SAF Combat Bulldozers for FIBUA?

• chino65

  11 Dec 07, 18:33

  Originally posted by bigballs11:

  In the new doctrine, the need for heavy armour is mainly to thrust and punch a hole in a fortified enemy defence, and not really deploy to protect the soft skin vehicle. For that job 100 leo2 with some form of improve armour is more then enough.

  There is no new or old doctrine. The gun just got bigger and the tank got faster etc
  
  

  Originally posted by bigballs11:

  And I see no point keep 2 sets of ammo either, in this case 120 and 105. I think it about time we let go the SM1 and the centurion if it ever eixist and put our finite resources on the leo2 and the upcomming wheel combat vehicle.
  

  Actually we have more gun calibres than that. By my estimation:
  
  M728 CEV 165mm
  Leo 2 120mm
  Centurion 105mm
  AMX10P 90mm
  AMX13 75mm
  M113, V200 & BX 25mm
  
  But why this incredible urge to standardise everything? That's so "80s".
  
  Armies seems to be moving back to the WW2 rojak style of weaponry with many different kinds of calibres and weapon types even among infantry sections.
  
  ...
  
  Our resources are less finite than you think.
  
  In terms of money, can you estimate how much SAF pay to a battalion of 30-yr old reservists each time they go for ICT? Let's say 500 men. Average each man's salary $1,500 per month (or $1,200 for 3 week ICT). And this is a low estimation.
  
  That's $600,000. Or more than half a million.
  
  Haven't count the ammo, food, petrol, electricity, water bills and other logistics.
  
  By my estimation SAF spends about $1 million per unit per ICT.
  
  And there are at least a dozen reservist units undergoing ICT at any one time.
  
  ...
  
  In terms of manpower, like i said, if IDF can man more than 1,000 MBTs with a population of 3 million, there's no reason why our manpower resources cannot handle a mere 300 tanks.
  
  So our resources are pretty infinite, i would say. it's just that as you say, our neighbours are low threat, that's why we don't need more. But things are changing. The neighbours are going crazy buying weapons and here you are saying throw this away, throw that away...
  
  Throw is fine, but must replace.
• bigballs11

  11 Dec 07, 21:46

  You are a big spender man don't forget the so call $$$ come from the tax we pay. On the average, we only have SGD5bil for the defence. More budget = more tax = less pay for u. So I rather keep a quality then a quantity type of defence force.
  
  IDF is totally a different case they got big blank cheque given by Uncle Sam to buy new toys, we don't.
  
  For the sort of threat we are facing now and forseeable future, I believe a force with the following builtup make more sense.
  
  100+- Leos MBT and variants
  200+- BX and variants
  300+- Wheel armoured vehicle and variants
  400+- M113 Ultra and variants
  
  AMX-10, SM1, Centurion, V150/200, M60CEV, M60AVLB should all be send to smelting pot as recycle material That should make enough NEW STEEL for our new wheeled armoured vehicle.