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Old 04-17-2018, 07:38 PM
madmikechoi madmikechoi is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Wiser View Post
Consider that in the Red Dawn timeline that M-1 chassis were being produced faster than turrets. With the failure of the M-247 (AKA SGT York), the Army needed a replacement for the M-163 Vulcan system right away. The production license for the Gepard turret was covertly acquired despite the neutralist government (Green-dominated) in West Germany, and the Gepard turrets fitted to the M-1 hull.

During the war, the Tunguska system was encountered on a number of occasions, and turned out to be very lethal. The Army wanted a similar system, but had to wait until after the war to get one. Hence the M-105 ADGS. M-1 style turret with two 35-mm guns and 12 ADATS missiles.
The problem with the mounting a Gepard turret on a M1 chassis is the fact the Leo's turret ring- at least from what I've been able to gather is 1980mm or a hair under 78 inches wheres the M1 series and M60s- 2159 or 85 inches. Supposedly the Leo 2's turret ring diameter is the same as its predecessor but don't quote me. That being said unless you start machining a fairly expensive adapter smaller turrets aren't going to fit on larger ring. IOW it would be fundamentally cheaper to develop a new turret with a similar armament setup and radar suite in that case.

Second, is one of the reason the DIVADS got the axe was besides dirty pool from the Left there was no way that any gun system at that time would reach out 6 km at slant ranges- at least not accurately and generally not with the self destruct of the fuzes go off. The Oerlikon KDAs and even the new revolver 35s are still 3500-4000m platforms even w/ the fancy new prefrag rounds and at the time 40mm L70 was the smallest proj that could use a proximity fuze (nowadays you can sort of cheat w/ in bore fuze setting and with a laser rangefinder to initiate detonation w/o putting what amounts to a radio antenna in the pointy end. Again, as a branch forgot it's own doctrine of mix- guns can do certain things pretty good, missiles can do some things pretty good, there is some overlap but not all so you need both.

Tunguska is a twofer. Yes, they wanted to replace the ZSU but at the time the Strela-10/SA-13 was still fairly new although I'm sure PVO SV might have overly worried about US jamming capabilities at the time against their second gen IR seekers. So it was a very expensive system that tried to address current liabilities and add capabilities to hedge future bets IMNSHO.


Finally, remember there were some really fairly cheap or soon to be cheap upgrades that could have been thrown on the M163 and the M48 Chap. Chaparral could have had the Chapfire system which included the ability to use the M299 quad Hellfire launcher, quad Stinger pods, and turret sighting systems of the Stinger Avenger. The Vulcan PIVADS could have lot the range only radar in favor of a Stinger pod, a laser rangefinder, and optics setup similar to the the M56 TOW nose found on the AH-1P/E/F (aka the AH-1S family).

If we go by accelerated development as usually found in war- we could expect the Alpha and Bravo model -92s to replaced almost from the getgo in 1985/86 w/ the Charlies aka Stinger RMP with introduction of the RMP Block 1 by the end of the war. A post war notional RMP Block 2 with an Igla like aerospike, an imaging IR seeker along w/ a laser proximity fuze would be ready for the long war after WWIII b/c there's now way any US administration would allow Mexico or the rest of Latin America to be a threat and by definition it would the annexation of a good deal if not all of Northern Mexico combined with a long counterinsurgency that would no doubt be bloody (Mexicans for all their faults are a fairly patriotic bunch and having lost half their country to the El Norte in 1848 they will not nor cannot abide losing another third even if they threw in their lot with a Red Army that lost)
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