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Chris on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems ThinkingSD - I really doubt I did everything to perfection but I've tried hard to do what's right. And anything that needs revision can of course be sorted once issues are identified.
steven duckworth on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems Thinking@Chris According to the latest research the population of the USA has stopped increasing in average hight partly due to dietary issues so perhaps we will plateau out too? As you say the bulk of the kit a modern soldier needs to wear is dramatically bigger than say the 60's...
Chris on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems ThinkingSD - just so. Don't forget the volume added by body armour and wearable tech. Someone should get a Uni to study the dramatic increase in average height that has happened over the past 40 years or so. Natural selection? I don't think so. It would be interesting to compare...
Chris on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems ThinkingAnt - as I understand the state of the art and with experience of one modern armoured vehicle with optional applique, there isn't anything particularly difficult about hanging extra armour on the outside of a vehicle. Its just very very heavy. So at minimum a hoist or crane, or MHE...
steven duckworth on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems ThinkingI believe that the post WW2 Japanese designed Type 61 MBT took advantage of the then smaller stature of the Japanese soldiers IIRC . It enabled them to produce a 90mm armed MBT 6m long by 3m wide by 2.5m high weighing only 35t. However today that 97% percentile is...
Chris on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems ThinkingAnt - don't take the 20% figure as a cast-iron guaranteed weight saving - as I noted there are many aspects of the design that wouldn't scale neatly so the figure would end up somewhere between 'big person' vehicle weight and a weight 20% less. Without doing the whole design...
Ant on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems ThinkingOn a different tack; Puma has extra add-on armour available taking it from (stretching my memory) from ~35 tons (A-400M deliverable) to 44 tons (which is not). Could you design a "Hobart's Funny" to mechanise/facilitate rapid post-delivery up-armouring in the field? You can follow my gist (a bit tangentially) here:...
Ant on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems Thinking@Chris Thank you. So if I understand correctly, there is a very considerable 20% weight reduction to be had, although this would not translate into a radical new capability in terms of transportation. But that 20% is very valuable in giving a smaller target, plus numerous collateral advantages, including further...
Chris on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems Thinkingwf - with the components so far developed I would predict a reasonable chance of making heli-portable armour, but underslung and with lower protection levels than currently envisaged. If that was a trade the User was prepared to make, then theres a fighting chance a fully prepared ready-to-fight vehicle could...
Chris on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems ThinkingAnt - I did a rough back-of-envelope sum (engineer speak for 'guess but with numbers') that suggested a 5% reduction in personnel max linear dimension (height being the obvious one to pick) and a consequent reducing of personnel space to suit would deliver a reduction of vehicle weight of about...
wf on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems Thinking@Chris: I was asking more out of a desire to see how practical you thought it. Whether the theatre entry is via amphibious, parachute or helicopter, the ability to rapidly shuttle around light armoured vehicles by helicopter has proven useful, and obviously internal carriage will allow better flight profiles. Since...
Ant on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems ThinkingChris Great read, thank you. Regarding only NON-personnel carrier types, where smaller dimensions for drivers/gunners or even commanders could be selected by the user: What benefits could be derived in terms of reduced weight of armour or better C-130/Chinook carriage? Let us prescribe, say, the 50th centile for men instead...
Chris on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems Thinkingwf - as it stands none of the vehicles are within CH-47 internal cargo gauge. Jackal only just fits and then only with its air suspension pumped out. Some of the vehicles might make the underslung load limit, although as noted this would be a struggle, and would mean quite...
wf on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems Thinking@Chris: another one of the "lets see what we can screw the forces for" brigade was Graeme Stening, who as memory serves sued the MOD over the 1991 RRF friendly fire incident. Just Google the name to see his just desserts :-) Personally I think the "medium weight will allow...
Chris on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems ThinkingSD - just so. And reiterated in other related concepts such as 'getting inside the opposition's OODA loop' or the value of Tempo once highly lauded in the British Army's operational handbook. Sadly the idea of acting fast to gain and hold the initiative seems to have fallen out of...
steven duckworth on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems Thinking@Chris A stitch in time saves nine springs to mind.
Chris on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems ThinkingGreenie - not so long ago the value of mobility and rapid deployment was understood and valued. But at that time other factors were also understood; there was the Military Covenant for one thing, and an acceptance that one of the risks of a soldier's military career was of being...
Greenie on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems ThinkingFascinating read. Bit too much for my little brain to absorb! I am surprised that lighter armoured vehicles , as described, combined with active defence system with soft and hard kill, are not considered for light ready deployable force.
Think Defence on AnalysisWill drop you an email in the morning Stan
Stan Darbyshire on AnalysisDo you have access to any more photos of the quality colour ones showing us Sappers repairing the crater on the runway ? I am one of the soldiers in the pictures and was wondering if the owner has other stuff ?
TehFinn on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems ThinkingNo, we sure aren't too keen on those. And yes, motorcycle driver is very sought after profession in the army. Most who are selected to drive them have some sort of motocross background.
ArmChairCivvy on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems ThinkingSounds like you don't like surprises, then? "Battalion has dismounted, motorbike, UAVs and MTLB mounted recce" - I liked Mike W's comment below, in the same vein - and I bet you have conscripts queuing up, to be the ones who get to be on cross-bikes?
Harold Smith on AnalysisTechnical point if I may? You've stated above that: "The GR.3 was also not well suited to high altitude bombing, lacking a toss bombing system." While it's true that the GR.3 was not suited to high altitude bombing, this has nothing to do with the lack of a toss-bombing system,...
TehFinn on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems ThinkingMotorized (MTLB) company has a squad of motorbikes that recce the route. They're also likely to be accompanied by Leo2A4s. Battalion has dismounted, motorbike, UAVs and MTLB mounted recce It's true, junior officers leading from front suffered great number of casualties. I think I read an article that said 1/10...
Chris on Anglo Engineering Concepts – Back to Systems ThinkingMike W - thanks for the support, its always most welcome. There will be apparently more news tomorrow (15 Oct) about the shape of cuts MOD will have to invoke by Treasury demand. In such times it seems there ought to be MOD teams searching out cost-effective equipment programmes, so...
