After spending some time looking wistfully at the two Sizus and overhearing that our only tracked armour is being saved from the scrapheap by the shock revelation that wheeled vehicles wont go in mud; I decided to start another topic on the future employment of armour in the DF.
For simplicities sake Im going to throw in a few fairly disparate suggestions and questions under the one banner:
1. Will we ever operate one or more fully mechanized operational units? i.e. a battalion or battalion battlegroup capable of moving entirely under armour cover and should we.
2. Is it feasible to centre all armour purchases around one common design in each weight class? i.e. LTV/APC/FSV?
3. Given the increasingly warlike and uncivilised AOs we're heading for is it time to reconsider tracked vehicles?
4. Will neccessity ever force the purchase of MBTs of any form?
Now my theories on the questions are as follows.
1. We should be capable of operating a mechanised (or at least motorised) brigade for flexibilities sake if not to deploy it as a whole.
Also In high risk situations I dont see how a transit van or other softskin is an acceptable means of transport.
2. Following on from this I believe that the PIII is a mite too expensive to fill all roles in a battalion group that require a truck size capacity, a second tier APC in a lower cost bracket (i.e. the Sizu/Patria) to fulfill utility and CS/CSS roles could be managed efficiently if it had significant commonality with another vehicle in service (say a softskin truck).
3. The problems of mobility in locales like Liberia (anyone seen the photos of the convoy negotiating the "roads" at the start of the rainy season), seem to present a pretty urgent case to me for some sort of tracked armoured vehicle s capable of moving troops and supplies, not neccesarily a fighting vehicle as such.
One suggestion would be the the Armoured extended version of the BV 206s, (BV 210?).
4. The weapon system on any future fire support vehicle is less likely to be needed in Kosovo style policing roles, and not likely to be useful in more volatile situation if its wheeled chassis is stuck in rough terrain unable to catch up with the more mobile units its supporting.
For simplicities sake Im going to throw in a few fairly disparate suggestions and questions under the one banner:
1. Will we ever operate one or more fully mechanized operational units? i.e. a battalion or battalion battlegroup capable of moving entirely under armour cover and should we.
2. Is it feasible to centre all armour purchases around one common design in each weight class? i.e. LTV/APC/FSV?
3. Given the increasingly warlike and uncivilised AOs we're heading for is it time to reconsider tracked vehicles?
4. Will neccessity ever force the purchase of MBTs of any form?
Now my theories on the questions are as follows.
1. We should be capable of operating a mechanised (or at least motorised) brigade for flexibilities sake if not to deploy it as a whole.
Also In high risk situations I dont see how a transit van or other softskin is an acceptable means of transport.
2. Following on from this I believe that the PIII is a mite too expensive to fill all roles in a battalion group that require a truck size capacity, a second tier APC in a lower cost bracket (i.e. the Sizu/Patria) to fulfill utility and CS/CSS roles could be managed efficiently if it had significant commonality with another vehicle in service (say a softskin truck).
3. The problems of mobility in locales like Liberia (anyone seen the photos of the convoy negotiating the "roads" at the start of the rainy season), seem to present a pretty urgent case to me for some sort of tracked armoured vehicle s capable of moving troops and supplies, not neccesarily a fighting vehicle as such.
One suggestion would be the the Armoured extended version of the BV 206s, (BV 210?).
4. The weapon system on any future fire support vehicle is less likely to be needed in Kosovo style policing roles, and not likely to be useful in more volatile situation if its wheeled chassis is stuck in rough terrain unable to catch up with the more mobile units its supporting.
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