21 July 2007

MRAP and Artillery Update

War makes military procurement go faster. About 6,415 new mine resistant vehicles should be in Iraq by March 2008, with about a third of them arriving by year end. Some may have cage armor designed to fend off rocket propelled grenades.

Meanwhile, howitzers, which in their conventionally form are nearly useless in closed quarters and urban combat wherethey are insufficiently accurate, are returning to relevance.
What's new? A guided artillery round that is as much a missle as it is a conventional dumb artillery rond (and costs almost as much as a misile). Guided missiles from multiple rocket launchers, direct fire weapons, drone fired missiles, and aircraft delivered smart bombs and air to ground missiles have been squeezing out traditional artillery because they can more accurately hit small targets.

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