The infrared searchlight might actually be of use in modern combat, as weird as it sounds. You won't be able to see as far, but if you point a bunch of them at an enemy unit, their own infrared gear will be useless.
The Brits tried the same thing with the CDL in WW 2, but they played it too close to the chest.
Nous restons ici.So kind of an upscaled version of Shtora or Softkill?
Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.@Imca: Er, the Type 74 is still being used simply because the Type 90 was too expensive to match the numbers, and then the Type 10 would be even more expensive than the Type 90...while technically speaking they "can't into tank", it's because of money and not something about the technology. Japan's economic downturn started in the late 80s. Technically speaking it's one of the longest in the world, because up until now they're still in a slight slump.
rollin' on dubs
@Achaemenid: It's not you, it's some of the Nazi fanwank out there. The source for the SP weight claim is out there, the last War is Boring article on World War Two and the German myths gives weights and models. It's not just their artillery, it's their tanks, aircraft and the famous V-2 that killed more slave labor that it ever did in combat.
And yes, Nazi fanwank (in both the Brit and American sense of the word) was all over wargaming and modeling until late 80's, then it was Stupid Jetpack Hitler. Now that History Marches On, the worm has turned.
edited 23rd Nov '15 11:10:06 AM by TairaMai
I tried to walk like an Egyptian and now I need to see a Cairo practor....The area had experienced no precipitation of any sort, either. He also was unsure what he intended to do with the tank originally when asked.
Buyer's remorse?
Nous restons ici.It's not exactly an armored vehicle, but a guy I knew out in California who owned a military surplus store had an M561 Gama Goat. For those who've never heard of any such thing (I hadn't, until I saw it), it's a six-wheel-drive, articulated, amphibious 1 ¼ ton truck.
They were developed in the 1960s, after the French had reported that regular military trucks were woefully inadequate for going off-road in Vietnam, due to the swampy, uneven terrain. However, the Gama Goat's high cost, excessive engine noise, quirky four-wheel steering necessitating special training to drive it, and intensive maintenance requirements caused successive orders to be cancelled. They're prized by collectors, since only about 15,000 were ever built.
edited 23rd Nov '15 6:45:47 PM by pwiegle
This Space Intentionally Left Blank.
rollin' on dubs
The Gamma Goat was Epic Fail, but it led to the HEMTT and the FMTV latter on.
Everyone wants a HMMWV, a Jeep, a MUTT, a Deuce and a half or a 5-ton.....
The CUCV is the So Okay, It's Average of military vehicles. The Army (latter the DOD) had to replace the MUTT and jeep, but with The '70s oil crisis and inflation, what would become the HMMWV had to wait. Crysler needed a bailout so...
The Chevy Blazer was "drafted" and become the Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle. A special 24/12 volt system was rigged to allow the 12 volt engine to run the 24 volt lights and use 24 volt slave cables. Latter models would be pure 24 volt but this bastard soldiered on for two decades.
As the HMMWV came on line, many CUCV's wound up with Army Reserve, National Guard or with the Navy. Soon they were dumped on the surplus market, almost killing the SUV in some areas. This is on my part, but the silly, over the top marketing for SUV's was, I think, a way to get Jimmy Six Pack and his redneck friends to turn away from those pennies on the dollar CUCV's.
What doomed the CUCV was it's light weight and gas engine in a military going all diesel. Even with a JP-8 burning engine the things would never last in The War On Terror. The Air Force and Navy still use Ford F-150's and trucks of that weight class for some garrison missions. The Army uses most of the CUCV's it still has as cargo haulers for those stateside missions that don't need a HMMWV. A lot are seen around WSMR and Fort Bliss, hauling cargo and running until they fall apart. Newer trucks are just bought commercially to replace them.
edited 23rd Nov '15 11:22:05 PM by TairaMai
I tried to walk like an Egyptian and now I need to see a Cairo practor....
Then again, most of NATO relied upon vehicles like the CUCV, such as variants of the Land Rover and later, the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen. Expensive, purpose-built (European) vehicles faded out from the 1960s.
edited 23rd Nov '15 11:34:06 PM by Greenmantle
Keep Rolling On
rollin' on dubs
I should clarify that outside of 'Merica, the CUCV like trucks are popular because they are cheap. Dirty cheap compared to the M1114 and even the M1079 or M998 HMMWV. The defense side of the big three US automakers do good business overseas and, like you said, Land Rover and Toyota have a cult following among quartermasters the world over.
True story: When I was with a PATRIOT unit that had a joint exercise with the German Air Defense school, we got to see their battery recon vehicles. Just Mercedes Benz SUV's with a NATO radio mount. Our commander joked about signing them over to our unit. Funny enough the Germans wanted rides in our HMMWV's, we wanted rides in their SUV's and the F-150's they rented for the exercise.
I tried to walk like an Egyptian and now I need to see a Cairo practor....But your economy IS recovering. It's not like in the 90s where Japan went to shit because things caught up with them, and then they lost the elections badly (although getting back in the Diet in the late-90s meant f**k all anyway since the rest of Asia followed suit by '98). So yes, although it's from worst to worse, that was still an improvement.
It's really just that the 70s-80s was really incredible for Japan economically that Japan is right where it is right now because of those two decades preceding the next three decades (90s-2010s).
Edit: Apparently I am wrong and it is just the Yen's exchange rate is falling like a lead brick, combined with being out of touch due to minimal exposure to the news and not being home in three years.
Still
Do you know how fun that is to be an international student, go to the bank one day and are able to exchange about 82 Yen for 1USD....
The next time you go, within the span of a semester, it takes over 100? Right now it is at 120.
Dont belive me? I exchange every semester, here is an exchange rate log from 2013
I took a second hit about as big during the fall semester of last year
This is very very not fun, and I hope you can see why I would get the impression that the economy is falling again when my money is loosing value before my eyes. :/
edited 25th Nov '15 2:22:04 AM by Imca
I remember living in Korea where the exchange rate was something like 1200 Won to the Dollar. Evidently the Koreans like it that way because they export goods to consumer markets in the US and somehow a high exchange rate is good for that.
I just remember it made vending machines really annoying, having to find 1100 Won in loose change for a soda. Also, moving to Japan where the exchange rate is only about 110ish Yen to the dollar takes some adjustment, until you realize things aren't as "cheap" as they seem.
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The Type 90 and Type 10 are not cost-effective enough, so the Type 74 is still in use even if the Leopard 1, Chieftain, and M60 have been (almost) entirely replaced by now. The costs/money transitioned to discussing the Japanese economy.
Or if you want, read below my avatar pic.
edited 25th Nov '15 7:14:12 AM by entropy13

I dunno, the Type 10 looks kinda neat.
I mean I don't really know what exactly you're gonna do with it but whatever.
Oh really when?