The Tank is Dead - Long Live the Tank

Since its development and introduction, the tank has dominated land warfare. Numerous attempts to neutralize or limit its effectiveness have been tried. Largely, these efforts have focused on a technology approach -- the tank attained a measure of capability, and an antitank countermeasure followed. This approach has not successful because the tank also developed, thus offsetting the desired antitank advantage. Today's challenge to the tank comes from a different direction. With the end of the Cold War and the demise of the Soviet Union, many believe the era of the tank is over. The wars and conflicts this nation faces in the future will not require heavy armor. They contend that even if armor is needed, this nation does not have the ability to rapidly deploy that force, rendering it incapable of accomplishing its crisis response mission. On the other hand, there are those who believe the tank still has great utility. The world is still a dangerous place, with many potential adversaries owning large armor arsenals. For conventional force deterrence to be viable, heavy armor forces are essential. This study examines the arguments of both groups and attempts to understand the past tank lessons and how they are a like or differ from the current situation. The author offer some final thoughts concerning tank/armor force future AC and RC force structure, deployment modules and packaging, and force sizing.