Saturday, July 28, 2012

PATRIOTS UNDER SIEGE-AND 10,000 MRAPS PULLED BACK TO THE USA BECAUSE OF A GRENADE



Patriots Under Siege is a short film about one battle in a possible future war in America.

UPDATES...

Oh, check this out; there's 10,000 MRAPS fresh from Iraq that could be used against us uppity 'murikans...  http://www.nowpublic.com/world/10-000-surplus-mraps




Pentagon contends with surplus of armored trucks

By Marjorie Censer, Published: March 7
Of all the military equipment that streamed into Iraq in the past decade, there is perhaps no item more iconic than the MRAP — the heavily armored truck that was rushed into the country as casualties from roadside bombings grew.
But with tens of thousands of MRAPs on hand and no assurance of much new funding to store and maintain the vehicles, the military is struggling to determine what to do with them.
The Obama administration has made clear that it no longer wants to conduct “stability operations” — the term used to describe the kind of war that the military has fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, blending military operations with diplomacy and peacekeeping. Instead, the administration is looking to a lighter, smaller and more technologically capable military to conduct specific missions.
In this context, the MRAP — or mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle — is something of a relic, bought specifically to protect soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan but far too bulky for a future characterized by drones, cyberwarfare, and intelligence and surveillance technology.
“Threats drive demand for military goods, but there’s so many different types of threats that it’s very unlikely that what worked in one war will be well suited for the next,” said Loren Thompson, a defense industry consultant.
The MRAP’s signature V-shaped undercarriage helped deflect the impact of blasts from improvised explosives and made the armored vehicle exactly what troops needed in Iraq. In 2007, the military began ordering almost 28,000 MRAPs, most of which went to Iraq, though some were designed for Afghanistan and its more challenging terrain.”

So, 10,000 vehicles designed to counter guerrilla threats such as rifle fire, rocket propelled grenades, and huge, buried charges of high explosives.

...But maybe THIS is the reason why they're being retired... and made available for US police forces:



American Mercenary did a short write-up on this:


Counter Vehicle Tactics

When your enemy is rolling around on the roads in armored vehicles your options to deal with that are limited.

1.  Stick to terrain that the vehicles can't reach.
or
2.  Blow up the vehicles with whatever you've got.

Really that is what it boils down to, and so let us discuss option 1.  If you force the enemy to dismount and come to you then what range you decide to engage the enemy has more to do with terrain and opportunity than tactics.  Dismount to dismount tactics are well documented, and here marksmanship is very important to allow maneuver.

The second option, blowing stuff up, requires you to close with the enemy.  John Mosby has written here http://mountainguerrilla.blogspot.com/2012/07/stealth-is-survival-or-victory-is-in.html about getting close, hitting hard, and getting out.  What he writes is sound, and I would simply like to add on my thoughts to the matter.

To hit hard against a better equipped force you need explosives, or something that provides the same "shock" and damage effect on your enemy.  Honestly the old RPG-7 is too small for this role anymore with the anti-armor cages and nets on armored vehicles.  We are talking things like an anti tank recoilless rifle, a shoulder launched anti tank missile, a command detonated anti vehicle mine, an anti tank grenade.  Here is an example of Iraqi Insurgents using the RKG-3 anti tank grenade.
Seriously, watch the video again, pause around the basic description of the RKG-3, it's essentially a giant potato masher grenade with a shaped charge and a parachute:


Rutschnaja Kumulativna Granata-3

 


Total length : 357mm
Diameter : 70mm
Weight : 1.7kilo (RKG-3EM is 1.1kilo)
Filling : 310gram T/H-50 or T/H-45/55 (RKG-3EM 390gram)

This antitank grenade was and still is in use with many nations where they are imported or copied.
The delicate fuze makes this a sensitive dud when encountered in the field.
Twelve grenades were packed in a wooden case, weighing in total 27kilo (RKG-3EM 24kilo)

Photos below © Cory.







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