[archy]

Nod, although we just bought a pile of apaches.

Aye, that will sit in storage for several years, [as 11 out of the 25 already are] and won't be flying until 2007. Meanwhile, the MoD is selling off the eight H.C.III/ MH47E Chinook helicopters operated as SAS delivery aircraft [fitted with terrain-following radar and equipped for aerial refueling] to pay for the Apaches.

And believe it or not are developing a ceramic/plastic tank ;p In tests it survived hits from a challenger 2 .

There are some REAL interesting U.S. developmental programs for robotic tank killers, essentially a ground-based equivalent of the Predator UAVs. And there are possibilities of operating a tank with a one-man crew, also possible with the Swedish turretless STRV-103 *S-tank* of the 1970s-'80s.

But those developments are down the road a ways.

-archy-/-

[may18]

Yeah i know theres problems with them,

I come from a military family and i can tell you underfunding causes a lot of problems for uk forces.
Given that cdi shows the uk as europes highest spenders on equipment it makes me wonder what state other euro armies are in.

Having said that, i still believe our guys do an extremely professional job, more impressive that they do it despite these problems.

WRT small numbers, its part of a defence review aiming to maintain a smallish, highly mobile, well trained force that can move quickly.