Marine Corps leaders consider arming JLTV with anti-tank weapons to give light vehicle the punch of a tank

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Marine Corps is developing lightweight tactical vehicle armed with anti-tank weapons that can reach enemy targets at 15 to 20 time the range of an M1 Abrams main battle tank. Kris Osborn of Warrior Maven reports. Continue reading original article

The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:

5 March 2021 -- The thinking is to potentially create a lighter, faster, more agile Marine Corps able to find and destroy enemy armored vehicles like tanks without deploying heavy armored combat vehicles.

This includes using lightweight mounted fires on fast-moving tactical vehicles -- a scenario which could involve arming the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) with anti-tank missiles or other precision anti-armor weapons.

While the tried-and-tested Abrams tank is combat proven and not likely to disappear anytime soon, it does operate with limitations like an inability to cross some bridges, slower speeds, high fuel consumption, and an inability to deploy as rapidly as the JLTV for expeditionary warfare.

Related: Army orders 6,107 JLTV combat vehicles with open-systems vetronics in $1.7 billion deal

Related: Raytheon to build tube-launched TOW anti-tank weapons to provide Army with precisions weapons capability

Related: Raytheon to develop UAV-killing laser weapon small enough to fit on Joint Light Tactical Vehicle

John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics