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 ...
Cost of transport truck: $220,000
Still a good tradeoff!
I'd use them wisely on the dangerous stuff, and .50 cal or 20mm on not so dangerous stuff, just to be sure I had something when needed.
If the NWO gets established, the approach will be if your social credit score drops below a certain value either your phone will blow up the next time you use it or a drone will be sent to eliminate you.
It is interesting in the comments, nobody has mentioned diversity yet. LOL.
Doubtful. Most ICBMs are designed to launch and then use inertial navigation to deliver their warheads to the dropoff points. Very difficult to jam that.
NLAWs retail for about 35-40K apiece. Maybe less if your store is having a sale.
Yes, tanks are obsolete, until you don’t have any. Best time to have a tank is when the other guy doesn’t.
However, there is the initial launch and guidance in powered flight. Along with separation stages and instructions until the separation. Satellites systems could target all of those communications during the flight. And since we have posts in Taiwan and South Korea, it would not be beyond the scope of possibility to be targeting those rockets as soon as they launch.
If you feed the missile computer the targeting data before launch there is no communications which you can jam unless you have a link to update the missile after launch. But usually there is no such link. This would be true for silo launched or SLBM launched missiles. If you can access the launch control flow you might interfere with the launch. Of course, if you can do that you have the keys to the kingdom...
I’ve read that. What are they moving to? More anti-tank weapons?
Helicopters will continue to deliver airborne infantry and provide support for awhile. And even anti-aircraft support. An experiment in the 70s put attack helicopters against fighters. Surprisingly the helicopters cleaned house.
An experiment in the 70s put attack helicopters against fighters. Surprisingly the helicopters cleaned house.
***Got some kind of link for that?
The unstoppable Infantry Soldier advances through the artillery, automatic weapons and rifle fire.
Fascinating stuff, thank you. I posted to you from an old Harrier thread where I coulda used that info long ago.
My bet is that since the Harrier can match the tight turn slow speeds of helicopters, it can wipe out anything in that scenario. It would seem that the advantage would also go to the F35 due to its ability to hover, but it does not have VIFFing [Vectoring In Forward Flight].
“AT missiles are pretty expensive.”
It is always a game of economics, isn’t it? A quarter million dollar missile that is guaranteed to kill a seven million dollar tank with troops in it with another million dollars worth of training is a pretty good deal.
Of course. The Russians are spending all the time and supplies on that "old stock", which also happens to be crewed by Russian soldiers who are killed during that Ukrainians "clean up".
That sounds kind of like trying to break the other guy's fist with your face.
Patton disagrees. Bet.
The Russians were never that smart (in wars). Their soldiers are cannon fodder.
To be fair, it's the same deal in the U.S. Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan.
Depends on the truck. A fuel truck following a tank column? Yes, Dragon-gunner, fire away. Otherwise the PFC next to you lugging the squad’s even cheaper AT-4 gets the shot. Every 3rd or 4th guy is carrying an AT-4.
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