US Army wants new 30mm turrets for its Strykers, AMPVs and M-113s..

Is the Army being short sighted here?  Why not standardize on a real medium caliber that will be proficient into the future.  The 50mm offering from these bubbas seems to fit the bill...

via Army Times.

The Army is looking for information on a remote weapons system and an unmanned turret for its 30mm cannon for a few of its ground vehicles.

The post on the federal business opportunities website, fbo.gov, is asking industry for information on a system that will need to operate both the 30mm cannon and a 7.62 machine gun aboard a “medium sized combat vehicle platform” such as the Stryker, M113 and the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle.

It must also have a thermal camera with 70 percent identification of targets the size of a NATO vehicle to a range of 4 km or more.

Story here. 

Some of you might not remember but I predicted an "armor revolution".  Quite honestly I thought it would happen with the Chinese introducing a new series of armored vehicles but I forgot how they operate.  They follow and copy.  They don't innovate.

So what are we seeing.

Strangely enough its our allies that are pushing the envelope.  Especially the Aussies.

Because they've been running competitions for their next generation of armored fighting vehicles we've seen manufacturers step up in ways we haven't seen in at least a couple of decades.

Now with the US Army seeking to upgrade its vehicles that pace is quickening.

But I wonder.  Are they doing it right or are they aiming too low?

To be a bit more clear, is the request for a 30mm cannon the correct 'ask for'? Should they aim higher and go with at minimum a 40mm cannon or my current favorite a 50mm cannon to allow for a one time upgrade that will be viable into the future?

Can't lie.  The more I read about the ballistics the more I like these new medium caliber offerings.  With the right fire control and optics we can achieve one shot kills so the loadout because equal to the higher round count of the 30mm cannons.

Just wondering.  I don't know for sure and I can be persuaded that I'm barking up the wrong tree but at a glance the bigger caliber seems worth chasing.