Are tanks still used in modern warfare?

[Baz]

Ran across this video with some excellent footage of tanks - including of course the Tiger.......

I wonder what ISIS would do if we unleashed a few tank divisions on their arses.....

[MRM]

Yes. Tanks remain indispensable in support of modern infantry. The advantage of armor against an unarmed opponent or civilian population is essential for success.

And ISIS has plenty of them.

ISIS moving seized US tanks, Humvees to Syria | Fox News

[BReif61]

I'm curious to know what Fox is considering a "tank" in that article. Have we sold the Iraqis M1's? Or are leftover ASV's "tanks" now?

[CHICKS]

The new Iraq army has russian tanks the old Iraq army used. When I was there in 2005 they were using them at checkpoints.

[CHICKS]

No, we didn't sell anyone M1's.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by CHICKS

No, we didn't sell anyone M1's.

Well, except I read that we have sold them to EGYPT,

...and Australia, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

That's all.

[BReif61]

Little Google search reveals that we sold Iraq M1A1s.
M1 Abrams Tanks for Iraq

[aap1966]

Originally Posted by tcar

.......we have sold them to EGYPT,...and Australia, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Yeah, well pick the odd one out. (We're getting the F-35A Lightning too)

[jyl]

We sold Iran F14s and it did them no good. Complex weapons systems need a whole organisation to be effective. Tanks, even M1s, are sitting ducks to airpower. They need air superiority - or for neither side to have air abilities.

[M.D. Holloway]

Great weapons require great methods to keep them running. They would be better off running used Sherman tanks from the local VFW hall over anything built in the last 20 years. It would be like having a HS shop class trying to work on a 997. They don't have the tools, spares or talent to keep these things going for more then a day...

[Scuba Steve]

Originally Posted by MRM

Yes. Tanks remain indispensable in support of modern infantry. The advantage of armor against an unarmed opponent or civilian population is essential for success.

And ISIS has plenty of them.

ISIS moving seized US tanks, Humvees to Syria | Fox News

It's not about the number of tanks or any other weapon ISIS may have, it's about whether they have any idea how to use them.

[MRM]

It is self-evident that they do. They hold a larger territory than Iraq and even the U.S. air attacks has done nothing to push back their territory. They are funded to the tune of $100 million a day between their oil and extortion and smuggling businesses. They not only can afford any equipment on the black market they have the expertise to do ever except fly advanced aircraft. For now.

Remember, these are professionals who have been fighting since Bosnia and they have state support. They have been in business long enough to have experienced military officers who've been to academies as their commanders. It takes five years to mold effective NCOs that are the backbone of any army. And they have them too which makes their recruits effective be from the start.

This is a terrifyingly effective and efficient fighting force. And test, they have Abrams.

Will U.S. Fighters Hit U.S.-Made Tanks in Iraq? | DoD Buzz


From the article:

In the past, the Pentagon has referred questions about the matter to the Iraqi military. “DoD is not in a position to provide information on the status of Iraqi military equipment,” Navy Cmdr. Bill Speaks, a spokesman at the Pentagon, said in an e-mail from June. “You would have to ask the Iraqis.”

As of 2012, the Defense Department’s $11.6 billion foreign military sales program with Iraq was the fourth-largest in the region and the ninth-largest in the world, according to the Congressional Research Service.

The U.S. has already delivered to Iraq 140 M1 Abrams tanks and, in recent weeks, rushed delivery of 5,000 more Hellfire missiles, according to a July 2 report from the service.

The article seems to be saying that the U.S. doesn't know how many of the 140 Abrams are in the possession of Isis.

The rule of asymmetrical warfare is that the enemy is winning unless he is clearly losing. Just being able to exist is winning for these people. They are not only not losing at this point, they're still expanding territory.

To give a geopolitical overview, Iran is now fighting with us. The price for them taking arms against Isis appears to be agreement that they can develop atomic weapons.

[Baz]

Thanks for all the posts and input so far....very interesting!

[mreid]

Originally Posted by jyl

We sold Iran F14s and it did them no good. Complex weapons systems need a whole organisation to be effective. Tanks, even M1s, are sitting ducks to airpower. They need air superiority - or for neither side to have air abilities.

An Iranian F14 was the primary catalyst to the downing of an Iranian Airbus by an American guided missile cruiser in the late 80s. We also sometimes don't know how to use our own equipment.

[turbo owner]

From an A10 drivers point of view, tanks make great moving targets, the occupants are dead men.

[azasadny]

I saw M1A1 Abrams tanks used to great effect during Desert Storm....

[cashflyer]

quote from Wall Street Journal:

Today, we estimate that ISIS has less than a total of 30 working M1 Abrams tanks and howitzers that are either self-propelled or towed behind trucks (based on our knowledge of how the Iraqi army is equipped and what divisions were in the north). These are the weapons that gave the Islamic State the advantage over the Peshmerga in recent firefights. Yet ISIS does not have the highly trained maintenance crews that are necessary to keep these weapons in good working order. The same problem exists for its armored Humvees and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected personnel carriers. Without maintenance, these captured U.S. vehicles and weapons will break down.

edit: Yes, I know that is not an M1A1 in the photo. Thanks.


ISIS also has MANPADS and ATGM weapons, including 9K11 Kornet ATGM, RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and M79 Osa rocket launchers.

[cashflyer]

[jyl]

Versus an opponent with no remaining air capability.

I saw M1A1 Abrams tanks used to great effect during Desert Storm....

[M.D. Holloway]

https://autos.yahoo.com/news/panzerkampfwagen-tiger-germany-over-engineered-tank-183042309.html