Using tanks in modern warfare situations. Aren’t they sitting ducks if the opposition is equipped with anti-tank weapons? What are tanks good for in modern combat?
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Tank in a city it’s just like a coffin on trucks. But on the open field with some infantry/sniper/mortar/artillery/air support it’s a hell of a weapon.
The point is: modern warfare requires a lot of support for units. However tank in the city is a really disadvantaged thing.
Two soldiers sitting on the roof of a 5-floor building with an RPG and bunch of ammo can (in theory) take down the entire tank division. Destroy the first and the last in the column and everything in between is fucked.
Yes, they are sitting ducks. Infantry in modern warfare can be equipped with a huge variety of weapons that can be effective vs tanks, Javelin being one of the more powerful but also expensive ones. This is why they need protection. You should never see a tank in a battlefield just sitting there, alone. That would be a death sentence. It will be surrounded by infantry and other support assets. The idea behind most military tactics is to get the tank into positions where its gun will be effective (Which can be several kilometers away), but where the enemy weaponry won’t be effective against it.
To bring a 120mm gun close enough from the enemy to react quickly and autonomously (unlike artillery) and remain on site (unlike aircraft) long enough (armor).
That’s it. It’s an ordonnance delivery system with a good balance between fire and staying power.
Its presence changes the rules of the battlefield, as it requires specialized weaponry to take out (unlike infantry). If you don’t have such weapon right now, you have no choice but to fall back until you fetch one.
Tanks aren’t meant to fight alone, and modern tanks are equipped with systems to reduce risk from anti tank weapons, if not outright mitigate them.
Tanks typically have infantry support, along with air assets. (Combined arms)
It all comes down to the roles that each platform plays. Tanks are meant to provide high firepower, and mobility. Infantry can supply high firepower through mortars or high caliber weapons, but infantry on foot are slow, and soft targets, not to mention that most of those weapon platforms need setup time, and are heavy themselves.
A well equipped, supplied, and trained tank squadron is highly mobile, packs a hell of a punch, and can survive quite a bit. You can shoot at a tank all day with small arms fire (rifles and machine guns) and all you’ll do is scratch the paint, maybe make a few small dents, possibly crack some optics. An infantry squad/section wouldn’t be able to withstand that without sufficient cover or a prepared position. A prepared position is hard to take/defeat, but it’s also stationary. Tanks can act as mobile prepared positions, some even have bulldozer blades that can be attached to allow the tank to dig its own little trench to sit in for even more protection (hull down).
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