The creation of light tank battalions is symbolic of the Army's failure to prepare for conventional war wisely. The appeal of light armor always goes up the longer an Army hasn't faced enemy heavy forces.
Army planners are building a new type of battalion for the light tank design that is nearing a decision by service officials and it’s going to require more armor crewmen.
The Mobile Protected Firepower battalion concept is becoming a reality but it still faces its share of challenges.
Infantry divisions will get a battalion that will pass out companies to each brigade to support infantry.
And:
“The MPF company looks and smells like a tank company,” [the deputy director of the Army’s capability manager for the infantry brigade combat team] said.
The problem is that the MPF is not a tank regardless of the look and smell.
It is in fact, a Future Burned-Out Hulk:
The Army can call light tanks Mobile Protected Firepower to disguise but not change the reality that they have substandard firepower, aren't protected against anything but the smallest weapon, and aren't mobile strategically in the real world and tactically won't move one bit after blowing up. Really, the MPF is the Holy Roman Empire of armored fighting vehicles.
Good grief, I thought the Army was wising up when I read it was apparently looking to make our recon units heavier:
As I've long wished, the Army seems to be be rebuilding its Goddamn armored cavalry at long last. Can a real armored cavalry regiment be far behind? But a little sense of urgency would be nice given "events."
The Army should be thinking of passing out tank battalions to divisions. Hell, if the infantry division is going to Europe, each brigade should have a battalion. I advocated this approach in place of the MPF concept in Army magazine several years ago.
Let's hope that the Russian invasion of Ukraine will at least show (additional) evidence that lightly armored vehicles are too vulnerable to count on to protect the infantry in the open from slaughter by enemies with heavy armor.
UPDATE: The Army will award the initial production contract this summer. What a waste.
[NOTE: Updates on Russia-Ukraine continue on this post.]
