14243c65   
   From: AKWolffan@gmail.com   
      
   On 2016 Dec 29, MrAnderson wrote   
   (in article<46931288-40e6-4e19-a716-f3426209813c@googlegroups.com>):   
      
   > Ability to carry about 4 soldiers would be very good.   
   > Ability to carry about 4 soldiers would be very good.   
      
   Does that include the crew for the vehicle? if not, that’s one squad per   
   vehicle, with one fire team as crew and one fire team as dismounts. That’s   
   a humvee or equivalent, with appliqué armor. Maybe a LAV. If you wanted to   
   carry a full squad of dismounts, that’d be something like a Stryker vehicle   
   or a Bradley. Humvees, LAVs, and Strykers are wheeled, Brads are tracked.   
   Wheeled vehicles tend to be faster and more reliable. Tracked vehicles are   
   more complex and more likely to break down. They give better cross-country   
   performance and are more agile.   
   >   
   > Terrain is mostly woodland, rural and praires, but it would be good if   
   > vehicle could travel easily in other environments after small modifications   
   > (sand / snow tires maybe?)   
      
   still a humvee or a LAV   
   >   
   > Opposition is supported by many locals, with some areas being more   
   > supportive, while others not. These insurgents have mostly man carried   
   > weapons and improvised vehicles (Technicals and Narco Tanks style).   
      
   a humvee or a LAV   
   >   
   > They're expected to operate whole year. (Imagine Allies and Axis stopping   
   > military actions and switching to winter tanks after first snow :p)   
      
   ah... that’s exactly why weather/climate conditions are so important.   
   German AFVs encountered severe problems due to mud in the autumn of 1942 and   
   snow in the winter of 1942. Older vehicles (PzKw III and IV, and any vehicles   
   based on their chassis, of which there were many) continued to have problems   
   even after some modifications such as wider tracks (reduce ground   
   pressure...). Newer vehicles (PzKw V ‘Tiger’ and PzKw VI ‘Panther’,   
   and vehicles based on their chassis, of which there were many) had wider   
   tracks from the start. Not wide enough, especially the Tigers, but were more   
   easily upgraded. Unfortunately, they were also bigger and heavier, so there   
   were still problems when compared to the performance of Russian T-34s,   
   designed from the outset for Russian conditions. Then there was the fancy   
   interleaved suspensions used by both Tigers and Panthers; there would be a   
   reason why no-one uses that kind of thing any more. Among other things, the   
   road wheels would freeze together in very cold weather, and would jam if   
   enough mud got into the right (wrong...) places. The Russian designs worked   
   fine in Russia, but had problems elsewhere. (Sand got into places it   
   shouldn’t, resulting in breakdowns; in addition, designing for cold weather   
   has consequences when things get hot.)   
   >   
   > The enemy uses IEDs, yeah, roads outside of towns are mostly dirt/gravel.   
      
   Something like the American MRAP or the South African Buffel or Mamba might   
   be effective. The South African Ratel might also be a contender.   
   >   
   > Air transport is reserved for wealthiest, water transport is popular for   
   > transporting goods and people. Inside towns roads are hard.   
   > Vehicles must be very reliable, their radius of operation must be quite big.   
      
   That leaves out the Strykers, then. You’re looking at something like a   
   Mamba or a Ratel at the high end, or a LAV at the low.   
   >   
   > They need to carry just equipment and consumables for crew.   
      
   Mamba or Ratel.   
   >   
   > Communication is by satellites and radios. Orbital support is basically   
   > impossible i. e. restricted for total failure, only nukes. Noise is not   
   > important, it just have to not kill people around.   
   > I think it will be more like operational budget.   
   > Forces are divided into operational groups composes of two battalions (I   
   > dunno if I can call a brigade), which is income of their transport   
   > spaceships, 1 spaceship = 2 battalions.   
   > At the end, sorry for my English :)   
      
   okay... specs:   
      
   basic vehicle: 5-10 tonne, six-eight wheels, armor good enough to stop small   
   arms and machine gun to 15mm, not much good for stopping anything heavier.   
   (weight goes up real fast if you try, and once you get to the 20 or more   
   tonne range you’re better off with a tracked vehicle.) Main armament,   
   20-35mm fully automatic cannon, remotely fired from inside the main hull.   
   Used in both anti-vehicle and anti-personnel roles.Secondary armament,   
   multi-tube ‘pepperbox’ laser, primarily point defence against inbound   
   anti-vehicle missiles. Limited anti-vehicle/anti-personnel capability.   
   Rifle-caliber machine gun co-axial with main armament. One/two additional   
   machine guns, hand operated, on external mounts. Crew of four: commander/main   
   armament gunner, driver/tactical navigator, electronic systems/air defence   
   operator (laser gunner), mechanical systems/loader. Four-six dismounts.   
   Dismounts operate the hand-held machine guns, which can be removed from the   
   external mounts. Diesel or diesel-electric power systems. All wheels   
   steerable. Armor sloped to redirect blast from mines. Can lose one, perhaps   
   two if eight-wheeled, wheels and still operate. Wheels solid rubber or spun   
   fibre. Basic vehicle would be standard troop carrier. A line platoon would   
   need five-seven, probably six. A line company would have three line platoons,   
   one heavy platoon (mixed mortars and basics), a support group (mixed heavy   
   and basic) and a command group (command, air defence, a basic). A scout   
   platoon would be two pink teams, three scouts and a heavy each. Scout   
   platoons might be attached to line companies, might be independent, would be   
   part of battalion assets. A line battalion would be three line companies,   
   two-three scout platoons, a heavy company (mixed mortars, heavies, basics)   
   and a command group, two-three command vehicles, an air defence vehicle,   
   heavy, two-three basics. combat engineer and mine warfare units could be   
   attached at company but more likely battalion level. given scenario,   
   brigade-level operations unlikely.   
      
   scout vehicle: as basic vehicle, closer to 5 tonne. 20-mm gun. Four   
   dismounts. Use extra space/weight to carry consumables. Operate in groups of   
   three. may have light UAVs.   
      
   mortar vehicle: main armament removed, replaced by semi-automatic mortar,   
   80-120-mm, and ammunition. no dismounts. Mortars operate with main force,   
   never go out alone as they have no dismounts.   
      
   heavy support vehicle: main armament removed, replaced by 90-mm   
   remote-operated direct-fire gun. No dismounts. Heavy support operates as   
   fourth member of scout team, covering the scouts, and in support group with   
   main force. Never go out alone, as have no dismounts.   
      
   Note: as air/artillery/orbital support is limited, organic artillery in form   
   of mortars and direct-fire guns essential.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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