Storming the Beaches: The Marine Corps and Army Must Integrate Armor in Future Amphibious Ops

[@Grampagreybeard]

A Bradly fighting vehicle with the new wider tracks + bolt-on propellers like the LVTP7/AAV7 has + an Amphibious kit. with a new unmanned turret with a 40 mm cannon/ up-gunned + more frontal armor and crew only to save weight. could be a fast way to plug the Amphibious tank role needed for the Marines and Army until we get a purpose-built Amphibious tank.

[@AidanofVT]

Armchair general here, but I get the feeling that people still haven't accounted for just how big a deal drones are. The idea that you are going to have soldiers walking onto a beach where they will be ambushed by machine guns etc. may be outdated. Is anyone ever going to order soldiers onto a beach which hasn't been swept up, down, and sideways by infrared-equipped drones? GMLRS is expensive, but soldiers are also expensive. Soldiers are now _more_ expensive than drones, in many cases. Drones now see and attack almost with the precision of human soldiers, though their points of weakness are different. Who wouldn't expend thirty small drones to ensure the safety of ten soldiers, and eliminate the need for a tank?

[@alonzochubb7061]

I agree that drones are a very dangerous and disruptive however you must always have a force to hold a shoreline in jeopardy. Maybe not storm the beach like WW2 but we must have a force capable of doing so.

[@sd989989]

Build a Naval Articulated Tug Barge as your LCS Streetfighter around the GMLRS and add in the HAVIC as a barge carrying a tank..... the combination of drones at scale is going to require a 'defensive' line of drones..... you will need to tender that line and hence a Naval Maneuver ATB for things like barge with aerostat.

[@timw1329]

Great episode. The Army should try to get a few of their captains into our non-resident Expeditionary Warfare Course.

The use of "MPF" is a pretty clear pitch here (for the MIC conptheros) and that was originally the USMC's idea. Every one remember expeditionary fighting vehicle, sure that was more of an IFV pattern but that is the chassis these guys are asking for and is the inspirations for the Chinese fast landing tanks these guys highlighted at the start. US Naval forces and maybe thats the army could totally restart EFV by putting the MPF micro Abrams turret on it and there you go but USMC ditched the super expensive EFV in favor of getting their own HIMARS and ASMs cause that what is gonna win these (tiny) island hopping campaigns in the south china sea that other wise are gonna be a knife fights on islands that probably have a max diameter of dry land lesser then the minimum engagement ranger of most heavy MBT main munitions. Its a huge waste to use hectoton of kit on a rolling steal covered 120mm to maybe shoot down a chinese runway when their are gonna be surface combatants with 5inches. USMC is not in the business of attacking armor defended beaches like the PLANM/PLA plan too anymore if they ever where, and if the US brings MBTs to battle its gonna be by a deliberate more logistical sea-lift roro capability like we saw in the aussie exercise to defense a beach against an attack rather then try and make one. As we see in Ukraine the answer is probably small light cheaper Unmanned or optionally manned systems for economy of scale and attrition resilience. Heck with cheap simple unmanned system ya can do all kinda of crazy asymmetric stuff like submarine tanks, UGVs that start out at UUV ya could drop off thee coast like mines off a sub or even air craft and have them roll up the sand bar that the kinda stuff ya need if ya gonna be assaulting beaches Normandy style in this day and age.

[@jm2453]

I partially want to give you a thumbs up here, but you are all over the place. I think the EFV unit price was over 23 million per back when it was cancelled over a decade ago while they hadn't reduced the planned quantity. Breaking the land vehicle from the boat could easily make an equal capability for less money.

[@RagsHSC-7]

I believe the amphibious China tanks will be so exposed in the water like that. Taiwan would be able to easily take them out and they almost look like the British Challenger, although I did not see the entire tank as it would be out of the water. Their signature would be larger than the ship per se. It's like a sub surfacing that's the target besides the ship. They are slow. Even the USS Missouri would easily take them out at 20 nautical miles. I really don't see those as a threat. As far as the MFP. I can foresee from past engagements that it is a necessity. This is where the Army and the MC has to come together and definitely needs to put a stop to which branch is better. We're all better working together. God bless you all and Godspeed💯🇺🇸⚓🩵