Quote:
Originally posted by alleramilitaria
LAVs may be easy to transport (sometimes) but cost more in the terms of crewmans lives. yes a M-1A1 for about 3-5 million each is pricy compared to a 2-3 million dollar LAV. but you cant take out a M-1 with a $20 RPG, a LAV would be just a smoking hole in the ground. in todays world one dead american or canadian soldier on CNN or CBC being dragged through the streets by his ankles could sap the countrys moral and cause it to loose its will to fight and win.
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The Air Force has always made the case it is cheaper to sacrifice an aircraft over a pilot, because it takes longer to train a pilot than to build an aircraft (would the real cost of his training also be more expensive than an aircraft?). The real issue is that aircraft are 2 to 3 times more complicated - and therefore more expensive - because there's a pilot on board! I tell you, the pimply playstation nerds are the next generation fighter jocks.
The same goes for space programs: half of the budget is spent on research on how to sustain life in space. But there is no need to send a human being into space. Putting a man on the moon was a matter of prestige, we'd better concentrate on sending robots into space from now on.
OK, I'll get off my soapbox now
H.