Dont believe the hype Tanks are still vital to Ukraine

Don’t believe the hype; Tanks are still vital to Ukraine

Tanks have long been at the top of Ukraine’s list of demands from Western governments.

Poland has pledged a dozen German-made Leopard 2 tanks, and Britain has offered 14 of its own Challenger 2 main battle tanks.

Many other countries are considering Ukraine’s insistence on heavy armaments.

In the age of long-range precision fire, drones, missiles and powerful anti-tank weapons, the tank is considered obsolete by many observers.

Some countries have even started phasing them out entirely, claiming the days of massive tank attacks are over.

So why are they needed?

To predict the sinking of the tank is premature.

It is true that tanks have recently become vulnerable to high precision fire and highly manoeuvrable Western anti-tank weapons like the Javelin. Russia’s T-72 and T-80 tanks fared worse in most battles in Ukraine.

Tanks are vulnerable and have been ever since they were invented more than a century ago in the final years of World War I.

However, tanks have constantly evolved, along with the weapons designed to destroy them, and Ukraine needs hundreds if it is to launch its counteroffensive to retake first the south and then the rest of the country.

Own Russian tanks are worn out and need to be replaced after months of fighting at an industrial level.

NATO countries are ideal candidates to donate part of their holdings, and for Ukraine the tanks can’t arrive fast enough.

Western tanks were very much designed with a view to defeating Russian tanks. With reactive armor, powerful main guns, and increasingly effective countermeasures, tanks are made to stay in the fight and protect crews.

The latest generation of main battle tanks are crucial for Ukraine if it is to punch holes in Russian defenses and retake areas that Russian forces captured in the first weeks of the invasion.

Southern Ukraine is a flat and ideal tank territory. There, Russia has also built rows of trenches and fortified bunkers to halt a Ukrainian advance.

In a Ukrainian offensive, tanks would advance alongside troops protected by infantry fighting vehicles such as the American Bradley, German Mardar, and even the Russian-made BMP-2.

Armored Fists

Infantry fighting vehicles are designed to transport troops to trouble spots during battle. They provide protection and fire support to the infantry command inside.

This combination is a powerful one for an army, especially when coupled with long-range fire and massive air support, especially from combat drones.

Properly used, Armor are the armored fists that can smash through defenses.

They are powerful, deadly weapons, but they are not invulnerable and need protection. As weapons change, so does the type of protection tanks require, but tactics often beat technology, and cadres of senior Ukrainian officers are being trained by the United States in combined-armed offensive operations, which means the use of all weapons available to the Ukraine has the most effective ways to complement each other and ensure victory.

There are problems with introducing foreign weapons systems into Ukraine, each of which requires its own spare parts, training and repair crews. Keeping them supplied and fighting will be a major challenge.

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For a successful offensive in the south, Ukraine would have to store weapons, tanks, fuel and ammunition near the Dnieper River without being detected.

Kiev’s forces would then have to cross the river at several points while under fire. Advance units would have to hold beachheads across the river. Ukrainian units would then have to attack the extensive defensive positions that the Russians have prepared. Both sides would have to fill in reinforcements and provide supplies.

Strategic deception would play a role in all of this, leaving Russia in the dark as to where Ukraine would attack. Long-range, precise fire would help Ukraine cut Russian supply chains and hamper the arrival of reinforcements. In all of this, tanks, if used wisely and decisively, could smash through Russian lines, the armored fist that Ukraine sorely needs.

Now that the threshold for Western arms transfers has been lowered, more countries could donate tanks from their own stocks, and Ukraine could get the tools it needs and has long asked for to win this war. These powerful weapons would be an important and timely addition.

To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the tank’s demise are grossly exaggerated.