Well, people always mistreat Infantry as garbage....Originally posted by moca:No man, I think this is our next gen. of light tank.
Actually, the more I look at it, the more they look like garbage trucks.
Well, getting your pants caught down, a tonner is the last place you'd want to be. Typically in the US Army, infantry are transported by armour. You don't see the US Army using trucks for transporting infantry within a theatre of operations anymore.Originally posted by moca:SAF has more trucks than APCs, so we will continue to travel in trucks.
Also, driving all the way to the fight in AFV convoys may not always be best or evenpossible due to many reasons including terrain, enemy activity, etc etc. The US is roadbound which makes them juicy targets.
As SAF infantry, we have ABSOLUTELY NO armoured assets. They have to be loaned to the battalion depending on mission and they are not always available.
But trucks, we have integral to the battalion.
In a typical battalion/company mission, we get dropped off by trucks and other softskin transports in a safe area first. Then the trucks bugger off.
We harbour in that area, usually a patch of forest etc, until at night when we trek through the forest to the target. The path would be marked by scouts during the day time with luminous markers.
A company of infantrymen moving in the darkness in the forest is no stealth, mind you. We sound like a herd of wild elephants.
from what i understand, they are called 5 tonners cos they can haul 5 tons of load, not cos of their weight.Originally posted by Fingolfin_Noldor:The tonner won't be called a 5-tonner anymore.
Rather 10-20tonne, after you add that much protection, new engine, and what not.
Truth to tell, this day and age, you only stuff infantry into IFVs, not tonners. These are meant for logistics.
Whatever it is, adding all that armour on is going to cost some and weigh some.Originally posted by beavan:from what i understand, they are called 5 tonners cos they can haul 5 tons of load, not cos of their weight.
I think between the M113 and the 5-tonner, I will at least feel much safer with the former, if the former was given the ERA fit or some degree of passive armour.Originally posted by moca:It's kinda like the M113.
In Israel, the troopers used to refuse to ride inside as one RPG round would cause the vehicle to explode and burn them all to death.
They would rather sit atop the vehicle and take a chance with sniper bullets. As least their remains can be identified!
After modification there is now more confidence in the protection of the M113.
But what can you do? The RPGs or RRs can take apart practically everything these days.
I think it is a good idea to equipt our future peace-keeping troops with better armoured vehicles as i forsee an increase in peace-keeping missions for SAF.Originally posted by M551Sheridian:i tot us still use trucks to transport troops? donno if black hawk down is true see them using trucks and now they have the casspir or something the truck which has a v shaped hull used for transport / mine clearing based on a african truck.
edit:they oso have the cougar H,MRAP and some other trucks which they say are mine,IED proof
links:
MRAP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRAP_%28armored_vehicle%29
cougar H http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar_%28vehicle%29
casspir http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casspir
I've always liked the Aussie Bushmaster. Cold water on tap! How cool is that?Originally posted by tankee1981:The armoured 5-tonner is a good start but for greater protection and fire power, the Terrex will be a better idea. The US Marines' Cougar H can be a cheaper alternative to the Terrex.