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New and Improved - SmarTruck II
jmoriarty writes "The Army's next generation SmarTruck is on display in Detroit. The original version of the SmarTruck was covered back in May, but the Army now admits that version was 'hardly ready for the real world'. Apparently the real world version needed interchangable nodules, and the absolute must-have for every Slashdotter's vehicle - a 'hacker in a box'."
The most stunning thing I learned reading this article is that you now have to pay to watch CNN video clips.
What are they thinking?
www.bannination.com Two things float to the top he
http://www.smartruck2.com/
Remeber when the HUMVE came out? everyone thought it was the best thing in the world.
I worked with the Army. I went to an exercize for a month, and I can tell you that they are the bigist peace of shit on wheels. Everywere the Army goes they break down. Insted of driving them in a convoy, they had to put them on a train, why? Becouse the commanders said they won't last the 12 hour drive. Everyone I talked to said they were shit.
Why? becouse the Army buys the cheapest part to run them, and the solderiers don't care about them. Like my father said, back in the day when the jeep was your life, you took are of it. Now when it breaks down, they get a replacement. Thats nice until you notice your motorpool is many miles away.
Besides the cool versions like this one, only the commanders get. Who don't drive them becouse they perfer ther nice Audi and Volvo rentacars. (Yes the commanders did ditch there tactical vechicals to drive around in new A8's)
It scares me a little about this Iraq situation. The Army people now days don't know anything. It's sad I think, and I hope they don't go into war, becouse there heads are so stuck up (we *did* kick ass in afganistan, _but_ with the help of the Birts and Canadians) I could go on more about why I feel this way. But I'll save my breath.
Remeber, Sadam is no dumb ass. The read dumbasses are the young officers who think they can kick anyones ass.
Needless to say I don't work for the Army anymoe for this reason.
hmm... for fun I enjoy launching DDoS attacks against 127.87.42.5
The SmartTruck looks like something Mattel invented... Why they decided to put it on a truck cab instead of a modified Hummer is beyond me.
In any event, there is already a great vehicle system on the market: the Canadian Forces' Coyote, part of their LAV platform of vehicles (insert gratuitious Canadian army jokes here). This system is so successful that it has been picked up the US Army under the Stryker name. Plus, it has the advantage of looking like it belongs on a battlefield and not some kid's sandbox.
Some specs for the Coyote:
Length: 6.39 m
Width: 2.50 m
Height: 2.69 m
Maximum speed: 100 km/hr
Range: 660 km
Weight: 14.4 t
Gradient: maximum 60%
Side slope: maximum 30%
Minimum turn diameter: 15.6 m
Trench crossing: 2.06 m
Fording
shallow: 1.3m
deep: 1.0m
3 configurations:
Command (51 vehicles)
Battlegroup (120 vehicles)
Brigade (32 vehicles)
Armament:
25-mm stabilized M242 chain gun
7.62-mm stabilized coaxial machine-gun
7.62-mm top-turret mounted machine- gun
76-mm smoke/fragmentation grenade launcher
Sights:
Daytime optical
Thermal Imagery (TI)
Generation III Image Intensification (II)
Surveillance System:
Battlefield
Surveillance Radar
Thermal Imager
Daylight camera
Laser Rangefinder
Winch: Front-mounted 6,800 kg dynamic pull
self-recovery winch
Engine: 275 hp Detroit Diesel 6V53T
Transmission: 5 forward gears, 1 reverse
Transfer case: 2 speed
Suspension: Independent Rear 4 wheels
torsion bar
Front 4 wheels strut
Wheels: 8 wheels (4 or 8 wheel drive)
Tires: Michelin XML
Brakes: Power (air)
Electrical system: 28 V
Batteries: 2 x 12 V automotive, 6 x 12V
auxiliary
Alternator: 300 A
When you have nothing left to burn you must set yourself on fire
http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news?p=smartru ck&c=news_photos
(working link to Smartruck II page) http://www.smartruck2.com
You were the same kid I killed in "Risk" every time I've played you. All the land you capture you leave ONE person on... then I go through and kill you all in one turn.
How about we keep our army here in the US protecting and training like they are supposed to. and when we need forces somewhere else, we call up the reserves to perform the duty they were trained to do.
Fix Your Own TV - RiddledTV.com Avoid the Landfill
Thats because most of the active army is a "fighting force" where the National Guard\Reserves have taken over a lot of the support roles. So anytime a force is deployed the National Guard\Reserves have to be activated to support them.
Obviously you know nothing about military equipment, especialy field artillery.
r usader/
1.) The Crusader is a smaller system then the current Paladin system that has been in use since around the 1950's. Yes we are talking the 1950's
2.) 1 Crusader can send out more rounds in one minute then a entire battery of Paladins. A battery usualy consists of 6 to 9 Paladins.
3.) The crew of a Crusader is 1/2 the size of the Paladin crew. Most of the system is using computers compared to Paladin which has 100% no computers. (this does not count fire direction control) The Crusader has proven to also be more accurate in shooting as well.
4.) The Secretary of the Army had recommeneded that we keep the system since people who deal with Field Artillery already have a prototype of the system running and are using it in the field. They are impressed with it, and it has been proven to be more reliable then the current systems we have in place. Rumsfield said no no no so they had to cancel the program. Total bullshit since Rumsfield has no clue on how field artillery works.
5.) A round from a aircraft, or a rocket that does equal amount of damage cost over $1K, a round from a Crusader costs under $100. Oh and these smart rounds we always hear about are also made for Field Artillery systems and are just as effective.
6.) To move a Paladin battery it would take like 10 C5 airplanes to deploy them. For the same firepower you can move 2 Crusaders on 1 C-5.
7.) A lighter model can be airdropped into combat, current we have no decent system in field artillery that can be dropped into combat. Oh and the Paladin weighs more then the Crusader.
Overall I have no clue why they dropped the Crusader. The project was running under budget, and within 10 years would have started saving billions of dollars on what we are currently using. Besides we already spent several millions to build the system.
A direct link so you can brush up on your bullshitting skillz
http://www.army-technology.com/projects/c
This comes from someone who use to be in the Field Artillery and also lives 10 miles from the Field Artiller Training School for the Army.
Hummers outclass jeeps in probably every category, except for maybe weight and cost. I have driven both, in training and in a combat theater (Iraq). IMO, jeeps are toys compared to hummers.
In addition to the other poster's points, lets not forget about run-flat tires, gound clearance, low COG, center-mounted disc brakes, a reasonable cargo capacity, and ability to armor it against small arms fire.
Hummers are also used for combat support, such as MP's/scouts. An MP hummer with a team of MP's can very quickly depoy _alot_ of firepower to a remote battle. Think MK-19's, SAW's, M-16's, 9mm's, dragons, etc.
Oh, yeah, and I've seen hummers drive over land mines, and the only dammage was a totally toasted front bumper, punctured tire, and some hood damage. The vehicle, and the crew (uninjured), were able to continue the mission. I don't think you would be able to say the same about a jeep.
It's also a big clue why the army has started on adopting a lot more wheeled armor over tracked, much easier to use in cities and on roads. Yes, easier to transport as well, but still...
Not to insinuate that you're paranoid, but shouldn't our military's weapons fit the terrain that most wars are being fought these days? Urban terror/guerilla warfare is very common these days (see Chechnya, Israel, etc.). I would be more inclined to believe that this is the motivating factor for the military developing more wheeled armor vehicles.
You can keep waiting for the military to take over American cities, but my suspicion is that martial law is still a ways off.
I'm a friend of a friend of the working class.
It looks like the old-school Mercedes Unimog, only at higher cost, less manueverability, less ground clearance, less flexibility, and crappy fuel economy... A 1968 Mog with a 6-cylinder diesel engine can pull a 16-ton howitzer.
On the other hand, it might be competitive with the new reconstituted Unimog.