The weight game
@EdgeOfEcho the weight game. The fact if separate components are going to have separate batteries with separate housing and mounts and the weight goes up. Infantry before the 1960s didn’t wear armor they packed a 40 lbs load. Today with armor they are easily getting to 140lbs. Consolidation and elimination of redundant load in combination with reduced weight equipment and off loading to other mechanized carriers is how you trim the fat to a usable weight. Where the infantry can maneuver and fight. Your IPhone can’t play that game you love but it is a hell of a lot better than trying to lug your PC or console with you on the move. That’s the thing Infantry has to be mobile. Even snipers. Though specialists May keep some of the kit in the end they will likely receive their own versions.
Next armor is cheap for the individual who can afford one set but, the Military doesn’t do small targets it’s masses, the PLA is masses of troops. It’s the Near Peer. Yes the Taliban had forces in plate carriers yet the ring is the US wasn’t the one fighting them. The US operations in Afghanistan had shifted a decade ago it was the ANA who were on the front lines. Farther just because it can fight at long range doesn’t mean it can’t fight at close ranges. Infantry are the tool to take and hold territory. They root out the stragglers. End of the day air and sea may be the prime battles but eventually you need boots on the ground. Even the Taiwan scenario requires boots on the ground.
Is the new caliber based on lessons from Afghanistan? Yes of course. Yet that doesn’t mean it’s not an effective response to body armor of a near peer. Some equipment from and lessons from Asymmetric conflict are adaptable to symmetrical conflicts. Some isn’t. MRAPs for example are not adaptable. But Hard kill Active protection system and counter mine kits are because you will likely face the same threat just repackaged for infantry or armored units. Aircraft self defense systems to counter MANPADS used by insurgents are the same threats from symmetrical units. Light infantry in the mountains is the same as insurgents only they wear a uniform.
