Tanks

Ryan said:

> 4: Go to an autoloader (it's about time).

Tankers generally hate the idea of an autoloader because if it caughs
up=20
during a battle you are screwed.=20

Another bigger consideration is that an autoloader can't drive the
tank=20
if the driver gets injured, it can't help repair a track or help=20
retension it, it cannot sit out at an OP during a lull and chat on
the=20
sound powered telephone with the Platoon LT about the 4 BTRs it sees
2=20
kliks away at the crossroads. Loaders (the human kind) are critical
in=20
daily life of keeping the tank healthy and performing duties other
than=20
pulling a sabot round from the ammo bin and shoving it into the gun's=20
hungry mouth.=20

The addition of an Auto loader would require a major amount of
rethinking=
=20
general tanker doctrine and operations from day to day.=20

=============
Which apparently some nations have done as some do use autoloader
technology. Plus I think you underrate the capacity of modern sensors
(and
those in the future). They'll spot better and faster than a human, and
pre-planned evasion or engagement software engines will allow a rapid
engagement of threats in a flexible manner with minimal human decision
loop
intervention. As for retensioning etc, I'd have to agree there is a
maintenance issue, but it seems to me MBTs as a whole should be getting
easier to maintain (by plug and play and COTS components). They are
complex,
but a broken gun guidance board isn't repaired in the field, its
replaced-in-place and sent to the tech shop. As for sitting around
chatting
on the phone, I don't see why a decent AI couldn't equally make that
notification. 

I'm not saying techonology can fix every problem, but I do strongly
believe
(since I make it happen on a daily basis for people who never thought it
could or would) that technology can (given the proper context - time in
history, economic viability, etc) actually solve most problems of
limited
scope. Many of them far better than an equivalent human intervention. 

Today it might not be quite time to can the loader. 200 years from now,
not
that we'll even see a tank (I hold with the robot RPV combat vehicle
scenario), if we did, you can bet it likely won't have 4 crew. I'd put
money
on it if either of us would be around to see the result...

Thomas Barclay
Software UberMensch
xwave solutions
(613) 831-2018 x 3008