Tank ‘Tism

So, I’m a tank nerd. I’ve always loved them and I pay close attention to announcements on new tanks, specs, etc. I also take note on the emergence of what was considered outdated or obsolete hardware. This isn’t going to be a break down on tank specifications, modifications or anything of that nature – specifically, I’m going to be discussing the design principles and uses of various tanks and how the American Empire is responding.

So, first a bit of background on the tanks currently in use by the world players.  

Germany/EU*: Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank (hereafter, referred to as MBT)

Entered Service**: 1979

Produced***: 3,600

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American Empire: M1A2 Abrams MBT

Entered Service: 1979

Produced: 10,000+ M1s (~12-1500 M1A2)

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Russian Federation: T-90 MBT/T-14 MBT

Entered Service: 1990/2016

Produced: 3,200+/50****

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Chicoms: Type 99

Entered Service: 1998

Produced: 1,000+

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Japan: Type 10

Entered Service: 2012

Produced: 100+

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*Not all EU nations use the same hardware, but at one point the Leopard 2 was going to be used for more export. France, England, Poland, and Sweden all have their own tanks.  

**This is the first time any of these base tanks rolled off the assembly line, not when these unarmored and up-gizmo’d variants were introduced.  

***This is total production numbers from first production. I’m using the current variant, as that is what would be fielded by a serious opponent. There are tens of thousands of T-72s still in service in Russia, but they are not the primary tanks anymore.

****This tank has not properly entered mass production, as Russia wants to be able to use the hull for multiple things, including mobile anti-aircraft, infantry fighting vehicle, and as an armored personnel carrier. Production was halted for these reasons.  

So, now that I’ve got the boring part out of the way for non-tank enthusiasts, we can get into some of the interesting things. I’ll be including other information throughout this, I chose the original production (and unvaried date) for a reason. This is your base, you can stack all the fancy upgrades and trinkets you want onto a ’72 Challenger, but that doesnt mean the new sound system is the first assembly line date.

Now, we are still producing the Abrams, but the hull generally hasn’t changed much. Since the original M1, the engine hasn’t changed nor the tracks, but the weight has gone up almost 14 tons. That’s an extra 28,000 pounds on that frame, tracks and for the engine to push around. If you want to know how well using a heavier hull, with the same underpowered engine goes, ask the Germans during World War 2 about the performance differences between the Tiger I and Tiger II.  They had the same engine, but the Tiger II had a much higher maintenance cost and time associated with it.  

What does this mean? This tank is basically at the end of its possible life cycle, outside of blowing up desert tribes who run around in sandals with rusty AKs. Against a legitimate threat, it may be able to shrug off a few hits, but its maintenance and upkeep will prevent it from being extremely useful. Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) are part of an extremely modern tank doctrine that assumes you don’t just have air superiority, but air supremacy. Tanks are easy targets for missiles and, especially, for aircraft. This has been demonstrated over and over again in dozens of battles. The Abrams is the fist of the Empire, but it’s muscles have atrophied over time and its enemies know it.

On the other hand, let’s look at a tank that is roughly concurrent with the M1A2: the T-90A. The T-90A is the main current Russian tank, while modifications to the T-14 Armata are being made, so it can serve as the hull for multiple AFVs (Armored Fighting Vehicles). The Russians have heaped a ton of equipment on the old T-72B hull, but they’ve also put newer engines in it over time, changed fuel capacities and armor densities. The T-90A isn’t some M1A2 killer specifically, it’s designed for Russians in a Russian environment. And, Russian general doctrine would have every older tank deployed before these were ever in the field; thus, making the U.S. military spend tons of raw materiel (and nasty attrition) before the Abrams would face the T-90A.

I’m not going to bat here for the Russians, I’m trying to point out how they handled Napoleon, the Germans and other incursions over the centuries. They will let you over extend and become over confident, then you will be overwhelmed when you’re too deep to deal with it. The grand tank battles of the Pontic steppe are probably never coming back, but we still can review them to understand how modern Russia would deal with such a conflict. When Russia displayed the T-14 and showed its capabilities, Germany and England shit their pants and immediately went to the drawing board. So did The American Empire. The Challenger 2 and Leopard 2 are both going to be phased out, while we attempt to up-armor a 40 year old hull for a fourth time with the M1A3.

I’d go into the Chinese tanks more, but they are not really my subject of expertise. While I’m assuming the quality is lower, as a general rule, they also have phased into new tank design within 20 years of their previous tank exiting service. That’s significant and shows they wish to project force. They did just recently begin production on an export tank that allegedly isn’t for them. It’s a much lighter main battle tank that is designed for mountainous and rocky terrain. Most likely, this will be a divide and conquer strategy where they let some nearby nation have thousands of these on credit to stomp on their enemies and piss off localized powers. In turn, they will come in and act as peacekeepers and consolidate further power and influence in the region.  

In the second part of this series, we’ll discuss why this is important for the Empire’s advancement in tank design, as well as, how modern warfare and fourth-generation warfare will influence the industry and vice versa.