I seem to recall in my FCA cav days, there were seven roles that Cavalry were tasked with, I don't seem to recall them emphasising any over the others in terms of importance. Recon, counter-recon, independent operations (or raiding, if you prefer), flank screening... Can't recall the other three offhand. Now, if the cav decided it could afford to drop the counter-recon or independent ops roles, then they could afford to go with smaller vehicles.
Not the most successful usage of a recon vehicle. A lot of units traded in their Bradleys for HMMWVs as they were just too big. Not so much for the conspicuosness, but because they were a little too big for mobility purposes.
That said, there have also been plenty of successful uses of tanks in recon units. The older US Cav Platoons used to be two tanks, two PCs with dismounts, a mortar carrier, and a couple of jeeps. Gave them an excellent combination of abilities, I thought. German recon units also would often have Leopard tanks along for the heavy recon/counter-recon role, they were only withdrawn from that role relatively recently, that I recall. These days, as much for cost and logistics as anything else, the US and German recon units have been homogenised.
Not necessarily. It depends on what it is you're attempting to recce. German recon units of WWII could be particularly heavily armed, and they were expected to fight for two reasons. Firstly, because the heavy recon role involves punching through the counter-recon screen and blocking positions, looking for information on enemy locations far further back than a light recon unit could go by just sneaking around. Secondly, when conducting these deeper recon roles, they were armed sufficiently that they could take on and destroy targets of opportunity like convoys, refuelling/maintainance depots, and the sort. This is particularly more important if your army happens not to have much by way of long-range artillery or convenient air power.
NTM
But other militaries have used large vehicles in the rece role eg yanks and the M3 Bradley.
That said, there have also been plenty of successful uses of tanks in recon units. The older US Cav Platoons used to be two tanks, two PCs with dismounts, a mortar carrier, and a couple of jeeps. Gave them an excellent combination of abilities, I thought. German recon units also would often have Leopard tanks along for the heavy recon/counter-recon role, they were only withdrawn from that role relatively recently, that I recall. These days, as much for cost and logistics as anything else, the US and German recon units have been homogenised.
In the recce role the armament is purely defensive in the event of becoming embroiled in a fire fight.
NTM
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