Reports are out that the US has come to the same conclusion as our Canadian and German allies. No, not that the Leopard 2 is the best MBT, but rather that 60+ton armored vehicles are about the only thing that the Taliban hasn't proven adept at blowing up.
Time for me to dust off my soap box (not that I've been off it long enought to get dusty) and point out the ridiculousness of a hyper-velocity 120mm anti-tank gun against a dismounted enemy.
Hell, our TCs have to expose themselves to man the .50! the 7.62mm coax is worthless against mud walls, and the 120mm is overkill by a factor of, oh, about 100mm. A M1.5 (M1 with a M2's weapons: 25mm chain gun and 2 bunker-buster TOWS) would be better suited to the mission. Hell, an RPG-proof WWII M3 Lee/Grant tank would kick ass (give the sponson-mounted 75mm a 3P fuse, cannister and thermobaric rounds and put a 25/30mm up top) in the COIN role.
But at least our troops (when did we start usiing that word to refer to just one soldier anyway?!?) have some heavy, and I mean heavy metal now.
"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil, for I am riding in a M1A2 Abrams, boo-ya!"
with its sponson mounted 75mm and top-turret 37mm with a 7.62mm machine gun in a cupola would
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