If with 2nd generation you mean 105mm guns, then they have no hope at all of penetrating a modern MBT, from the front, the sides, the gun barrel and the sights are still vulnerable.Well the US has the advantage of having simpler logistics, not only do they only have one military force to look after, they try to standardise as much as possible, thus about half their equipment uses JP-8, which considerably simplifies their logistics. Also, the Us has more MBTs (3rd generation ones anyway, 2nd gen. guns might just about dent 3rd gen. armour, but penetration is doubtful in the extreme) than the EU, and all of one type, not a half-dozen different types that each has to have their own parts.
The Bofors has an affective AA range of 3-4km tops.There's a lack of DIVAD, but the US has plenty of Avengers, and while those things peter out at ~8 km (as opposed to ~12 km for the Bofors 40mm/L70), but at least Stingers actually follow their targets.
Why would you bother air-launching tomahawks if you already have AGM-86s?Actually, tomahawks can be fired out of 21" torpedo tubes as well (along with SLAMs), and you could probably modify B-1s and B-52s to drop them, along with the fact that the B-52 can deploy AGM-86s and AGM-129s. Still going to be more of a nuisance than a real issue though.
And what are the chances of actually hitting those?If with 2nd generation you mean 105mm guns, then they have no hope at all of penetrating a modern MBT, from the front, the sides, the gun barrel and the sights are still vulnerable.
AGMs have to be fitted externally due to their shape, tomahawks, due to their VLS setup could be carried internally, provided you could come up with a tube for them.Why would you bother air-launching tomahawks if you already have AGM-86s?
Small but real. Obviously not to enough to go front to front with modern MBTs if you want your own force of older MBTs to survive. Still better to lose 40 of your old tanks and mission-kill 4-5 opponents than to lose 40 of your old tanks and not stop any enemy tank at all. Doesn't make either choice a good one. The best thing would be to find other AFVs than M1s to go against with old tanks, but that might be difficult, finding one often means finding the other.And what are the chances of actually hitting those?
see this that big thing in front of the B-52's nose is it's rotary launcher with 8 AGM-86, it fits in the bomb bay.AGMs have to be fitted externally due to their shape, tomahawks, due to their VLS setup could be carried internally, provided you could come up with a tube for them.
Yes, but none of that really matters given the distances the Americans will be from a secure supply base, while most of the EU member states are NATO members or use Munitions that are either NATO or WP standard, and if anything, the Leo 2A6 and Challenger 2 are superior in pretty much every way to the Abrams series, while T-72s that aren't made out of scrap metal and with proper crews will be able to put up a good fight. Even if the US can deploy a decent-sized force, it probably won't be able to meet it's demands for fuel and ammunition easily.Well the US has the advantage of having simpler logistics, not only do they only have one military force to look after, they try to standardise as much as possible, thus about half their equipment uses JP-8, which considerably simplifies their logistics. Also, the Us has more MBTs (3rd generation ones anyway, 2nd gen. guns might just about dent 3rd gen. armour, but penetration is doubtful in the extreme) than the EU, and all of one type, not a half-dozen different types that each has to have their own parts.
While the Bofors has a shorter range than the Avengers and Stingers, there are also more in the way of SPAAGs, more MANPADS, and systems like Buk-1 and the Tunguska-M1. Of course, once the carriers are gone, (they'll be an absolute priority from day one,) and the Destroyers are dispersed enough (or sunk, since a 70's era sub could handle them if there aren't any real ASW assets nearby,) or the front moved far enough up so that AEGIS is ineffective, then the Rafales, which already have a good enough leg up over anything the USN has, and will tear into any sort of ADV in the US arsenal with near immunity, and be fully able to contest and counter any move made by the Americans.There's a lack of DIVAD, but the US has plenty of Avengers, and while those things peter out at ~8 km (as opposed to ~12 km for the Bofors 40mm/L70), but at least Stingers actually follow their targets.