Kirkhill said:
Do you need Million Dollar Buggies (TAPV) - or even $100,000 G Wagons?
Would $25000 Jeeps and Milcots get the job done for you?
For Dom Ops, what we require is a veh platform which allows us to do our jobs.
For pers and crew trg purposes, we need a veh platform which will provide the trg required for the crew IOT ease the transition to a RegF platform (i.e. TAPV, LAV, Coyote) - if such requirement occurs (deployment, CT, etc.) - minus of course the need for platform-specific trg (TOC, dvr, etc.).
Milcot doesn't fit the bill, unless you plan on installing a turret.
$25,000 Jeeps? Questions:
1) can a turret be installed, with wpns system, while maintaining vehicle stability?
2) can it carry a comms suite, a 3-4 pers crew, plus kit, and tools?
3) what is its armour capability?
I've seen pictures from the late 80s early 90s, when some PRes Armd Recce units had Buick Rendez-Vous and Aztecs. Doing recce in a white or silver Aztec is not how we do our job.
If someone can source a Jeep, which fills the above, plus has improved off-road capabilities; some armour; can be repaired locally without our veh techs getting their knickers in a knot; can run double bank comms on its existing power supply; plus all the other stuff I'm forgetting right now; for $25,000? Why hasn't someone done this already?
LUVW was about $180,000 per unit, apparently.
Sadly, when we could have purchased some HMMWV our American counterparts had going spare and were trying to offload at a rumoured $90,000 per unit...