bootlegga bootlegga:
Some nations, like Germany, have always shed armour for speed RR. Generally, their tanks/AFVs are faster and have less armour than comparable NATO vehicles. It's not necessarily a bad thing. There is something to be said about the ability to get out of dodge quick. And the tracks on Bradleys are far more vulnerable than the tires on a LAV. The LAV can move with several tires damaged, but lose a track on a Bradley and you go from APC to target real quick. Wheeled APCs have been a fixture on the battlefield since after WW2.
And your Hummer analogy is a poor one. Until the Hummer came along, the US Army used JEEPs as its light all-purpose transport. The Hummer is simply a larger version of it.
The US Army simply decided to go from a tiny SUV to a medium sized truck. You should compare a Hummer to a G-Wagen or similar vehicle. The Iltis is closer to the Jeep in comparison.
The reason to go to the MGS was not about speed, it was about transportability. The C-130 could never carry a tank, but the MGS was supposed to fit on a C-130 (they are still working on that). Now with our hangar queen C-17s, that point is moot, because each plane can carry a Leopard tank.
That sounds good but them why is Germany replacing it's very popular and successful Marder series AFV with a similar tracked vehicle? The Marder has been in service since the 70's and shadows the Bradley very closely. The Marder's replacement is also steel tracked and weighs in at over 30 tons.
Look at the Leopards for example. They started out at 41 toms but is now over 60 tons, putting it right in league with the Abrams, neither of which really are having problems with mobility or protection. Aside from it's thirst, the Abrams suprised a hell of a lot of people with it's performance.
Even the German army's main recon vehicle, the Wiesel, is almost 3 tons of cute little steel treaded goodness. They use that from ambulances to AA. It's a hell of a good vehicle with great mobility on steel tracks.
The hummer is a perfect analogy because it's being used for road patrol in Afghansistan and Iraq. It has gone from around 2.5 unarmored tons to almost doubling in weight and now their looking at ceramics and specialty armor because the basic platform won't take more weight. Yes, it started out as a light, unarmored truck but combat has a way of changing things..
We switched to Belinda's G-wagons after the Canadian public got pissed about the Intus being too light. The funny thing is that the G-wagon isn't that much better for protection either.
While I agree that a broken track is an inconvienient thing under fire, I doubt that wheels are any more resiliant. Sure, it can still move after one wheel is taken out but it might only take an anti-personel mine as opposed to an anti-tank mine. A track can be repaired with a few links where as a tire must be replaced.
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