us media: the "king of land warfare" urgently needs to adapt to the drone era
2024-09-19
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reference news reported on september 18on september 13, the wall street journal published an article titled "once dominant, tanks are now losing ground on the battlefield" by alistair macdonald. excerpts from the article are as follows:
while tanks have helped ukraine advance toward russia, the military is rethinking how to build and deploy the powerful vehicles, as they have performed poorly in combat recently.
tanks were once king of the land battlefield, but the proliferation of drones in ukraine means these large, noisy vehicles can be spotted and targeted in minutes. dozens of advanced western tanks have seen little use in the battles they were meant to fight, while others have been damaged, destroyed or captured by their opponents.
to address the tank dilemma, the military is adding technology to the tanks to detect and defend against drones, and is also considering modifying the tank design to make the heavily armored vehicles more maneuverable. battlefield tactics have changed, and lessons from ukraine are being adopted.
“in the short term, we urgently need to make some adjustments to maintain the viability of our armored formations,” said gen. james rainey, who leads army futures command, which studies ways to equip and transform the army.
the rethink is another sign of how drones are reshaping warfare. adapting tanks to the drone age is vital if western militaries are to maintain their edge in conventional warfare. for decades, some western militaries have placed tanks at the heart of their land strategy. in the past, tanks have also been adapted to adapt to new adversaries such as aircraft and anti-tank missiles.
when members of ukraine's 47th mechanized brigade learned last year that they would be getting abrams tanks, they hoped the american machines would allow them to finally break through russian defenses.
of the 31 abrams tanks sent to ukraine by the united states, six have been destroyed and the others have seen little use, according to oryx, a website that tracks losses in the conflict zone.
among other western tanks sent to ukraine, 12 of the 18 newer german-made leopard tanks were destroyed or damaged, the oryx website said. russian tanks also suffered heavy losses, analysts said.
"as soon as you get on the road, drones will see you, and then you will be attacked by artillery, mines, anti-tank missiles, drones and guided bombs," said a ukrainian driver of an abrams tank.
tanks are more vulnerable to drone attacks than other armored vehicles because they are large and have large rotating turrets with thin armor on top. tank cannons are also not well suited to shooting down drones, and tanks typically carry only 30 to 40 rounds of ammunition.
drones represent a new threat. they are cheaper than the tank's traditional adversaries, such as aircraft or anti-tank missiles. unmanned reconnaissance aircraft could allow these old adversaries to better target tank formations.
a finnish armored brigade commander said the rise of drones has made training more focused on the need for constant movement. "you can't leave a combat tank in the open for even a moment," he said. "as soon as you stop moving, you have to hide under trees, you have to find cover."
doug bush, assistant secretary of the army for acquisition, logistics and technology, said efforts are also underway to make tanks harder to detect, including changing the way they are painted and reducing their electronic markings.
sweden's saab group said it had seen interest in a camouflage netting it offers that can be wrapped around all parts of a tank, making them harder to spot and partially masking the heat it radiates.
the united states and its allies are also adding new countermeasures to many of their tanks, including israel’s iron fist system, which fires small explosive munitions when it detects an aerial threat.
shortly after the russian-ukrainian conflict began, poland agreed to buy hundreds of south korean k2 tanks. a few months later, the poles added new requirements, including equipment to jam drones. this equipment is becoming an indispensable equipment for tanks. (compiled by zhu jie)
