Posted on 03/29/2022 5:18:10 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
After a Century, Has the Age of the Tank Passed? – As Russian losses in Ukraine mount, the main battle tank (MBT) could soon join the battleship in the boneyard of military history. While a true game changer when the first tanks rolled across the battlefields of Europe during World War I, these metal behemoths could be just the latest weapon from another era whose time has passed.
The truth is that from the introduction of the tanks at the Battle of the Somme in September 1916, enemies have looked at ways to counter the armored platforms. In the final years of the First World War, the German military simply adopted oversized bolt action rifle – the Mauser 13.2mm Tank Abwehr Gewehr Model 18, also known as the “Mauser 1918 T-Gewehr” – yet by the end of Second World War, a variety of anti-tank rockets had been developed.
Anti-tank weapons certainly improved in the years since, and now small man-portable weapons have tipped the scales considerably.
“An infantry that is determined to fight is now super-empowered by having things like a huge number of point-and-shoot disposable anti-tank rockets,” Edward Luttwak, a military strategist who consults for governments around the world, told Insider.
An Expensive Platform
Notably absent from Ukraine has been Russia’s state-of-the-art T-14 Armata – a tank that was touted for its advanced capabilities.
The Armata platform was developed to resist NATO anti-tank shells, including most armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot (APFSDS) rounds; and it features an unmanned turret to help improve the “survivability” of its crew. The T-14 was designed to be equipped with multilayer reactive armor, which is reportedly able to intercept enemy munitions including sub-caliber rounds such as those from anti-tank guided missiles, rockets and RPGs.
(Excerpt) Read more at 19fortyfive.com ...
I kind looked at it as Putin getting rid of old stock...and Ukraine has to spend the time and manpower to clean it up.
If mankind could only develop ways to improve the world as good as they do destroying it we might have a better place to live.
They are definitely obsolete unless you’re messing with a third rate army and even now they could be obsolete regardless
The USMC has been getting rid of their Armor for a couple years now
No, what it shows is that failing to use combined arms and not actually able to run a war are obsolete.
Retired 19Kilo here. I think the days of main battle tanks are numbered.
Its easier to destroy than organize and create. No maintenance needed in destroying.
Plus all human nature is naturally inclined to destroy. Not just because its easier, its because it appeals to our base sinful natures.
ping
The question is.....are the helicopters obsolete too? Obviously they are still useful if you fight against an enemy in a third world country. But not if you fight in a first or second world country where they have access to weapons like Stingers that can take out helicopters.
It’s been obvious for a while unmanned drones will dominate war fighting at every level of engagement. Thousands of small anti personnel drones will be released in the near future.
Since snall anti tank weapons have rendered tanks obsolete, wouldn’t they render all vehicles obsolete too? How does one capture territory?
How to Protect Your Computer from Getting Shot by a Main Battle Tank
I would agree with “Main Battle Tanks” as we know them becoming a dead classification. But another trend seen around the world is heavier up-armored IFV’s for transporting infantry. Once the infantry dismounts, these basically serve as mobile fire support platforms much like infantry tanks did in the world wars. And the recon elements will always need some light armor to do their jobs.
What you might get instead of complete obsolescence is a new bifurcation into a limited number of ‘Heavy’ and larger number of ‘Light’ tanks.
Bad tactic for Russians to remain in their MBT. Ride their tanks but then dismount like infantry would do and attack their enemy in Ukraine.
There are ground drones to help with that. Boston Dynamics has developed quite a few.
https://www.bostondynamics.com/
In GW2 a company of Apache gunships got decimated when they were sent unsupported over a defended area. Seems to me that the Russians are misusing their rotary wing assets just as we did in that instance.
The FGM-148 Javelin and Drones are quickly illustrating this analysis correct.
Tanks without supporting infantry and ADA has always been a dumb idea, but doesn’t make tanks obsolete. Operating tanks with open LOS beyond the FLOT where they can be ranged by ATGMs is also a dumb idea. Operating tanks in urban areas without infantry support has always been a really, really, dumb idea. Operating tanks with excellent crews with great tactics, on the terrain of their choosing that emphasizes their strengths is still smart and hard to beat.
Yes, I think you are right, we can’t judge the whole strategy just based on the performance of the Russians when it seems like their communications, equipment, supply lines, planning and probably even their command structure were not working anywhere near 100% efficiency.
However, we can still probably learn a lot from their mistakes and make sure we don’t stumble into the same trap, through negligence or overconfidence.
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