Recently, there has been a lot of news about the new American light tank.
General Motors' Griffin II light tank has won the contract for the U.S. Army's Light Tank-Mobile Protected Firepower project and is expected to begin equipment in 2025.
"Griffin" II light tank
In Gulf War , the M1A1 "Abrams" main battle tank, M2/M3 "Bradley" infantry/cavalry fighting vehicle, M551 "Sheridan" The U.S. armored force, represented by light tanks, demonstrates an informatized and modernized army warfare model.
Therefore, the development of the US Army is also the focus of attention of various countries.
American modern main battle tank
However, with the contraction of the US military's global strategy, especially represented by the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan , the military reform of the US military began to appear as a system built to win local wars with system support.
During the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, the United States manufactured a large number of tanks in pursuit of battlefield survivability, firepower output, and rapid manufacturing.
M48A2, the commander's command tower is very conspicuous
M60 main battle tank
During this period, the development ideas of light tanks in the United States also adhered to the design of big conflicts and hot wars, emphasizing mobility, firepower and special nuclear war" "Three defenses" function.
M551 light tank (a tank developed in the early 1960s)
However, with the end of the Cold War , coupled with the defeats suffered by the Vietnam War , Korean War , and the outbreak of local wars.
The US military began to change its tank design ideas.
Middle East: M1A1 Abrams main battle tank destroyed by roadside bomb.
The mainstream view of the U.S. Army on the fourth-generation main battle tank is to reduce the weight of future tanks to between 30 and 40 tons while ensuring adequate protection indicators, and use unmanned platforms such as drones to Increase its battlefield perception range, and use smart ammunition such as loitering missiles to expand the tank's strike range.
puts more emphasis on the intelligent, information-based and systematic of .
China's Type 15 light tank and VT5 foreign trade light tank impacted the U.S. arms foreign trade
In 1981, the U.S. military proposed a new mobile protective artillery system.
Later, with the withdrawal of the Marine Corps , the Army independently launched the close combat light armored weapon system program in 1984, which was renamed the "Armored Artillery System" program in 1985.
However, due to the substantial adjustment of U.S. military strategy after the Gulf War and sharp reduction in military expenditures, the entire development plan progressed slowly. The XM8 was terminated by the U.S. Army after the development and production of 6 prototypes.
"Griffin" 1's light tank technology demonstration vehicle
Therefore, the light tanks recently announced by the US military are even more eye-catching.
When it was revealed that the Type 15 tank was under development, there was a lot of opposition in the country. The reasons put forward by these opponents were surprisingly consistent: "What is the use of light tanks? The US military, which is number one in the world, does not equip light tanks anymore. Why are we wasting money on this project? "
And now, it turns out that a strong army is the foundation of national defense, and the development of weapons and equipment cannot stop for a moment!
