Army planners are building a new type of battalion for the light tank design that is nearing a decision by service officials and it’s going to require more armor crewmen.
The Mobile Protected Firepower battalion concept is becoming a reality but it still faces its share of challenges.
Current plans call for the MPF battalion to reside at the division level. It will then farm out companies to each brigade, said Christopher Stone, deputy director of the Army’s capability manager for the infantry brigade combat team.
Stone spoke at the 2022 Maneuver Warfighter Conference at Fort Benning, Georgia on Feb. 16.
“The MPF company looks and smells like a tank company,” Stone said.
Proposed light tank battalion concept will require more armor crewmen
The Mobile Protected Firepower battalion will attach light tank companies to each brigade.
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The Army will choose between prototypes built by General Dynamics Land Systems and BAE Systems.
The General Dynamics version is basically a scaled-down Abrams tank with a 105mm cannon. The BAE Systems version is similar to the M8 Buford armored gun system, which was previously developed to replace the M551 Sheridan light tank — once used by units such as the 82nd Airborne Division.
Both companies delivered a dozen prototypes for testing, evaluation and soldier feedback.
The light tanks went through soldier vehicle assessments with the 82nd Airborne Division and gunnery fires in 2021, Army Times sister publication Defense News reported.
The Army had to pair the development of both the platform and the unit as the program moved along. If out of sync, there’s a lot of wasted time and effort.
“The last thing we want to do is give you an MPF battalion. Then you’re waiting six years to receive the platforms,” Stone said.
The concept emerged in earnest from a “statement of need” in 2013 as Army leaders saw gaps in the infantry brigade firepower that could limit maneuver in large-scale combat against peer adversaries, Stone said.
Current plans for the MPF concept require a company of 64 armor crewmen in each infantry brigade from the MPF battalion. But that’s not the only demand on the armor field, which this concept creates. They’ll also need at least 24 armor maintenance soldiers per brigade to keep the light tanks running.