Re: [SG2] weapons

> This may be a naive question but will it cost as much to keep the "15
Brigades of People's Militia" with their low tech "live off the land"
stuff
as the high tech "2-3 brigades of Regulars"? Also what are the resupply
issues like? For instance, as far as I can tell from the Aussie defence
papers I've read we're leaning toward buying German not US tanks because
the
US ones don't have enough reach in the petrol tank. Most of this stuff
is
beyond my area of knowledge, but won't economics come as much into play
in
the future as it does now? Ok the NAC with supposedly cutting edge and
mega-population should kick everyone's butt, but them aside how would it
stand?

The problem with the M1 Abrams is that it burns about twice the fuel as
a
Leopard II to cover the same distance over the same terrain.  This makes
for
a significant increase in logistical burden for an equivalent
capability.

"Money is the sinews of war."  While economics will play a major role,
there
are also cultural influences that can heavily weigh the how effectively
that
money is spent.  For example, a state where the military is held in low
regard by the population isn't going to attract a lot of high quality
personnel for the officer corps.  This can have a catastrophic effect on
military operations.  The professionalism of the R&D personnel can make
a
huge difference between acquiring good equipment and mediocre junk. 
Look at
British tank development in WWII and US military small arms development
from
1870 to 1920 and 1945 to present for examples.	On top of this you have
lawmakers who consistently put being re-elected (for democratic
governments)
and/or prestige (for totalitarian regimes) as being more important then
military priorities (most of this tends to go away during a life or
death
struggle, but you still have live with legacy of what went on before).

ias