Tanks once dominated the battlefield, and possessing a powerful and well-supplied
armored force was to win a war. But in an era of guerilla war and stand-off conflict,
the mammoth, history-defining tank battles of World War Two—a
repeat of which was expected if the Cold War ever went hot—are seemingly a thing of the past.
Nonetheless, the tank remains a vital part of any modern military,
offering unparalleled ground-based firepower and remaining a symbol of the might of the
world's great powers. Two of the world's biggest tank arsenals belong to the U.S.—with
around 5,800—and Russia, which has over 20,000.
But it is the condition and quality of these tanks that matter more than sheer numbers.
The most potent armored vehicle at the American military's disposal for almost 40 years
has been the M1 Abrams tank, first introduced in 1980 and named for the Vietnam War-era General
Creighton Abrams. Since then, a series of upgrades have brought the platform up to
speed with the modern battlefield. The M1A1 tank was in service by 1985 and the M1A2 by 1986.
M1 Abrams variants have has formed the backbone of American armor over the past three decades.
It was the Abrams that drove Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army from Kuwait, and some years later that
tore across Iraq to seize Baghdad. Wherever U.S. forces needed firepower, the Abrams were there,
even deployed in small numbers to the mountain passes and green valleys of Afghanistan.
Spread across the Army and Marine Corps, there are just under 5,000 M1 Abrams tanks of various
configurations in the U.S. military. Just under 3,000 are believed to be active at any one time.
The Abrams was cutting-edge technology when first introduced.
Though the base platform is now aging, upgrades have made the tanks of 2018 near-unrecognizable
to the weapons of 1980—at least to those who know where to look.
Sporting a 120mm main gun, the M1A2's offensive capabilities have been steadily improved over time
to allow the tank to compete with the newest armored systems.
Meanwhile, the inside has been transformed by modern sensors and fire-control systems,
making it one of the most advanced in the world.
Protection has also come on leaps and bounds, with extremely dense depleted uranium armor
protecting the crew from frontal attack. The system is an expensive one,
costing around $6 million per unit, but it is also one of the best in the world.
The Pentagon is not standing still. The army has already received its first M1A2
SEP Abrams tanks, boasting further improved armor, sensors, fire control software,
and digital battlefield management systems. American tanks are also being upgraded with
explosive reactive armor blocks that damage projectiles attempting to penetrate the vehicle.
The military is also working on the M1A3 platform, which will further upgrade America's tanks. This
will be the last upgrade to the M1 Abrams system as work on the Future Main Battle Tank continues.
During the Cold War, NATO planners believed that the first few hours of World War
Three would see the rolling green plains of Eastern Europe
turn into a sea of Russian tanks as Soviet armor poured through the Iron Curtain.
While this scenario has been consigned to the history books,
the importance of the tank to Russian military planners persists, and the country
still possesses the largest number of tanks on earth. However, of the 20,000 in Russia,
few can be considered top-tier weapons, and only around 3,500 will be active at once.
The Kremlin's most advanced tank is the T-90, of which Russia fields between 750 and 1,000.
First introduced in the early 1990s, the platform is cheaper than the M1A2 Abrams,
costing around $4.5 million per unit. It is a development of the older T-72
and was introduced after the T-80 tank did not perform as well as expected.
The most recent iteration—the T-90A—protects its crew with a composite armor hull and
built-in explosive reactive armor blocks. The T-90A can also use electronic counter-measures
to interfere with incoming projectiles. On the attack, its 125mm gun is enough
to worry any enemy. Though a competitive weapon that has been fought in Chechnya,
Syria, and Ukraine, the T-90A is not generally considered a world leader.
Aware of the need for a more modern tank, Russia has developed the T-14 Armata. The next-generation
platform will use active protection systems to stop rockets before they hit the tank,
posing a challenge to any adversaries. On the offense,
the Armata will have an upgraded main gun, more sophisticated fire control systems,
and remote-controlled machine guns. The Armata's turret is unmanned,
allowing its three crew members to sit in the relative safety of the crew capsule.
Though impressive on paper, the Armata has been beset by overrunning costs
and delays in delivery. The Kremlin hoped to have hundreds in service by now but
only a handful have been delivered. It seems unlikely that Russia will
be able to fulfill its original plan to field 2,300 Armata tanks by 2020.