Summary
Ground Warfare - Cover Story
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Extract
New land forces for a new century.
No one disputes the mission for the possible conflicts of this new century: expeditionary warfare demanding rapid force projection, precision strikes against a dispersed and asymmetrical opponent, probably in a complex urban environment. How to get there, how to get the job done and whether we have seen the last of the tank, remain open questions.
Sooner or later, bringing the battle to the enemy means coming down out of the clouds. After initial assaults against an enemy's strategic points for air defence or command-and-control, the action must move down to earth from the theatre of surveillance drones, precision bombing runs and remotely launched cruise missiles. To subdue a hostile force in the field or in the streets of a city means moving armoured units and infantry into hot spots. To establish or maintain peace with a convincing show of force, man-in-the-loop becomes man-on-the-ground. As land forces move into 21st century conflicts, however, the world is challenging the viability of such a force built around that star of the battlefield during the last century, the venerable main battle tank. Too heavy, too slow, too difficult to move to distant theatres of a...See the full content of this document
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