Quote:
Originally posted by StrngTerrapin
One aspect of the crusader was that it had a decent land speed (at least that was the concept) that allowed it to deply easier. But more importantly, it was built to fit easily into the C-17 aircraft, which can carry a few of them a couple of thousand miles.
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Crown jewels in the military are C5 and C17 because there are just so few of them (because they are not glorious weapons like much less useful aircraft carriers). A C17 is too valuable and too rare to be permitted within a hundred miles of the battlefield - too few and too necessary to risk. Crusader and many tankers to fuel it and other transport to provide the ammo takes days to get to the battlefield. OK for a battle in the Fulma Gap war where you knew when and where the battle would be fought. But today's Army must deploy hundreds of miles and start fighting in a day. Crusader will never be able to do that.
Just like in VietNam, 105 and 155 artillery was in position in hours and fighting because even helicopters can deploy them. When a day is too long, Puff the Magic Dragon is there in hours, or a Pedator, or an A-10, or Cobras, or even the less capable F-14, F-15, F-16, or F-18. Less capable because they have so little time over target. But everyone does better than a Crusader that also requires long, overland supply lines - just another concept that the new military cannot depend on. Future equipment must fight deep behind enemy territory with airborne supply.
By the time a Crusader got into battle, B-52 - no even the B-1 and B-2s that must fly from the US to Afganistan (because most airports cannot supply necessary ground support) can be on scene and reek greater devistation, before any Crusader could get there. Nice weapon only if it is there before it is needed as in WWII, Korea, and even the last of the big army battles - the Gulf War.
The Crusader is a great weapon because it costs so much and fires shells fast. Problem is that it can't get there in time to fire those shells. Employing people to produce inefficient weaspons systems only increases inflation and weakens the military.
Too many weapons already can only be carried by C5 or C17 aircraft. Yet the Congress should take all that wasted money from Crusader and build more C5, C17, and more mid-air refueling tankers - things the military desparately needs more of even without Crusader. Airborne artillery that can stay on station and move quickly - now that is the artillery for today's military. Crusader is obsolete technology - also because it needs C17s to deploy and therefore can never be deployed close enough.