Posted on 12/20/2014 3:29:05 AM PST by iowamark
The new defense spending bill includes $120 million for tanks that the Army has repeatedly said it doesn't want.
For three years, the Army in numerous Congressional hearings has pushed a plan that essentially would have suspended tank building and upgrades in the U.S. for the first time since World War II. The Army suggested that production lines could be kept open through foreign sales.
Each time, Congress has pushed back. Last week, Congress won again in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2015.
In a statement, Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said that Congress "recognizes the necessity of the Abrams tank to our national security and authorizes an additional $120 million for Abrams tank upgrades. This provision keeps the production lines open in Lima, Ohio, and ensures that our skilled, technical workers are protected."
Turner chairs the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee and will retain that position in the next Congress. The General Dynamics Land Systems plant in Lima, the only U.S. manufacturer of tanks, is in the district of Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio...
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
And that is the heart of the matter. Pork and buyoff. Establishment Republicanism doesn't want to stop Democrats; they only wish to replace them and be better Democrats.
Between the tank plant in Lima and all the fun and games that goes on at Wright-Patterson (USAF research and development) there has got to be a lot of that going on in Ohio.
CC
They could use a couple on the set of The Walking Dead - that old tank they use keeps turning up everywhere.
The Army forgets, until they are beaten over the head with the event, that the best time to have a tank is when the other guy does not. The Stryker fiasco is not a tank and will not defeat tanks. When we decided we did not need tanks, the Soviets/Russians were not a threat. They are back on the play bill now and they have tanks and lots of them. As Lima, Ohio is the ONLY source of our tank supply, we better not let it lapse and be the ones without a tank.
Obama wants them. I wonder who they will be used against?
Not only that, but letting the expertise on how to make them completely lapse is a bad idea too.
Not only that, but letting the expertise on how to make them completely lapse is a bad idea too.
We need more community outreach centers not tanks. Get with the program people.
The Army not wanting tanks is like the Navy not wanting destroyers, it doesn’t add up.
I figure smart bombs a cheaper than tanks, so that about does away with tank battles.
I think we should have an Abrams in every driveway. Not only would that assure national security, it would guarantee that rioters really will stay off the lawn.
Where do I get mine ?
General dynamics Land division is owned by CHRYSLER.
‘NUF SAID.
I’m just wondering about those rehabbed tanks (IIRC they get refurbished at Anniston) getting replaced by the new Pork ones. Do the others get surped out to local law enforcement then? Your local SWAT pullin’ up to a door near you in a brand new (to them) M1.....
While I won’t argue that pork issues aren’t in play, one has to remember that whatever “The Army” says it wants right now, is what the Obama Administration wants. In this case, keeping the industrial base/ pipeline which produces essential military hardware open, is a good thing. It takes a long time to refit the industrial base to produce the necessary military equipment needed in time of crisis. This is one of the few times I will applaud the move by Congress to spend the money (with the understanding that it will be no where near as efficient as we all want it to be, and there is lots of room for improvement).
No the Army and Marines do not any more M1xx’s
Best Tank in the world, can kill anything on the battle field. But.....
1) They are very heavy, road/bridge weight limit constraints, Channelizes deployment. This compromises Mobility thus limits -Fire and Maneuver. (Bad)
(BTW the marines are still trying to figure out how to get them ashore).
2) The fully burdened fuel cost for the things at OPtempo is about $2100/hr.
3) All the electronic gizmos require electrical power so powering them with the engine off “silent watch” is a big problem.
We need a lighter more fuel efficient tank. Stryker was a step in the right direction but poorly executed.
I understand your argument about industrial base pipeline and all that. I just don’t agree with it.
Whatever capability that is going to be used to replenish the stock will be over and done when this round is done, and we’ll be sending these machines off to who knows where to be used, worn out and eventually discarded - again.
Even setting this philosophy aside for a moment and looking at the bigger picture, this Republican ‘get’ pales in comparison to the egregious excesses they had to give Obama to get it. This country cannot survive having to pay 10 to 100 times the value of something we really need (to fund the entitlements and excesses) just to get it.
“I figure smart bombs a cheaper than tanks, so that about does away with tank battles.”
Isn’t that what hellfires were for?
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