Anti-Aircraft: SPAAG/SAM Ideas and Inspiration

[M.A.D]

The lessons of Vietnam are still true.  Forget about F-16s, bring back the T-28 Trojans etc.

Whilst on the issue of learning learning historic lessons, I hope this conflict reiterates and bring back gun/cannon anti-aircraft artillery I'm many Western armies, who have for decades discarded and neglected such versatile and cost effective air defence.
I'd really like to know what the German, Dutch and Belgium armies must be saying about their discarding of their Geopard SPAAG's?

MAD

[GTX_Admin]

Whilst on the issue of learning learning historic lessons, I hope this conflict reiterates and bring back gun/cannon anti-aircraft artillery I'm many Western armies, who have for decades discarded and neglected such versatile and cost effective air defence.
I'd really like to know what the German, Dutch and Belgium
armies must be saying about their discarding of their Geopard SPAAG's?

MAD

The Gerard's were old systems.  Yes they have been useful in Ukraine but they were getting harder to support.  All is not lost though as more modern systems are entering service such as some of those from Rheinmetall.

See here

[GTX_Admin]

More:  https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2024/06/06/mbda-offers-mini-missiles-for-rheinmetall-skyranger-air-defense-gun/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=tw_dfn

[GTX_Admin]

Even more:  https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/army-news/army-news-2024/could-rheinmetalls-new-hybrid-vehicle-replace-the-gepard-1a2-anti-aircraft-gun

Hybrid of a Leopard 2 tank and a Skyranger 35 air defense system:

[M.A.D]

New Chinese/PLA Type 625 SPAAG.
The Type 625 features a 6-barrel 25mm rotary cannon and four ready to launch FB-10 short-range surface-to-air missiles.


MAD

[Gingie]

armies must be saying about their discarding of their Geopard SPAAG's?

MAD

It mostly came down to employment & range. Many 35mm were assigned to point defence, say a bridge or an airfield. Since their range was around 2.5-3km, they were often co-located with the target. As helicopters started to be equipped with missiles capable of a 8km stand off, the guns became a last resort option within the mix of AD ranges, and became focused on anti-radiation missile defence using AHEAD type ammunition. VSHORAD role was replaced by missiles in the 90's, and most SPAAG were equipped with a bolt-on VSHORAD missile.

Then VSHORAD kind of became taken over by SHORAD systems with a wider engagement band.

Nowadays, with the ability for RPV to operate in contested airspace, the idea of a more cost-effective, mobile, kinetic killer is back on the table.

[ChalkLine]

Interwar goodness

Burford Kegresse MG Carrier. The British dumped it because they didn't like the Kegresse tracks that wore out quickly, later on the US would fix the problem with their half tracks

[raafif]

Are Crows "aircraft"? --farmer's anti-Crow weapon.

[ChalkLine]

V-150 with M167A2 20mm Vulcan

[GTX_Admin]

That could be a cool build...especially if you modernised it with a couple of Stinger SAMs similar to below:

[ChalkLine]

I'm wondering how that'd fit.
They've got the radome hanging off one side and all the ammo on the other. Maybe a central mount like the Blazer was trialled with the Hydra FFR pod?

[GTX_Admin]

Or maybe cut down to a twin launcher a bit like this:

[Gingie]

I'm wondering how that'd fit.
They've got the radome hanging off one side and all the ammo on the other. Maybe a central mount like the Blazer was trialled with the Hydra FFR pod?

The Mach'Bet did away with the tracking radar in place of the Stingers and modernized EO / IR tracking system. I think an upgraded V-150 with a dual pack of Stingers would be a great what-if. You could do away with the stabilization jacks and just say a "Suspension lock out" was part of the upgrade :-) 

[M.A.D]

The Iranian Azarakhsh (Thunderbolt) lightweight mobile SAM system.
The compactness, the simplicity and cost effectiveness of such a system....


(Source: armyrecognition.com)

MAD

[ChalkLine]

The suspension on the trucks isn't even overloaded.
One of those 'quart-in-a-pint' products we in the West have forgotten how to make