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GK .Dundas said:This might be off topic slightly, but is it just me or is armoured recce different now from our current doctrine and we just haven't acknowledge it. With modern IR airborne sensors on cheap UAV's, and surveillance packages that can look 10's of km away isn't the idea of a light armoured vehicle that sneaks and hides kinda dead in many ways? US uses Bradleys for armoured recce, UK uses the new Ajax, Australia is buying the Boxer... their doctrine is different granted.
Now I'm not arguing pros and cons of TAPV in the recce game, but the increase in armour from traditional light assets seems to follow the general trend in recce vehicles over the "English speaking" world at the very least. Is our doctrine totally out of touch? Is it kept alive because we can't be bothered to spend money on proper armoured recce equipment? Are the people here arguing about old ways of doing things that have less and less value?
I have to admit to a certain amount of confusion, myself. We really don't seem to purchase vehicles to fit with whatever doctrine we're using and then kind of force fit the vehicle into the doctrine. We certainly did with the Coyote and the TAPV seems similar.
Up til 2013 there was no RECCE doctrine. I don't know what's happened since then. We made it up as we went along depending on the task and available equipment. The Troop Leaders Guide to the Galaxy has been in 'draft' form since the 90's and I don't think It's been officially replaced yet, at least, I've not heard anything if it was. The last official version was the 70's one with the T-62 and PT-76 removed as our threats. There's been lots of draft and unofficial copies of stuff floating around. One of the first things any commanders course had to do was rewrite the SOPs so that everyone, from different units, is on the same page. Some stuff stays the same, like a blind corner drill. Some other things change on a constant basis, like surveillance. There's a big difference in doing an OP screen from a hole, tied by sigs wire to your small sneak and peek vehicle or an OP screen of big, dirty noisy Coyotes. It almost seems like everything we do is by rote and we just add and subtract things based on resources and situations. If anything, it keeps everyone confused to what we do and how we do it.