This is coolbert: The situation with modern tank development is analogous to the development of modern combat aircraft as discussed in a prior post.

It used to be that each army had a variety of tanks, each suited for a particular purpose. Light tanks, medium tanks, heavy tanks, fast tanks, and even flying tanks.

There was also considerable ferment in tank development. New models were developed and fielded, each being almost, if not so, obsolete just as it came off the assembly line.

The U.S. had the Stuart tank, the Sherman tank, and the models M47, M48, and M60. And for the two latter, variants A1 to A3, etc.

The Soviets had the T-34, the T54/55, the T-62/64, the T-72, the T-80, and the T-90 models.

Each had larger guns, more armor, bigger and better engines, etc.

This is no longer sustainable. A tank must be developed that will not be obsolete within a decade or a few years. The cost per tank is just too great. A modern tank has to be designed to be built and be fielded for decades and be successful.

This is what is seen now with the Abrams model of tank. The Abrams will have to suffice for some time into the future.

And it can.

The basic model can always be improved with new gun, engine, armor, sighting and aiming devices, ammunition, etc.

And doctrine using the tank as an offensive weapon is most important. Even if anti-tank guided missile [ATGM] development continues [and it certainly will], using the tank properly, as an offensive weapon massed, will ensure it's future for a long time to come.

Just to give you an idea of how much tank development has progressed over the years, consider this. A Sherman tank main gun could penetrate four inches of armor at four hundred yards. The gun of a modern M60 tank, not even the Abrams, can penetrate sixteen inches of armor at two thousand yards. That is a leap of twenty in capability just for the gun alone, not considering the other advanced features that have been developed, such as gun stabilizer, night fighting capability, range finding, engine power and armor protection, etc. Modern tanks are light years ahead of their World War Two counter-parts!!

coolbert.