Bird's Eye View: Is the Common Remotely Operated Weapons Station an Improvement over a Traditionally Manned Weapon

This thesis compares a traditional M2 machine gun with an M2 mounted on the Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station CROWS. CROWS is a remotely operated weapons platform primarily mounted on the Armys M1114 Up-Armored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle HMMWV. The problem is whether this state of the art weapon system is an improvement over a traditionally manned weapon in combat. To address the problem the thesis analyzed the benefits of CROWS over an M2, any systemic issues associated with the system, what users thought, and what additional and unique resources CROWS requires. This thesis also analyzed the systems limitations in terms of doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, and facilities DOTMLPF. The combination of document research and primary source information provide justification that, despite some increased capabilities, CROWS is not an improvement over a traditionally manned weapon in combat at the current time.