There is a pretty good movie "Pentagon Wars" about the development of the Bradley.[0] It's not entirely accurate, but even as complete fiction would be an enjoyable satire.
Re:The Cannons on the B-29 Bomber
by hydrogen18 on Wednesday December 02, 2015 @01:30PM
(#10664809)
The movie is good, but the book is excellent.
If my life were on the line I'd prefer not to be in combat, but if you're infantry, riding around in an Abrams isn't an option. It's like saying you'd prefer to be in a frigate.
Some militaries use infantry transport vehicles developed from tanks. For example:
Though, IIRC, the tank that's based off of was already designed to carry some passengers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkava#Specifications_of_mode...
It's a pretty cool vehicle, but with the $3MM price tag I'm not sure how suitable it is for an infantry carrier... But I agree, this type of vehicles are surely going to get more common.
According to Wikipedia[1], the Bradley is more expensive, at $3.16 million
Re:The Cannons on the B-29 Bomber
by jasonwatkinspdx on Wednesday December 02, 2015 @03:43PM
(#10665656)
The Isrealis have had mixed results from the Namer and Merkava (though the Merkava is an icon of pride, so this comment might draw some cheerleading). I think the basic idea of having extra passenger room in a MBT for flexibility in evolving situations is pretty sound, but these particular vehicles have proven pretty vulnerable in close in urban combat vs smart patient infantry.
I have a relative who was in the mechanized infantry back in the early 1990s. From what he was able to share with me, the Bradley was an interesting vehicle with a lot of cool stuff but if my life was on the line, I'd prefer to be in an M1 Abrams.