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Old 03-13-2007, 10:09 AM   #28 (permalink)
The_Dunedan
Junkie
 
Well, the big problem tanks have in urban warfare is visibility. Once they button up, every tanker in the world is basically blind. The driver has a scope, the gunner usually has a scope and the gunsight, and the commander has either a 360-degree rotating scope or a panoramic setup, as in the M1. Usually, the commander also has the ability to utilize the primary gunsight. If those viewports and periscopes get damaged, they can be replaced, but the tank only carries so many spares. This is another of the "dirty little tricks" that the Chechens got so good at; shoot out the 'scopes and for them to be replaced until the tank runs out of spares, usually after only two or three shots. This forces the driver to blindly follow instructions from the commander , who may be having to see the battlefield through the gunner's sight. And visibility isn't great, on any tank, using the periscopes in any case. That and the limited maneuverability afforded by built-up areas make urban fighting every tanker's nightmare. Add a good, modern ATM system or RPG-29 crew, and any tanker in the world would begin to have a very, very bad day. As Greg said, the effectiveness and range of modern ATMs and ATRs is beginning to force what will probably be a major change in armored-warfare doctrine among first-world powers.

The recent Lebanon War showed that even a modern tank like the Merkava, with its' excellent reputation for crew survivability, is vulnerable to modern man-portable AT weapons. Even the unguided RPG-29 has no trouble penetrating the Merkava's armour, which suggests that it would perform well againse Russian, European, and American tanks as well. The Javelin, as Greg said, is badass beyong reason, and the Russian equivalents are pretty nasty as well. Urban environments make it very easy to pick a firing position which attacks a tank's weak points, the stern and the top of the turret, which further increases the tank's vulnerability.

And really, it's performance against ATM/R's that counts. We're never going to refight Kursk; none of the major powers are (currently) crazy enough to start trading punches with each other, and neither are they selling their weapons to countries likely to war against each other. Saudi Arabia and Ukraine are not going to start throwing, so we're unlikely to see an M1/Black Eagle duel anytime soon. The new "armor race" will be to develop armor capable of defeating increasingly powerful man-portable AT weapons, IMO.
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