Fresh Look at War: US military viewing the tanks strategy

Due to the widespread use of fading ammunition against heavy equipment, the tanks are tasked with tanks. On the one hand, it is necessary to maintain the maneuverability of the equipment, on the other - to increase protection against air attacks. After the start of a full -scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, US military officers rethink the strategies of modern war. In particular, the Pentagon noted that they looked at the "fresh look" on the nature of the use of tanks on a modern battlefield.

The conclusions of the US generals and military experts from the United States are referred to in the material of Defense News of October 9. First of all, it is about rethinking the strategy of fighting against the backdrop of widespread use of all kinds of drones.

The drones have filled the battlefield, say military experts, and this is affected, in particular, the peculiarities of the use of armored vehicles and especially tanks, which for many years considered the main force of the Land Forces. All months of hostilities in Ukraine, Western analysts have watched the municipal ammunition destroyed massive and expensive tanks, as well as how heavy armored vehicles were difficult to maneuve. "The technologies of warfare are changing rapidly.

The rapid spread of drones has made Abrams tanks more vulnerable. They can be more quickly identified and destroyed," the experts explained. Because of this, the US military concluded that their main combat tank (VTT) M1 Abrams can no longer undergo modernization while increasing the mass. According to the retired US Army General Ben Hodges, the Abrams tank "with all his decorations on the hood" is already too heavy, and modernization with weight gain is not a way out.

At the same time, the role of the VTT on the battlefield continues to be very urgent, although observing the losses of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, which lost more than 400 tanks in the first two months of the war, a discussion has begun among experts whether tanks were too cumbersome for the modern battlefield. The Minister of Army Christin Varmut noted that the protection of equipment with drones from the air is at the forefront.

"The statements that we see the end of the value of the tanks were somewhat premature, but ammunition capable of punching the top of armored vehicles and tanks remain a problem. We are working on creating opportunities to protect it," he said. Meanwhile, there are options such as protection of equipment with active protection, such as the Trophy system from Rafael.

But all additional protection systems increase the mass of equipment and inevitably reduce its maneuverability, which is unacceptable in modern combat conditions. Therefore, pentagon specialists still have to solve this problem. It may be partially solved by the ABRAMS M1A2 Sepv4 modernization program. Recall that the US Army reports reported work on improving the VBT M1E3 Abrams.