Aiyoh, you anyhow wack your info one. The canning of the XM-8
AGS is prehaps one of the stupidest moves US Armed Forces red tape
can come up with. No, the AGS is not an obsolute or flawed design.
And by any measure it is actually the among most advanced light
tanks ever developed. The reason it was canned was not because of
cost overruns or any flaws on its part (which were well within
limits compared to other sexier, but much less needed weapons
programs). But criminally bad planning.
Your idea on AGS protection demostrates your heavy lack of
understanding of the actual capabilities of this system. On level
one protection, it can protect the crew from all kinds of small
arms fire and limited exposive devices. It can certainly survive
small arms larger then an AK-47, and most certainly protect from
soviet 14.7mm heavy machine guns.
What's more the level of protection rises dramatically when the
modular armor packages are installed. On level 3 armour, the AGS
actually packs more survivability then a M60 Patton tank. It can
certainly survive an RPG on level 3.
And project cost overruns are insane. If anything, the AGS was a
dirt cheap program. The very tank itself used mainly off the shelf
parts and even the same powerpack as their 5 tonner truck.
And your idea of the AGS role seems to be badly flawed as well. It
is not supposed to fight MBTs, but rather, provide high mobile,
deployable supporting armoured firepower to rapid deployment units.
With the canning of the AGS and retirement of the Sheridan, US
airborne troops are left without any kind of heavy firepower on
their own. Unless you have any idea of getting 70 ton Abrams tanks
halfway across the world overnight and use it with full fuel and
ammo, you can see why the AGS was so useful, and it's canning
unjustified.
If anything, scrapping the AGS program in the defence budget buys
the US armed forces, 15 heavily invested in, overly expensive (and
not really needed) Super Hornets for the marines (which they would
likely end up crashing anyway). The same amount of cash which can
buy over 50 XM-8 tanks providing rapid deployment units with their
much needed firepower.
