Light tanks where we were, where we thought we were going and where we think the future lies.
Part II
What Could've Been: This is a "
side show" to note "
that actions can have consequences" in this case for Turkey. Early on in the
MTF Program, there was thought given to buy a light tank "
off the shelf" one of which was the
KAPLAN Light Tank. But things went South fairly quickly when Turkey was "
courting" Russia to buy armaments, in particular the
S-400P SAM System.
Though the U.S was pressuring Turkey to back off, they continued negotiations and when they announced they purchased the
S-400P, the U.S. withdrew the
F-35A at that point and dropped the
KAPLAN for consideration by the U.S. Army.
Washout: Turkey
fielded the S-400P this past Summer.
U.S. Army drops
KAPLAN for Light Tank consideration.
Turkey
and Lockheed Martin
both loss out on
F-35A sale in which, if I'm not mistaken, would've made Turkey the
largest importer of the
F-35A.
KAPLAN...
http://www.military-today.com/tanks/kaplan.htm
Where we're going...Right now still in
industry trials between
BAE and
General Dynamics. I'm simply going to split these up by company from oldest to newest. Some of the older article I've already posted in here, however, given the
timeline to come after this section,
I intend to delete these from my files.
U.S. ARMY...
https://www.armyrecognition.com/octo..._division.html
https://www.armyrecognition.com/weap...k_in_2020.html
https://www.janes.com/defence-news/n...ies-to-us-army
BAE...
https://www.popularmechanics.com/mil...-tank-program/
(YES THAT LONG AGO. 
)
https://www.popularmechanics.com/mil...eral-dynamics/
https://www.armyrecognition.com/apri...f_us_army.html
GENERAL DYNAMICS... https://www.armyrecognition.com/sept...f_us_army.html
https://www.armyrecognition.com/janu...t_vehicle.html
https://www.armyrecognition.com/apri...r_program.html
This is pretty much the latest news to this point.
Where we think the future lies...
In a "
perfect world" the references
agree about the following concerning the
MTF Program.
Decision sometime in 2022 of who wins.
When Army units are planned to receive them, somewhere between 2024 - 2025. This does not necessarily imply FOC. That implies OPEVALS and the clock keeps on ticking.
But I'm sure someone will want it in the game now.
In the meantime, I've been
tracking it for about
4 years now, so what's another
4-6 years!?!
Hittin the rack!!
Regards,
Pat
