5 ms·
The Marines are doctrinally committed to being expeditionary. The cultural mantra and statutory niche of the Marine Corps is to be able to project American mili
by torstenvl 9y ago
The Marines are doctrinally committed to being expeditionary. The cultural mantra and statutory niche of the Marine Corps is to be able to project American military power anywhere in the world on very short notice.
You know what slows that down? Logistics.
The Marines have been at the forefront of trying to overcome logistics limitations. The MV-22 Osprey is the perfect example. If you want to deploy anywhere in the world without the lead time to build an airstrip, you need a bird that can fly long distances like an airplane and set down like a helicopter.
3D Printing is the JIT compilation version of materiel production. If we have to set up a base in a remote part of Korea tomorrow, we will not be able to build a logistics train in time to fix tanks and planes and MRAPs. But if we can 3D print whatever parts we need, our on-site logistical capabilities get a huge advantage.
Expeditionary Force 21 [PDF]: http://www.mccdc.marines.mil/Portals/172/Docs/MCCDC/Documents/EF21/EF21_Glossy.pdf http://www.mccdc.marines.mil/Portals/172/Docs/MCCDC/Document...
- Retric 9y agoThe Osprey does not do all that much for Logistics over the first 48 hours, it's main advantage is longer term mobility. An airdrop from a C-130 can drop a tank or just about anything else anywhere on the planet without a runway. The issue is it can't then pick it back up without a runway.
- andrewflnr 9y agoMobility is part of logistics.
- Retric 9y agoSure, but mobility after the first 48 hours is a separate problem than being able to project force in the first 48 hours.
- thetinguy 9y agoFirst of all, the MV-22 does not carry tanks. Second, here's what happens when you try to airdrop a vehicle much lighter than a tank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjF8ju7YeLI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjF8ju7YeLI Imho it's pretty amusing you're telling someone who clearly has more domain specific knowledge than you that they're wrong.
- cperciva 9y agohere's what happens when you try to airdrop a vehicle much lighter than a tank Tanks being "airdropped" looks very different from that. A C-130 "dropping" a tank involves flying down to within a few feet of the ground and then opening the cargo door -- parachutes are used in this case to slow the tank's horizontal movement, not to prevent it from falling.
- toomanybeersies 9y agoYou can't really take one video of an accident and then claim that's what happens every time you try and drop something out of a plane.
- Retric 9y agoNever said the Osprey could carry tanks, just pointing out that air transport does not require a runway. The Osprey is great for picking stuff up not transporting it. As to domain knowledge, I have actually worked on related subjects for the DoD. I am far from a domain expert, but I was for example required to attend various lectures including some on logistics. As to Airdrop you generally drop a tank* from ~10 feet not ~10,000 ft. Getting close to the ground does not take infrastructure stopping does. Runways need to be long and clear because aircraft need to slow down. http://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/this-is-the-last-tank-airborne-units-jumped-into-combat http://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/this-is-the-last-tank... *Not that we still do this largely because we don't have such 'small' tanks any more.
- secfirstmd 9y agoEggh except the MV-22 Osprey has basically been a mess of an aircraft. Waaaayyyyy too expensive and dangerous compared an advantages gained by it.