weapon because you would have to expose your whole body to use it. Now think about this logically if you are entering a building and all you have is a sword when you blow the lock on that room and rush in what the fuck do you think is gonna happen?
A)- you get blown away by incoming fire because your only attack options are close combat.
B)- you magically survive and kill the first man in the room but there are to moar to his right and left you good sir are fucked because your to far ahead because your the only dumbass in your squad to use a sword. and the rest of your squad is taking cover from enemy fire so they cant help you thus you die.
Now the only way melee weapons will work and that is if your all using them but last time I checked everyone used guns. Because in modern warfare it is about being the most efficient killer and to do that you must minimize risk to your self. So using cover is going to be the the only way to stay alive. 
about the thing you said about Armour or shields first you have played far to much cod4 prt 2 because a riot shield is not all that people make it out to be that shield is bullet resistant not bullet proof so if you take direct fire from more than one person you are but fucked. as for Armour we have lots of Armour that will stop bullets but it is far to expense to outfit an entire army with because it cost too much. now I could go on about this all day long so I will stop this stupid thread before it has a chance to grow. MELEE WEAPONS DONT WORK IN REAL LIFE BECAUSE GUNS ARE BETTER! DUH AND ITS NOT WORTH PUTTING IN THE MONEY TO MAKE MORE OF THEM BECAUSE EVEN IF THEY WERE A FUCKING LIGHT SABER IT WOULD BE USELESS IN COMBAT. that is all.

>>323229
LOL Niggers are so dumb
Modernize, no... Future combat maybe, since we depend so much on bs money and have crappy armor and such. Im guessing Plasma sheild is like a force sheild or somthing. Exoskelitons would be cool be like Ironman! Light sabers suck they forgot to add the guard i bet a lot of Jedi got there hands cut off

future wars wont be fought with humans

>>323229
the ghurkas would love to have a word with you.
people find them obsolete because they don't seem to understand them very well, and your spelling tells me that you have an IQ anywhere UNDER 90.

modernizing melee stuff huh?
well first i think it would be best to make sure you can use melee and long range stuff at the same time
(for the guys that are to pussy to get close)
like some sword that magically shoots energy

your idea of carbon fiber armor, good idea, light but once your enemy is able to chop through that armor it's very likely to send splinters flying around and that doesn't only mean your enemy getting a shitload of those in his face but also you getting the same shitload in yours

>>323229 STFU he wasn't playing too much cod4 he was playing too much mgs2 and if he does go into a building then obviously he won't go in with a sword alone, first he will try find some way to surprise the enemy, so he climbs the walls of a building (because everyone knows that only ninjas use swords these days) or rappels down from the roof in through the window of said building, since he surprised the enemy by doing that he might be able to pwn all of them depending how far apart they are OR he can blow the door off it's hinges and throw in a flash bang/smoke grenade and pwn everyone.

You need a way to nullify gunfire if you're going to melee. If bullets can push you back, you will never go forward. The best weapon I've come up with is a shield with a reflective plate. Most shots are deflected away from you, but you can reflect individual bullets back with accuracy. This allows you to suppress enemies while you charge them, keeping them from ripping you up while you close the distance.

By the way, you can make melee a priority in your fighting style, but you can't just ignore technology. You need to be able to fight at range in some capacity- same way a gunfighter still needs to know how to pistol whip. My idea is to incorporate Nikolai Teslas experiments into a sword, and blast shit with lightning with I swing. Also I'd put an EMP cannon on that shield.

Another way to make melee relevant is flight. Medical technology has begun to give us prosthetic limbs that can hook up to the nervous system, and be controlled as real limbs (you can even feel touch). This can easily go beyond replacement parts, and we can start hooking wings and tails onto people. That ability to fly could make melee a lot more deadly, but you still need much more to beat firearms.