Saturday, February 07, 2015
The Leopard 2-SG (EVO)
Do a quick rundown of Main Battle Tanks in the Pacific and I believe its a no brainer.
The Leopard 2-SG (EVO) is the best of breed.
It has best combination of firepower, armored protection, mobility (the iron triangle) along with fire control, networking and comms (the digital triad). The only tanks that come close (as far as public information is concerned) is the Japanese Type 10 and M1A2....it will only be surpassed when and if the M1A3 ever comes online.
This of course leads to an obvious question.
If the USMC is going to use AAVs until 2030 then that pretty much negates a serious combat role for those vehicles. If the Marine Corps is moving toward an "Air Inserted Ground Force" (that is a phrase that is so filled with bullshit that it makes me want to throat punch whoever invented it) then what becomes of the M1A1's in USMC service?
If AAVs are for all intents and purposes going away then how long can tanks remain?
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It weighs 72 tonnes? I thought tropical countries prefer something more like light tank.
ReplyDeleteIf you google mapped the country, you'll find that it has been heavily paved over. No mud to get stuck in.
DeleteAsian countries are starting to develop infrastructure (i.e roads) that MBTs can use.
That is true for Singapore Leos, but i would like buntalanlucu to explain how Indonesia is going to use them with their level of infrastructure
Delete....
Deletegood luck.
IMHO, I still think the Leopard 2 (latest variants) are overall better than the M1A2 or A3 due to the diesel engine vs gas turbine. A lower logistical foot print, particular for smaller militaries.
ReplyDeleteNot only the power plant, but also the tracks and transmission. These advantages are huge when it comes to readiness as well as reducing expenses (which is absolutely critical, since not every military has a 600 billion dollar plus budget).
DeleteWhat is telling to me is that the ECP 1 Abrams "modernization", per GDLS website ill admit, is to be upgraded with the Merkava's MT883 diesel, German Diehl tracks, and Allison transmission. This is a awesome thing that will only make the Abrams a better tank.
I never agreed with a gas turbine on a armored fighting vehicle. I think the idea has been utterly refuted.
Who cares about diesel engine, the era of hybrid is coming.
DeleteI'm actually more impressed by their regional recon capability. Reports are that they have an EO satellite with a 1m resolution crossing the region every 90 minutes. Makes it damn hard to organize an invasion in secret.
ReplyDeleteSingapore has to be that capable. Day one of the fight they have to take space from the other guy as they have no strategic depth.
DeleteOkay, so you add 2 feet of composite armor to the front face of a standard Leo 2A4. And then you cut a 2X2 foot deep channel through that armor face to allow the sights which were /already/ buried in the front face of the existing turret front armor to 'have a view'.
ReplyDeleteDerp...
1. The gunner is going to have a sabot in his sternum and then it's gonna start to bounce. Which means the loader and the TC will each get a piece.
2. The only useful way to improve engagement rates of multiple armor targets with a handloaded, LOS-only, tank rifle is to have automatic track while scan and datalink handoff of shoot lists through the principle targeting sensor. Which is to say the GPS has to be able to view the whole battlefield to pick out the targets and refresh that scan as they move before, during and after the handoff, as the sort becomes the mort and targets hulk out or need reservicing.
The notion that you can do this with an FOV dictated by the 2X2ft channel cut in front of you is the veritable sodastraw problem of fastjet targeting pods, without the optics head articulation.
Has anyone even bothered to put together a list of likely battlefield locations and average the LOS ranges that are apt to be encountered therein so that there is /some/ form of statistics to put behind the assumption that the Evolution is survivable?
I mean, it doesn't have the L55 gun. It has old-school sights with a massive hole in the frontal turret armor. What happens if the average engagement distance is also under 800m due to jungle or urban buildup constraints?
Everyone knows that if assumption is the mother what the ugly baby will be named...
L55 is overkill, the old gun does just fine against all known armored vehicles. additionally Singapore is a major urban area. you don't want a whole lot of gun overhang in tight quarters.
Deleteoptics are fine for a city fight. not everything is going to be wide open desert..
additionally i think the Singaporean Army does it the same way the US Army does. the Tank Commander has an independent sight that he uses to hunt for targets, once found he passes that along to the Gunner that gets eyes on and then the TC goes back to looking for more targets.
In my opinion the Leopard 2A7+ is better than the Leopard 2SG EVO and also the Challenger 2 with Tier 3 upgrade. The Challenger 2 with Tier 3 upgrade or theatre entry standard has the best armour in the world and its Hydrogas suspension help it once in gear go just as fast as a Leopard tank cross country. The M1A2 with improved ammunition M829A2 and A3 rounds where made to kill the latest Russian ERA on Russian tanks T90A,T80B and T72B(M1A2 still lakes a proper HE shell) but to counter this the Russians have made Relkit. So with the same ammunition the L55 can give you even more MV and yes what's wrong with overkill because on the modern battlefield you might need it when the enemy comes up with something new. A good example :Look at the Germans during WW2 The Tiger tank with its 88mm L56 for its day it was overkill against a Sherman tank or T34/76. And what did they do with the Tiger 2's gun its longer the 88mmL71. Again overkill but when they needed it they had it. Even though the Germans lost WW2 there is no denying that the Tiger tanks prolonged the war they just didn't have enough of them. So in modern times they have done the same thing, more firepower is a good thing. The L55 also has a better barrel life than the L44. Though when the M1A3 comes due to better tech it will be very interesting to see where it will roost on the best tank in the world there is a lot of 4th generation tanks being made or planned the next few years are going to be interesting.
Deleteyou need to say that a different way. the Challenger 2 with tier 3 upgrade is planned but not even close to being funded. it is just a dream in a designers eye. as far as the L55 is concerned lets be honest. its designed to match the penetration of the L44 but even then isn't as good against enemy armor when the depleted uranium rounds are used.
Delete"Everyone knows that if assumption is the mother what the ugly baby will be named..."
DeleteM&S? lol
So how would you solve the problem of having a 2 inch piece of composite armour slapped over your sight? Cameras? Those give you crappy distance estimation which is important for a gunner. Radar? Good God, you're going to shoot at radar returns without taking a look at what it is first? Not to mention on the ground, radar is going to reflect off everything, especially in an urban area. Way to washout your scope.
And talking about assuming, M&S, did you check out their potential enemies and their MBTs? Or just assume that they will be fighting Russian T-90s? Their potential aggressor MBT is the Malaysian PT-91, the L44 is more than enough. So, did you check that the L44 is insufficent? Or did you assume?