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From: scott@swindle.Berkeley.EDU (Scott Silvey)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Excessive Allied Armor Kills
Message-ID: <1991Mar4.213130.10143@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 4 Mar 91 21:31:30 GMT
Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (william.b.thacker)
Organization: UC Berkeley Experimental Computing Facility
Lines: 39
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: scott@swindle.Berkeley.EDU (Scott Silvey)
There was a question about why the allies have made so many tank kills
  without taking any appreciable casualties, but don't remember which one
  it was ... this is a follow-up ...

What I heard on CNN is that two Abrams were "damaged" and two M60's were
  destroyed.  One tanker said the T72's couldn't even see the the allied tanks
  through all the battlefield dust and haze.  However, the Abrams' superior
  thermal sights enabled them to easily acquire the Iraqis and kill them
  before they even knew where their enemy was.  From the battlefield scenes
  that were shown, it did seem aweful hazey.  In fact, they showed a couple
  allied tanks only a few hundred yards from the camera which had supposedly
  just engaged and destroyed several Iraqis.(*)  Sure enough, the enemy tanks
  weren't visible through the haze (assuming the camera shots were pointed in
  the right direction).

[(*) mod.note:  That's one heck of a camera !  Must have a 120mm
lens... 8-)  - Bill ]

Would anyone mind describing the myriad of sensors that an Abrams is equipped
  with?  Do they have anything else other than IR and IR/Thermal imaging 
  equipment?  

Also, I have heard that the Abrams firing computer takes into account the 
  wind speed when computing firing solutions ... how does it measure the wind? 

Sigh ... and one more question ... I have also heard that the Abrams only
  carries tank-killing rounds for it's main gun (AP and HEAT type rounds).
  The document I read (don't remember what it was) said that they don't carry 
  anti-personnel ammo like HE or flechette/cannister ... is this true?

Thanks.

| Scott Silvey           | Message actually given by rn:                      |
| scott@xcf.berkeley.edu |                                                    |
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