Tanks for the Memories

On StrategyPage, Jim Dunnigan argues that the age of tank warfare is, at long last, coming to a slow end:

There will have to be some battles to make the point. China and India are still building tanks, using technology far behind, and a lot cheaper than, the M-1. But with smarter and cheaper anti-tank weapons available (missiles, “smart mines” and air delivered robot tank killers like SADARM), it will only take one incident of the “cheap and smart” stuff beating up on a lot of tanks to make the point. Another telling sign is the lack of enthusiasm in America and Russia for designing a replacement for current tanks. At least not a replacement that features the “bigger gun and thicker armor” that has characterized tank development for the past 80 years.

Oh, there may always be tanks in our inventory — they’re useful in lots of situations. But before too long, they’ll no longer be the prime instrument of land warfare.