Sep
23rd
2018
US Missile Systems · 6:04am Sep 23rd, 2018
Question for some military servicemen or experts here:
Do US Forces usually rely on fighters to defend ground forces against hostile aircraft, or do they only rely on Stingers? I'm not really sure if the US military have any wheeled or tracked vehicles that carry short-medium range missiles besides the Stinger.
Just wondering if there are no friendly fighters available to assist in contested airspace.
Also, since there will be new Imperial vehicles coming in the middles of the story for either new previously empty roles, or to replace new vehicles, just need to know what is a good replacement for the Boeing E-3 Sentry.
Boeing Wedgetail, Boeing E-767, or Beriev A-100
if your a real good shot you can shoot down a low flying jet with a rifle
4942262
I wouldn't call shooting down any plane with a service rifle particularly fun, or even useful for 99% of soldiers.
Also in reply to this post, the US military would rely on Stingers to take out jets, though it'd likely be more effective if they're low flying. That's assuming the US military got in a conflict with a country with an air force that isn't ancient or non existent, and the probability for there to be no air superiority or no aircraft at all in a conflict would be pretty low.
And I believe the US military goes with a doctrine of air support always being nearby assisting ground troops, and having the ability to re-route opposing aircraft or destroy them before they make any noticeable attack on US ground units.
Though I'm not a huge expert on US military doctrine or how their air force operates, so anyone can correct me on any points if they can.
Army air defencet
Marine Corps, LAV-25 Air Defence variant
The U.S. Military has several air defence vehicles, the Army operates the Avenger humvee variant, and the Bradley Linebacker. While the Marine Corps, uses the LAV-25 AD variant in place of the linebacker, the FGM-148 Javelin can also engage enemy helicopters.
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The problem is all of those vehicles use Stingers (and Mistral for the LAV-25 AD export).
I’m talking about in the event where there are no friendly aircraft avaliable to assist in the vicinity and hostile aircraft are too high up for the Stinger. (And this is in the event friendly tracked or wheeled missile launchers aren’t taken out by SEAD Aircraft).
Like the Buk or the Tor Missile systens. (Russians like to put all of their missiles on vehicles).
4942318
Oh then you'd want the MIM-104 Patriot. My bad misread the question.
4942521
So the Americans don’t have any medium-range anti-air missiles?
4942534
Not in operation, though the MEADS, which is a medium range Patriot, is still being worked on due to numerous flaws. But if you want OP, medium to extreme range Air Defence, you could look at the NASAMS though they're only used in DC and for HVT protection.
4942546
They need to make tracked vehicles for these. Wheeled vehicles will have a very hard time in thick forests and swampy jungles.
4942554
Yeah but most of these are designed to sit a designated pksition, usually a fob, and guard a small area/corridor, and they assume any friend!y forces away from the base would be in range of the Patriot.
4942564
Until a unit far from base is under air attack with no friendly planes to assist and out of the range of Patriots.
Sometimes, I feel like the US military isn’t managing their budget efficiently.
4942582
Of course they aren't, they're still sinking money into the future force warrior program, not to mention the utter financial hell that is the F-35. This is what happens when politics take control of a military budget.
4942598
Both politicians and US Military commanders. American commanders WANTED an increase in the budget for new toys at the expense of the American people.
I think it’s important you keep the environment in mind as well if you're asking about what defends ground troops from enemy air forces. For example, the Nothern Vietnamese soldiers used underground tunnel systems to avoid the napalm bombs and bomber jets. The Taliban used caves and hid in civilian towns to avoid being bombed by American planes. So make sure you keep that in mind while writing if you’re going to do what I think you're going to do.
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Of course, I like to keep everything to account.