Saturday, May 25, 2024

Do we need to re-evaluate how we rank Infantry Fighting Vehicles?

 

The Bradley is a superstar in the Ukraine/Russia fight.

Not one armor expert I follow saw that coming.  I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!

The much aligned and criticized Bradley IFV is doing the work.

We're not hearing much about the other IFVs (one thing we must consider is the propaganda behind this whole thing and Ukraine's desire for MORE OF EVERY DAMN THING from the US), but with that warning is it time to re-evaluate how we rank IFVs?

Could it be that the old armored triangle still applies?  That mobility and firepower along with armor still hold weight?

Everyone is going to wheels but in Ukraine tracks are still king.  The ground just has too many issues outside of a short time in the summer for clear running of wheeled vehicles.

We saw an old 25mm chain gun do work on an MBT.  Not a kill but enough to render it combat ineffective.  Oh and that's without utilizing one of its anti-tank missiles that American Soldiers would definitely dial up against any MBT they ran across.

I don't know.  I do know that many of our assumptions about what kind of armor we needed for the future are being challenged right before our eyes and no one is debating what we're seeing and how that applies to our procurement.

Battlefield data, versus procurement momentum vs the desire to grab more cash for certain critters in power.

Is all that conspiring to wreck us in the next war?  I'm not sure.

What I do know is that it would be nice to slip the Ukrainians a few Booker M10s to see how they do in combat.  Did the US Army get that one right?  

I propose sliding them into a Ukrainian light infantry unit, paratroopers or Marines and see how it performs.  If we're gonna break the bank and endanger our own security by emptying our supply shelves then the least we should get back is some much needed data to test our assumptions going into the future.

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