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For Honor Of Making Gold Plated Junk W/ Germany |
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and America to produce a Main Battle Tank. It was part of the NATO policy of trying to get all the member nations to use similar weapons. Differences between the 2 countries, turned the project into a disaster. These included differences in drafting techniques and America’s continued use of the standard measuring system as opposed to Europe's metric system. Another problem was the massive cost that resulted from the desire of the militaries to 'gold plate’ the tank. Gold plating refers to the military's tendency to add on too many sub-systems to weapons. This often results in cost over-runs, excessive weight, extra personnel for operation and maintenance, and equipment that is too fragile to operate in a combat setting. In the case of the MBT-70, an effort was even made to give it a suspension that allowed it to crouch behind hills, then pop-up for a quick shot, as these pictures of the MBT-70 (with out it/s normal turret and cannon) show. Below, A Prototype Shows The Ability To Raise And Lower The Hull. 
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