What does the LVT-1, LVT-2, LVT(A)-1, LVT(A)-2, LVT-4, LVT(A)-3, LVT(A)-4, LVT-3C, LVTP-5, LVTP-7, AAV and AAV RAM/RS all have in common?
A water speed of around 8mph.
That's it. Over 80 years of technological improvements and we're barely (and I mean JUST barely) moving faster than a World War 2 tracked landing craft when it comes to getting Marines ashore in armored transports.
The EFV was the first real attempt at a high water speed Landing Vehicle Tracked but it required a complicated drive and suspension system with the added benefit of packing more power than a M1A1 Abrams Tank (horsepower that is).
Everyone knows where I stand as far as the bird in hand versus one in the bush.
I want the MPC now. Everything else (procurement wise) be damned.
If a water speed of around 8mph is the upper limit when it comes to Landing Vehicle Tracked without overpowering it and making it uber complex with the side issue of having it water plane then the MPC is making more and more sense.
