Sumit Ahlawat
The Ukraine War has proved to be a “graveyard” for tanks. From Soviet-era vintage tanks, such as the T-72 and T-80, to West-supplied modern tanks like the Leopard 2 and Challenger 2, and even US-supplied Abrams, all have proven equally vulnerable to cheap drones.
To such an extent that many defense commentators have already begun writing obituaries for tanks, suggesting that the era of tank dominance in modern wars is coming to an end.
Paul Scharre, a former US Army Ranger and director of studies at the Center for a New American Security, has suggested that the role of tanks is diminishing due to lessons from the Ukraine war: “Tanks are going to move, over time, into more of a mopping-up role.”
In the Ukraine War, cheap drones armed with explosives, each costing less than US$500 apiece, have been able to take out a US$10 million Abrams tank.
Known as first-person view drones, or FPVs, they are equipped with a camera that streams real-time images back to their controller, who can direct them to hit tanks in their most vulnerable spots.
To be sure, drones are not the only challenge facing modern tanks. They are also becoming increasingly vulnerable to shoulder-fired anti-tank missiles. And not just the sophisticated Javelins, but also anti-tank missiles such as Stugna-P, a rudimentary anti-tank warhead made by Ukraine.
Edward Luttwak, a renowned military strategist, highlighted the vulnerability of tanks against empowered infantry in the context of Ukraine: “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.”Destroyed Leopard Tanks in Ukraine.
No comments:
Post a Comment