Blast from the past:
AAI RDF LIGHT TANK
Somehow history repeats itself. Nowadays, US Army has begun investigating a light tank for the airborne corps.
In the early 1980's the same requirement was again under consideration and Aircraft Armaments Inc. - AAI has started an initiative to develop a Rapid Deployment Force Light Tank.
Enter RDF:
AAI developed more than one variant of this light tank with:
- 3 crew: 2 in the turret (Cmdr & Gnr) + 1 in the hull (driver)
- 3 crew: 1 in the turret (Gnnr) +2 in the hull (Cmdr & Driver)
- 2 crew: 2 in the hull (Cmdr & Driver) + unmanned turret
Vehicle was around 15 tons with a 350 HP Detroit Diesel engine coupled to an Allison X200 transmission.
RDF was initially armed with a 76mm cannon and a subsequent prototype was armed with a Rapid Fire Caseless 76mm cannon having 'burst' capability. So the gun can quickly send 5 76mm rounds to the same target to guarantee penetration at the target.
The vehicle with the low profile Unmanned Turret is futuristic even by today's standards.
