Posted on 12/19/2018 6:33:53 AM PST by C19fan
The U.S. Army has chosen two of the nation’s largest defense contractors to compete for the service’s new light tank program. BAE and General Dynamics will each receive up to $376 million to develop and build 12 light tanks in fourteen months. After field testing, the Army will choose one design in 2022, building up to 504 Mobile Protected Firepower vehicles, otherwise known as light tanks.
The U.S. Army has more than a dozen infantry brigades: light infantry, airborne, and air assault brigades of 2,000 to 4,000 soldiers that lack heavy equipment like the M1A2 Abrams tank and M2A3 Bradley fighting vehicle. These brigades are designed to be rapidly deployable, flying overseas on short notice. This strategic mobility comes at a cost. The units lack armored vehicles capable of scuttling quickly across the battlefield to support ground troops and engage other armored vehicles.
(Excerpt) Read more at popularmechanics.com ...
These are not light tanks. They are Infantry Fighting Vehicles.
Hmmm, mounting a 120 mm on an under-30-ton chassis? What could go wrong?
The Sturm didn't have a turret, so it was more of an assault gun.
They did it with the Stryker AFV.
Regardless of selection, both variants will be magnets for ATGMs.
From the title, I was hoping this was going to be competition in mechwarrior style. Let’s really have a battle of the tanks!
It's a light tank program. That's not where it will start, that's where it will end up...
Is “BattleBots” still on cable?
Here's my input to the program:
Science Channel.
With unkind recoil effects, from what I heard.
But that's a good point, why not just use the Strykers as a light tank? We've got a ton of 'em, and no tracks to throw.
Now let's fix the Navy's Frigate problem....
I can see you understand military procurement/development . . .
Armored coffin.
And unguided. Modern RPGs are pretty lethal.
A modern light tank design by the US might be wheeled, have advanced sensors and displays for unparalleled situational awareness, with rocket and laser defense systems, modular weapons packages that permit customization according to mission requirements, be capable of autonomous operation, and have a diesel-electric hybrid drive with enough battery capacity for miles of near silent operation. Budget stringencies will limit what can be done in the first iteration, but look for such advances to eventually appear in the US armored vehicle inventory.
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