Get # Tanks: The Unyielding Giants of Modern Battlefields

Debates about modern military strategy often revolve around buzzing drones and cyber warfare, but the rumbling menace of TANK still looms large across the battlefield. Recent high-profile losses of armoured fighting vehicles in regional conflicts have raised the question: is the TANK still relevant as a weapon of war in the 21st century? Here’s why TANKS continue to be one of the most potent weapons on the battlefield today, in spite of the problems they face.

Understanding the Vulnerability of TANKS

Probably the most pervasive myth about the TANK is that it’s invincible. The image of the armoured killing machine, with its thick, durable steel, and its high-powered main gun, remains ingrained in our modern imaginations. But modern air and ground threats are eroding some of its capacity. For instance, a modern high-tech drone can take out one of the traditional mainstays of armoured warfare, the formidable T-72 TANK; recently there have been reports of Russian artillery and anti-TANK missiles doing the same. But rather than proving the obsolescence of the TANK, these cases have shown that it needs to be coördinated with complementary forces to be effective.

The Power of Combined Arms Tactics

As the history of TANK warfare tells us, if firepower is the traditional principle of war, combined arms is the modern one. As in Blitzkrieg tactics, the most effective use of TANKS still involves combining them with other types of units for mutual support. The last 30 years of TANK warfare confirm that this leads to the most cohesive and effective power projection, based on a taut network of fire, movement and mutual support.

Spearheading Offensives with TANK Formations

For a long time, the TANK has spearheaded the offensive. Its ability to punch a hole in the enemy line and absorb considerable punishment allows it to push across the battlefield with speed. Wars from the Six-Day War to the invasion of Iraq reveal that carrying forward the fight depends on TANKS, which bring firepower and protection to bear on fixed positions. The focus on the TANK suggests that war remains unchanged.

The Necessity of Doctrine in TANK Deployment

One only had to have compared one TANK to WWI-era artillery to realise just how much TANKS’ effectiveness is dependent on the strategic doctrine for their employment. The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War is an example of how a lack of effective air defence and strategic misuse of TANKS can create catastrophic losses for a military. On the other hand, the TANK’s ability to disrupt the balance of warfare and allow for tactical success when appropriately shielded and employed in line with sound military doctrine is evident.

The Future Role of TANKS in Warfare

In this climate of digital threats and changing battlefield dynamics, how can the TANK remain relevant? Again, the tactic lies in integrating it more fully in a larger scheme of battle encompassing many other forms of supporting power. The persistence of TANK development and fielding by great power militaries indicates that, beyond their clearly useful destructiveness, TANKS serve equally as symbols of deterrence.

The Ever-Evolving TANK

Since its first appearance at the dawn of the Great War, the TANK has never stopped evolving in line with the wider theatre of war. From their role as a pivotal part of both the trenches and the Western Front to their decisive contribution to modern day conflicts, the TANK remains a crucial part of armed forces across the world. Continual advances in design and strategy means that the TANK will remain a potent part of the military arsenal for years to come. It’s not only a metal monster, it’s a precision-fired mobile weapons platform that delivers firepower while keeping its crew safe.

Yet, as previous forms of warfare have shown, introducing new platforms and weapons doesn’t necessarily negate the value of old ones. TANKS therefore aren’t really threatened by direct-fire drones or precision-guided munitions on an individual level. Narratives of obsolescence and vulnerability in the age of drones and precision missiles therefore miss the mark. As a strategic concept, the TANK has never been obsolete. Nor has it ever been the sole feature of a military strategy. More than any other weapon platform, TANK warfare relies on combined arms. TANKS are for winning – but only if supported properly and used in the right ways. They help turn defeat into victory through mobility, firepower, shock, exploitation and deep battle. It’s undoubtedly true that the TANK in war has continued to change. It has had to respond to battlefield realities imposed by these changing conditions of war to remain relevant on the modern battlefield. This represents a critically important shift from its development in First World War to its adaptation in the Second World War. The TANK of today is lighter, flatter and fast-moving. It’s not so much that the TANK is less relevant to the future of war, as that TANK warfare will be different. The narrative of TANKS’ demise does embody some truths.