Again?
The Army is now performing concept modeling and early design work for a new mobile, lethal, high-tech future lightweight tank platform able to detect and destroy a wider range of targets from farther distances, cross bridges, incinerate drones with lasers and destroy incoming enemy artillery fire – all for the 2030s and beyond.
So the Army again thinks it can build the wonder tank. But don't dare call it a Future Combat System (FCS), or something with the same initials.
Because this time for sure!
I guess I can recycle my criticism of the 19-ton FCS non-tank wonder system in this 2001 Military Review article (see page 28):
Barring successfully fielding exotic technologies to make the FCS work, the Army must consider how it will defeat future heavy systems if fighting actual enemies and not merely suppressing disorder becomes its mission once again. The tentative assumptions of 2001 will change by 2025. When they do, the Army will rue its failure today to accept that the wonder tank will not be built.
I'm old if bad ideas are rolling around again. Our M-1 main battle tank is getting old and soon we won't be able to update it. Why are we resistant to building a new main battle tank to replace the old one?
We still can't build the wonder tank.
