Directive

Im Back Again. Its been one week delay and i apologise.
Its been a few wonderful weeks and i have been busy. But the good news is im back on the wagon wheel and ready to show some awesome pictures yet again.


In this picture, we observe an Infantry officer directing a Tank commander.

Its a pretty simple action which shows much of the cooperation on all platform levels in the army. The integration of various units of the army is required to ensure the effectiveness of any strategy.

In close quarter battles, Tank Units require the guidance of infantry to provide adequate support and the ability to cover infantry without being a burden for the infantry units.

As military buffs, im sure we all know that the gigantic slug machine that is the M1A2 Abram isnt agile or manuveurable in close spaces. Lesson have been learnt during the Soviet war qith the Afghans where the Mujahideen Fighters have been known to trap tanks in close spaces and burned the crew alive in the tank.

Without the support of infantry protection, the M1A2 Abram and other armoured vehicles alike could prove to be a great liability.

Viewing this very scenario gives us a conclusion that the need for infantry is still relevant in the modern day conflict.

Till we are able to operate terminator like robots, Infantry is stilla vital asset. More importantly, the fluid integration and cooperation between various platforms of the army is also important.

M1A2 Abrams

Hello fellow military buffs!

Thanks for coming down to this blog, and we hope you would enjoy your little visit to this small blog dedicated to the modelling of modern militaries around the world.

For today, we have JQ's modified M1A2 from Forces of Valor, and the green background in actually a flock mat from Games Worshop:

The M1 Abrams is regularly touted as one of the world's finest/toughest MBTs in service today, with a proven track record in battle (against admittedly inferior opponents) and packs one of the most advanced technological suites of its time. Interestingly, the tank was named after General Creighton Abrams, who was the US Army Chief of Staff from 1972 until his death on 1974...he was known for overseeing the drop of US troop numbers in Vietnam, and perhaps unfortnately remembered for the My Lai massacre (he took most of the blame even though he was not in full command at that time). The tank, or more accurately, the prototype (the XM1) was named in remembrance of him after his untimely death on 1974.

Interestingly, it is a myth that no M1 Abrams was ever lost to an Iraqi MBT, and rounds from Iraqi T-72s actually had bypassed the M1's armor, yet these have proven to be very rare occurences. Official US sources stated that there was one instance of an Abrams tank being hit and knocked out by 3 KE rounds (which aren't used by the US, thus ruling out FF), 1 in the front left of the turret and 2 in the rear right side of the turret. Other weapons have also been proven to knock out or diasble other Abrams tanks, such as RPGs, IEDs and recoiless rifles.

With the US pullout already in progress, the Iraqi army needed to build up its own armored forces, and the M1 interestingly featured in their plans. One option they took was to order several retro-fitted T-72-Ms from Hungary, and actually still use Iraqi-built T-72s for training purposes, while keeping the maintenance facility (previously used during Sadaam's era) operational. In another, the Iraqi army requested about 140 M1A1Ms from the US, and 22 are currently being leased for training...this sees Iraq joining the list of known global operators of the famed Abrams tank.

Well, we hope the posts and pictures have been good, and it is our pleasure to keep this blog running in the name of military model hobby! As the rotation goes, it's time for me to hand the blog back to JQ, and let's all give him a warm welcome back to this blog!

Profile of the Sovremenny

Here's one of our favorite shots of JQ's Sovremenny destroyer, as it steadily awaits away from the shore on a calm sea. We actually rested the ship on our 'diorama water plate', raised it up towards to the window and above the treeline...the 'shore' here is actually the top of one of the trees.

It is interesting to note that the Russians claim the Americans had bought a number of the Moskit ASM missiles that come with the Sovremenny. The Americans tested the ASMs against their Aegis, and it was reported that the ASMs were able to pass through the protective envelope of the Aegis. This episode was reported in a rather technical Russian website, where the written English was hard to follow (most probably a translation from Russian to English) and the lack of citations of supporting documents. Do take a look if you're interested:

http://warfare.ru/?lang=&catid=269&linkid=1743