Quote:
Originally Posted by dragoon500ly
Ouch! Ask a tough one why don't you!!
The equipment needed would be based on the mission and terrain expected.
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*hehs*
Now that I am no longer distracted, I can return to this concept. At any rate yes, mission and all does play a role, but a large focus should be on the conditions where they will be used. In essence away from the normal supply chain as they will be spending a lot of time away from the established lines. To me, that means minimal complexity. The fewest possible different makes and models of everything. Right now, in a normal Heavy ACR's average squadron, just the ammo supply situation is a clear example of that, 155 how, 120 Gun, 120 Mortar, Jav, TOW, AT4, Stinger, 40mm HV, 40mm GL, 25mm, .50, 7.62, 5.56, 9mm, 12G. And that's not counting aviation and the fact that all of that save the Stinger and 155 can be found in a single troop.
And then of course parts supply has to be a PITA.
If I had to equip and man a cavalry unit, that would be the first thing I would address. Yes, I can see why having a totaly different weapons mix than the regular army would be a issue, but in the context, it would be worth the hassle at the corps and divisional level.
The first thing I would address would be the small arms. I would standardize on two: A pistol round, and a rifle round. Just for S&G's it would be the .45 for the pistol, and for reasons other than the argument over the 5.56, the 6.8spc. Why the 6.8? Because it makes a better machine gun round than the 5.56, and finding a reliable compact light 7.62N weapon is non-trivial. Now the exact weapon is a little up in the air. I would prefer a design that can be used as a ultra short carbine, a reasonable AR, and a machine gun. I can get all that, well, most of all that with the AUG. And with the bonus that the weapons would be much more compact. The LMG version would also make for a decent DMR, so bonus there. MG wise, have to use something else. The M249 MInimi comes to mind, and it can be used for commanders weapons and coaxial mounts as well. With the Minimi being designed to fire a 7.62 round in the first place, upping it from 5.56 to 6.8 shouldn't be a problem. For vehicles I would do the same winnowing, even when it comes to unarmoured vehicles in all the flavours they come in. In this case, I'd base all trucks, wreckers, van bodies, anything larger than a HMMWV on the MAN series of trucks. Be it 3 tonnes, or 10, there is a size for that, and they are all based on the same parts, be it tyres, engines, whathave you. In the light vehicle category, yes, I'll stick with the humvee family. I have a soft spot for the things. Combat vehicles would follow the same format. A base chassis from which Gun, scout, mortar, air defense, command, apc, and recovery can be based off of. All cannons, be they scout or air defense would be the same size, and the gun would be probably be a 105. Anything less just wouldn't cut it in an anti tank role. My personal preference would be the CV90 series, in 40mm. With a small 4 man scout section, plenty of room to stow equipment. I would go tracks over wheels for durability, but note that there is no arty. This is the once place where having organic artillery is nice, but not essential, especially since I would (Using the ACR as a model) double the mortar section in each troop to four vehicles, all mounting the Patria doublebarreled automort. This way, we have fewer types of ammo to supply, fewer types of parts to supply, and can keep things simple. But, if wheels was needed, whatever wheeled vehicle I would have, would be either based off of the MAN trucks for parts commonality, or vice versa.