The growing popularity of drones is prompting armies to change strategies and, in particular, to add additional defenses to their tanks, The Wall Street Journal writes, citing military officials interviewed in an article titled “The once-dominant tank is being humiliated on the battlefield.”
As the newspaper notes, the conflict in Ukraine has shown that heavy tanks, once “kings on the battlefield,” can be easily detected and attacked by cheap drones. This has led to dozens of advanced Western tanks being used only occasionally in battles, while others have been damaged, destroyed or captured.
Both sides are now equipping their combat vehicles with technology to detect and suppress drones, as well as changing their designs to be more maneuverable.
“In the near term, we [the U.S.] absolutely need to make some immediate adjustments to keep our armored formations survivable,” General James Rainey, who heads the U.S. Army Future Command (AFC, manages modernization projects in the military), told the WSJ.
According to the Oryx analytical group cited by the newspaper, a fifth of all Abrams tanks transferred to Ukraine have already been destroyed, while the rest are rarely used. In addition, two-thirds of the newest models of German Leopard have been destroyed or damaged by now, the analysts specify.
“As soon as you get on the road, you are spotted by a drone, and then artillery, mines, anti-tank missiles, drones, guided bombs start firing at you,” a mechanic-driver of one of the Abrams tanks handed over to Ukraine told WSJ.
The military officer specified that while at the beginning of the conflict commanders often hid their tanks by digging trenches and camouflaging them, with the development of drones such methods no longer work and tanks are kept away from the front lines.
Anton Gavrish, commander of an AFU tank company, added that once the skill of a tank commander was determined by his ability to conduct tank duels and defend infantry, but now it is about the ability to conduct covert fire and retreat quickly.
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