Quote:
Originally Posted by Olefin
The light tanks from Brazil would have been already converted if they bought ones from Brazil. They did that back in the 1970-80's. The X1A and it's variants were already done by Brazil and they are the ones who would have the expertise to be able to convert the Mexican tanks. And the company in Brazil was looking for more customers for conversions of their tanks. And that was done during the Cold War.
http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/co...ardini-X1A.php
Bernardini S/A Industria e Comercio (Bernardini Industrial and Commerce Company) of Sao Paulo was funded 1912. It was already a well-established vehicle manufacturer when it first earned a contract for the modernization of the M41 Walker Bulldog in service to the M41B and M41C standard
Variants
X1A (1975) – Based on the M3A1 Light Tank with a new diesel Saab-Scania 280 hp engine, improved suspension, improved armor, new fire control system, DEFA 90 mm (3.54 in) cannon, new turret. 80 converted. The first 80 vehicles were modernized from 1975 to 1978. They were given to Cavalry Regiments under the designation X1. Also known as the CC MB1 (Combat Car, Brazilian Model nr. 1) or X1A, it remained in service until the 1990’s.
X1A1 Carcara (1977) – Prototype with an improved chassis and six bogies, which never made it into production.
X1A2 (1979) – Final version based on the previous X1A1, and completely overhauled. Weighing 19 tons, it was armed with a new 90 mm (3.54 in) cannon and new 300 hp diesel engine. 30 rebuilt in 1982-83. Those 30 are actually in reserve still for the Brazilian Army to date.
As for the AMX- VCI/BDX they were bought in real life after the end of the Cold War and the numbers are public record - 400+ . So if in real life they had the money in the early 90's to make that buy then it's a good bet they had that money in the canon as well. If so that could be where the money comes from for the SPG's and APC's in the canon. And the numbers they would have needed easily are within that budget they had in real life. Keep in mind that Mexico had already bought 200+ armored cars and APCs and 80 MILAN missiles in the mid-1980s. Thus a second buy of similar size is definitely possible.
However a 1000 plus buy of tanks and APC's of the Mexican Sourcebook would be way beyond that level of budget
That would require something that gives them a lot of money - say oil going nuts and suddenly its a 100 dollars a barrel or something similar that leaves Mexico flush with cash |
Well Olefin you may not agree with Mexico having a 1,000 plus buy of tanks and APC's in the Mexican Sourcebook, and to be honest I don't agree with the numbers either. But its definitely on the right path to giving the Mexicans a fighting chance against U.S. forces in the southwest.
Also the numbers you have been proposing on other posts are not that far off the Mexican Sourcebook, although the type of equipment is obviously different. But to be honest with you it would be a lot easier for Mexico to buy a battalion or two of tanks and other used or new equipment from France than going to the trouble of acquiring inferior equipment from other sources and then converting it to a standard that will still be lower than what they could get from France. After all as you have said Mexico is flush with oil money!
What Mexico needs is a tank killer, either tanks or anti-tank missiles, to take on American tanks. No matter what they could conceivably get they are not going to be able to handle an M1A1 outside of bushwacking them from the rear, but it is possible that there are not that many M1A1s in the southwest. On the other hand a modern tank or more powerful anti-tank missiles could take on M60's and baseline M1's with some success.