To begin with, it’s worth noting that the Ukrainians are not using the latest and best model of the M1A1. Some of the features that make the tank more durable and hard hitting have been removed to avoid them falling into Russian hands. (More good reading at the link}
...all tanks are vulnerable on the thinly armored top.
Tanks and manned aircraft are beginning to look like the battleships of WWII. Obsolete and vulnerable. I expect artillery to meet the same fate, once enough drones on either side, of enough range, are placed into battle. Simple artillery is too big, too slow, too easily detected. It seems it is the artillery ammo dumps which are targeted the most, at present. When you have to move hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, they are hard to hide.
I think you need air superiority to make these tanks viable.
LOL. Did they mean America's borders?
Because I have news for ya.....
A pretty good article. Two points: 1. The Abrams was designed to fight a defense in depth in West Germany, not punch through Soviet lines. 2. All tanks are most vulnerable on top, and tank commanders are trained to mitigate that weakness by moving as part of a combined arms unit.
All it takes is one routine drone strike to take out a 10 million dollar tank.
The Ukes have figured that out and have removed tanks from their battle plans.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/ukraine-pulls-us-provided-abrams-232304130.html
It’s not “American” tanks; it’s all tanks. Weapons and tactics are always changing. Nothing new or shocking.
Everyone is finding our weakness now so that if this country ever has to fight a war then we start right out severely disadvantaged.
America's NATO tanks?
The NATO we mostly pay for and tanks we fully pay for?
How many Europeans countries' tanks are in Ukraine?
what about when somebody does an EMP ?
Guess our tanks perform better against some Middle Eastern fighters with no real air force or anything than they do Russia.
No tank can withstand drone attacks. What they should do with them is bury them out of sight along the key roads that Russia will need to travel on in order to move forward.
And on a going forward basis, tanks should be unmanned drones. Reduce the size, armor, weight and cost. They will be expendable with no crew. And powered by AI.
Iran, Russia, and China are buddying up, so they probably have missiles with similar capabilities.
Forget about tanks. We need to beef up our AMD.
Anti-drone methods and systems will catch up - air, surface, and sub-sea levels.
If you'll read the story you'll find the headline is blatantly deceptive. The "vulnerability" has nothing to do with the armor and everything to do with its employment. What they're claiming is as silly as criticizing airplanes because they don't make good submarines.
During WWI George Patton saw their potential and became one of the most vocal proponents of using armor as an independent maneuver element. He also said that fixed fortifications were monuments to the stupidity of man. So you can guess what he'd have said about using his tanks as pill boxes.
The vulnerability is an effective enemy.
/s