The AAI must have inspired the 80s GI Joe tank Mauler.
>>The Army Desperately Wants A Pint Sized Tank With A Big Gun<<
They want ME!
:) ;)
The only procurement that makes sense is to design a tank that is part of an integrated, coordinated fighting team.
Clearly drones will be a big part of any future war. So every other part of the team should ask how can they best use drones and how can drones both give them the best information and protect them.
Clearly cheap, expendable robotic vehicles will be used as front line mine detectors/mine exploders and as the expendable foot soldiers that are always on the front line, laying down massive cover fire for the expensive, and big guns, behind them.
Will cheap, expendable robotic vehicles be moved around the battlefield by drones, rockets or other than conventional WWII means?
Electronics are small now. Small, light weight, high explosive smart rockets can be carried by both drones, small robotic and manned vehicles, and by human foot soldiers. Will there be a one-size-fits-all smart rocket?
Most importantly: For each new component of the system will there be different versions for each usage? for each branch of the service? Will they be lego transformers style where upgrade or replacement of sub-components can be quickly installed? Can they be quickly upgraded for specific situations ... for the desert vs a forest or flood plain? For hot or cold weather?
Many more issues not covered in the article.
I’d go with an autoloader gun in a small, unmanned turret. Probably aim for a 2 man crew.
I’d like a Phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range.
How about a reprise of the old White Half Track with an anti tank gun mounted? We used a lot of those in WW2
Later
Looks like shooting the gun would flip it over—sorta like putting too many Marines in Guam.
Ping
The tank seems like the land version of the battleship. The battleship became obsolete when aircraft came on the scene, and a big, expensive ship could be sunk by a swarm of small, relatively inexpensive planes. I think we may soon see something similar happen to tanks.
I can see cheap, mass-produced, unarmored drones dominating the future battlefield. Thousands of small sensor drones crawl or fly around the battlefield looking for the enemy. When they find an enemy, a quad-copter with either a machinegun or missile launcher quickly shows up and kills the enemy. If one gets taken out, it is quickly replaced by another cheap expendable drone.
Must-see movie “The Pentagon Wars”
It describes this process.
Paging Sir Issac Newton. Please pickup the camouflaged courtesy phone.
These idiots need some remedial instruction.
In other words, what the US Army wants is an assault gun. They’ve gone back to Wehrmacht thinking of the mid-1940s.
JMO, but I don’t think they’ll meet the protection needs and weight limits with a turret on a tracked vehicle. The gun armament will have to have limited elevation/traverse.
Another thing: tracks get pretty maintenance intensive. Years ago, the Army figured out anything less than a four-man crew on a tank ended up with maintenance problems in peacetime, and watch problems in wartime.
That’s before I have my doubts about Pentagon procurement officials bringing in the project on-time and on-budget.
Army still seeking a “light” tank.
That AAI looks downright Russian in design.........