Airborne Tank Returns from the Dead (3/17/04 entry)
Strategy Page has a story about the four prototype M8 Buford Armored Gun Systems being pulled into active duty. The 82nd Airborne needs some more heavy firepower, and the four Bufords are going to provide it.
I’ve mentioned the M8 AGS before as a possible replacement for the troubled Stryker Mobile Gun System. Like the Stryker MGS, the Buford AGS mounts a 105mm main gun. Unlike the Stryker, the Buford is a tracked vehicle and has been demonstrated to be air-deployable in its basic configuration.
Seriously. They can be dropped out of airplanes.
The main gun of the Buford is a low-velocity, low-recoil weapon, unlike the guns planned for the Stryker.
As the Strategy Page post notes, the Buford program has not been revived. But maybe getting some of them into the field will generate enough positive press that the Army reconsiders. If the Stryker MGS bugs cannot be worked out, we might need it.
No Responses to “The OTHER XM8”
Hey that thing sounds cool, but where are the pictures? -Jim.
I saw this yesterday, but you [the King of all things XM8 on the web ;-)] beat me to the posting punch yet again. We paid to have these things built. We might as well use them to getr part of the way toward a ‘rip and roll’ Airborne. Now we need armed dune buggies for the paratroopers. Jim, you’ll find some photos, including one of a special 120mm Thunderbolt prototype, at my http://www.airborne-combat-engineer.com blog.
http://www.systems.textron.com/pdf/products/stingray2_datasheet.pdf The original StingRay was sold to Thailand. Also, the gun is the standard 105mm L7, with a muzzle brake and long recoil, to reduce forces on the chassis. Thus it fires APDS at 1430m/sec (not quite low velocity). Cheers JMH
Wrong link above; I was not ‘paying attention in class’. Sorry. The details are at: http://www4.janes.com/subscribe/jaa/doc_view.jsp?K2DocKey=/content1/janesdata/yb/jaa/jaa_0103.htm@current&Prod_Name=JAA&QueryText= Cheers JMH