TUSKs now in Iraq.
 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...cket/71103.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...cket/71102.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...cket/71101.jpg

They seem to have dispensed with the Remote Controlled Weapons station, and have gone with the side ERA panels plus a .50 caliber with HID lamp above the main gun for countersniper work.

Re: TUSKs now in Iraq.
 

That thing in turret basket on the sides is some kind of standoff armour?

Re: TUSKs now in Iraq.
 

Oh the Challenger 2 TUSK look much more tuskuesqe. Those americans seem not to be able to overdo the abrams applique armour layout.

And the now 50cal coax.. The french already did it.. internally. So who´s right now?

Re: TUSKs now in Iraq.
 

Those are the sponson boxes on the sides of the turret - basically steetmetal storage boxes, for tools and other stuff. They're on all M1 models.

I've got mixed feelings about the deletion of the RWS for the .50 cal. On the M1A1 it's not a big deal, as the .50 cal can be fired buttoned, but for the M1A2s that leaves the TC completely exposed (it's and old-school pintle mount). On the other hand, I've talked to a lot of folks who have used the CROW RWS on the M1114 up-armored humvees and they were not too impressed. Apparently the jump quite a bit when firing a .50 cal, and you have to re-aquire the target each time. Also you have to expose yourself to reload, and the gunner's "joystick" is apparently kind of flimsy and breaks easily. We have ALOT of uparmoreds on our FOB, all with newest armor/turret/survivability kits, and only one has the CROW and as far as I can tell, they never take it outside the wire. I have heard they're useful in an overwatch role, where the thermal sight comes in very handy. Mk-19's are also "out of favor" here - you rarely see them used on humvees. It's all M2 .50 cals and M240s. Apparenly the MK19s are considered overkill in built-up areas and cause to much collateral damage. Even the number of .50 cals is down for the same reason - the M240 has becomed the tool of choice as you're much less likely to shoot through 2-3 buildings and kill someone you hadn't intended too.

Adrian

Re: TUSKs now in Iraq.
 

Obviously Israelis http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif After all the over-the-gun .50 came from them http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: TUSKs now in Iraq.
 

Yeah, but the French did it better still.. And the israelis didn´t invent the concept of heavy co-ax weapon but whatever.. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

Re: TUSKs now in Iraq.
 

Obviously because of EXPERIENCE they didn't think they needed it.

Not too sure but, when did the French get EXPERIENCE to think they did it better???

Kind of like a LEO 2, might have been the best MBT in Europe but, darn that Cold War never happened and they have gone missing since then, Well I'll take that back, the Canadians are going to actually put some in Afganistan. (Canadians with more EXPERENCE than French http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif)

Before you praise something, get in to something.

Re: TUSKs now in Iraq.
 

Well, the 50cal under main armor is better than one standing outside of it, isn´t it?

And SGTgunn had good remarks of US considering heavier coax weapons for them too, but due to room constraints or whatever, were cancelled. So the french may or may not have combat experience recently, but they probably have some other people than frenchies giving them a bit of experience in the coax matter, so you may be right that actually EXPERIENCE from these, not maybe french guys, helped their decision. And they crammed the 50cal inside the already small Leclerc.. So I´d say it´s a better system. Nothing more than that.

Re: TUSKs now in Iraq.
 

Oh, forgot.
http://63.99.108.76/forums/index.php?showtopic=23547

Finally the frenchies are getting some experience.

Edited for spelling

Re: TUSKs now in Iraq.
 

Oh and I think that at least Denmark has some Leo2A5DK in Afghanistan.

Re: TUSKs now in Iraq.
 

"Not too sure but, when did the French get EXPERIENCE to think they did it better???"

You might want to take a look at the actual french involvement in armed conflicts since WW2 before making premature judgements. You might be surprised to discover they have accumulated quite a bit of experience, even AFV related (GW1, for a start).

Re: TUSKs now in Iraq.
 

I don't think there would be any significant engineering problems fitting a M2 .50 cal as a co-ax on the M1. There is a fair bit of room on either side of the breech. The reducaction in ammo capacity would effectively be negligable, as the 11,000 round capacity 7.62mm ammo box is almost never filled to even a fraction of it's capacity (who wants to sit around linking 110 100 round belts and feeding them in? Not me.) It might be tight, but I think it's defintely do-able without any major re-design - but it's still money that the Army doesn't want to spend right now =)

As a former tanker my "dream" TUSK secondary armament would be:

Coax: .50 cal GAU-19/A It would give the gunner some serious fire power versus infantry, slow moving helos, light skinned vehicles and troops under cover. Using API or especially SLAP rounds and you could give most lightly armored vehicles a bad time, and literally distinigrate cover like masonry block or brick walls.

Commander: Either 25mm M307 OCWS or 40mm MK47 AGL. Either weapon mounted in an improved RWS with magnified thermal & day optics, LRF and stabilizer (perhaps slaved to the CITV) would give the commander the ability to engage and kill or suppress infantry (and espcially ATGM/RPG teams) accurately at ranges out to 2000m. Both weapon systems also have a light anit-armor capability. The loss of the commanders .50 cal's AA function is irrelevant, since against fast movers or modern heavily armored attack helos, the M2 .50 cal's effectiveness is highly limited.

Loader: Keep the M240 7.62mm w/gunshield and thermal sight as on the current TUSK variant.

I'd also like to see an active defense system (like the Isreali TROPHY system.

Adrian

Re: TUSKs now in Iraq.
 

I like the .50 cal above the main gun. I believe the Israelis have been doing his for many years. This is great for counter-sniper work.