UK Army to stop using tanks
 

The MOD are considering 'scrapping' their tanks in an attempt to modernise the way they fight on the land.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/202...-armed-forces/

I'm in two minds about this. Yes they can put the fear of god in opponents and can cause a fair bit of destruction, but these days, they are quite vulnerable from missiles fired from the air or the ground (I remember that Saddam's tanks didn't last long).

So perhaps they have had their time and a new approach is required. For example, could small combat drones achieve the same sort of results? It could cost the same, but is somewhat safer for the operators.

Can a drone carry a mix of 50 HE and AP rounds or deliver 4000+ mg rounds in support of ground troops? Would such a drone have the persistence of a tank? Would a drone be able to deliver 'soft power' in the way 50+ tons of metal does on the ground?

Does any of the above matter? I don't know, but these are probably questions that need honest answers.

Tanks are useful against infantry because they deliver a lot of heat and offer protection to those inside. But they can be defeated by missiles and other tanks, so maybe they've had their day? No amount of armour can offer the same protection as being 5000 miles away in a shipping container in Nevada with a PlayStation controller, which just leaves the question of ordnance...

Already being discussed in the defence review thread.

https://www.pprune.org/military-avia...l#post10869735

Of course armour is infallible to anti armour weapons, just like airborne platforms are susceptible to anti air weapons. Have aircraft had their day too?

But tanks are perfect against the natives of Umboto Gorge with their sharpened guava fruit...

“Yes, that was a bit of a nasty one — ten thousand Watusi warriors armed to the teeth with kiwi fruit and guava halves. After the battle, instead of taking prisoners, we simply made a huge fruit salad.“

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....c504d617e.jpeg

Stood next to an M1 at the ADFA open day a few years ago - talking to the young chap who drove it.
For all the power and size, it felt like an anachronism - a hulking great tin can death trap.
Australia's 59 certainly are - good for training troops and aircraft how to deal with a main battle tank in combat, and not much else.
Unless I'm missing something...

Drone tanks then?

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....d224f0619.jpeg

Now that makes sense.
Along with drone howitzers, drone anti-aircraft missile batteries - and anything else that might be a big, fat target from the air...

Bunkers full of servers?

The 0/0 war.

Nah.
They're hidden under the granite mountain... ;)

I would carry on coming up with ideas of how AI/unmanned vehicles could fight these wars on our behalf but then I realised I’m just talking myself out of LSA and medals in the future :ooh:

Drone operators already have wings. How about theatre medals and eventually the Victoria Cross.

Has The Tank Had Its Day?
 

Many years ago I was given the task of preparing a presentation for a course on 'What will the tank of 2030 look like' I consulted with thr Operational Research desk officer at MoD, whose father was a distinguished Fleet Air Arm officer who had been involved in the Taranto raid. His answer was short and shrp - "An Attack Helicopter." My case rests.

All well and good until you actually want to hold any ground, which is where the tank comes into it’s own as an armoured mobile sangar with a decent sensor and comms suite plus a respectable reach with an accurate weapon.

Seems a lot of posters are still fighting the last (ME) war of uncontested airspace where allied ac roamed at will. Will tanks be so vulnerable under a contested air environment?

Anybody that thinks that a bloke who's daddy flew obsolete and vulnerable aircraft to sink a fleet in a defended harbour is a case for tanks to be redundant should perhaps think it through.

I always thought the Russians were heading down the route of drone tanks having already dispensed with having anyone in the turrets, heck, it even has a bog in it..

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/russ...tanks-in-2019/

Will a tank survive in a contested environment where the air is full of loitering drones with shaped charges roaming the battlefield looking for armour to attack?