The introduction of tanks towards the end of WW1 to breach the entrenched lines heralded the age of mobile fortresses.
The military planners embraced this strategy all nations that wished to be prominent came up with their own versions of tanks.
WW2 came about and tanks were in the forefront of plans devised by generals, both for offensive and defensive strategy.
Air power wasn't quite devastating enough yet to become its own entity, and was used primarily to support large offensives or to destroy industry and infrastructure.
Tanks were at the forefront of grand battles, and the frontlines were pushed forth with armored divisions.
After WW2 with the cold war in full effect, the U.S. and USSR churned out tens of thousands of tanks to stare down each other across the iron curtain.
The Persian Gulf was when the U.S. liberated Kuwait from Iraqi forces, really highlighted the weakness of tanks to attacks from the air.
A-10 warthogs and Apache helicopters destroyed thousands of Iraqi tanks in a matter of days.
But while incredibly effective, aircraft was still expensive and allergic to anti aircraft fire.
Plus all the main powers had manufactured massive armies of tanks. They have been reluctant to declare them obsolete and phase them out.
They will come to an end in the very near future.
The age of the drone is here.
They are so ridiculously cheap and effective, it is not possible to pretend otherwise any longer.
Ukraine and Gaza have turned into research laboratories for military strategists.
Using up large quantities of military surplus that has been laying around, the brass is watching closely what works, what doesn't, and how quickly and cheaply old hardware gets destroyed.
Even at a ratio of needing 100 drones to take out a top tier tank, the cost effectiveness of the drones is many times better than the tanks.
The sun is going down on armor.
What I would expect to see in the next decade or two, will be some form of armored vehicle that acts like an aircraft carrier for drones.
A high tech command pod on wheels/tracks that can launch and control a fleet of drones.
France awards American veteran the Legion of Honour medal today.
Consul General Valérie Barbaran will bestow the medal to Mr. Mullin on behalf of the President of France in recognition of his heroism as part of the American liberation of France and victory over Nazi Germany during World War II.
France awards American veteran the Legion of Honour medal today.
Consul General Valérie Barbaran will bestow the medal to Mr. Mullin on behalf of the President of France in recognition of his heroism as part of the American liberation of France and victory over Nazi Germany during World War II.
If this Mr. Mullin is not a drone, then he is irrelevant to the discussion-at-hand. Discussion-at-grabber?
France awards American veteran the Legion of Honour medal today.
Consul General Valérie Barbaran will bestow the medal to Mr. Mullin on behalf of the President of France in recognition of his heroism as part of the American liberation of France and victory over Nazi Germany during World War II.
If this Mr. Mullin is not a drone, then he is irrelevant to the discussion-at-hand. Discussion-at-grabber?
Lonous wrote:The introduction of tanks towards the end of WW1 to breach the entrenched lines heralded the age of mobile fortresses.
The military planners embraced this strategy all nations that wished to be prominent came up with their own versions of tanks.
WW2 came about and tanks were in the forefront of plans devised by generals, both for offensive and defensive strategy.
Air power wasn't quite devastating enough yet to become its own entity, and was used primarily to support large offensives or to destroy industry and infrastructure.
Tanks were at the forefront of grand battles, and the frontlines were pushed forth with armored divisions.
After WW2 with the cold war in full effect, the U.S. and USSR churned out tens of thousands of tanks to stare down each other across the iron curtain.
The Persian Gulf was when the U.S. liberated Kuwait from Iraqi forces, really highlighted the weakness of tanks to attacks from the air.
A-10 warthogs and Apache helicopters destroyed thousands of Iraqi tanks in a matter of days.
But while incredibly effective, aircraft was still expensive and allergic to anti aircraft fire.
Plus all the main powers had manufactured massive armies of tanks. They have been reluctant to declare them obsolete and phase them out.
They will come to an end in the very near future.
The age of the drone is here.
They are so ridiculously cheap and effective, it is not possible to pretend otherwise any longer.
Ukraine and Gaza have turned into research laboratories for military strategists.
Using up large quantities of military surplus that has been laying around, the brass is watching closely what works, what doesn't, and how quickly and cheaply old hardware gets destroyed.
Even at a ratio of needing 100 drones to take out a top tier tank, the cost effectiveness of the drones is many times better than the tanks.
The sun is going down on armor.
What I would expect to see in the next decade or two, will be some form of armored vehicle that acts like an aircraft carrier for drones.
A high tech command pod on wheels/tracks that can launch and control a fleet of drones.
The age of the drone is here.
Yeah, can't disagree with any of this.
But I would go one step further.
I think the next great battleground is cyberspace.
Silencing and confusing the drone armies through better command of cyberspace.
“Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.”
― Voltaire
Lonous wrote:
They will come to an end in the very near future.
The age of the drone is here.
They are so ridiculously cheap and effective, it is not possible to pretend otherwise any longer.
Ukraine and Gaza have turned into research laboratories for military strategists.
Using up large quantities of military surplus that has been laying around, the brass is watching closely what works, what doesn't, and how quickly and cheaply old hardware gets destroyed.
Even at a ratio of needing 100 drones to take out a top tier tank, the cost effectiveness of the drones is many times better than the tanks.
The sun is going down on armor.
What I would expect to see in the next decade or two, will be some form of armored vehicle that acts like an aircraft carrier for drones.
A high tech command pod on wheels/tracks that can launch and control a fleet of drones.
The age of the drone is here.
Yeah, can't disagree with any of this.
But I would go one step further.
I think the next great battleground is cyberspace.
Silencing and confusing the drone armies through better command of cyberspace.
This ALL makes sense, when a relatively cheap piece of equipment, with few humans at stake, would make sense to use in warfare. BUT since it is so easy to destroy (compared to the efforts to BUILD; I can watch my 2 very young grandsons to witness this), THEN investments and research in drone technologies and the ways to control and defeat them are certainly the next wave of warfare.
Science fiction has explored SOME of these possibilities already; a scene or two out of Star Wars movies come immediately to mind. (I saw a scene from the movie "The Empire Strikes Back" in the past hour.)
Other ways to destroy and kill are not yet obsolete, however; swords, arrows, knives, and guns still kill.
To be clear, Ukraine is doing fancy things every day: hitting airfields, depots, navy vessels, bridges, AVs and oil facilities, but the Russians are taking ground every day with soldiers and conscripts. In my way of thinking gaining land is winning.
Drones and other uses of robotics are just tools.
So now robots, often flying but not necessarily, carrying exposives, cameras, perhaps guns and other more usual payloads.
One of the prime benefits is reduction of loss of combatant human life, primarily offensive, though there can/will be drones of a primarily defensive nature (i.e. anti-drone drones). However, war/conflict drone uses are still military actions. The title of this thread (The end of a military era) is just incorrect. Perhaps a form of clickbait?
HitRed wrote:I recall a few years ago people hinting we would never need cops again.
Maybe you need to refresh our memory on who said this. MAGA cult followers are learning how to exaggerate and lie with confidence from their bigly leader.
HitRed wrote:I recall a few years ago people hinting we would never need cops again.
Maybe you need to refresh our memory on who said this. MAGA cult followers are learning how to exaggerate and lie with confidence from their bigly leader.
Is that why all the blue cities defunded the police?
HitRed wrote:I recall a few years ago people hinting we would never need cops again.
Maybe you need to refresh our memory on who said this. MAGA cult followers are learning how to exaggerate and lie with confidence from their bigly leader.
Is that why the blue cities councils defunded the police?
HitRed wrote:I recall a few years ago people hinting we would never need cops again.
Maybe you need to refresh our memory on who said this. MAGA cult followers are learning how to exaggerate and lie with confidence from their bigly leader.
Is that why the blue cities councils defunded the police?
Wait?! Is pee-rat trying to pin 'defund the police' on Trump?! Enough of your BS, rat. INSTEAD, just try to deal with the fact that the Dems have so little integrity that they will literally vote for (or replace, ...or keep in) anything resembling a candidate, ....just as long as it might help them avoid facing their own paranoid Trumphobia.
Last edited by Votanic on Thu Jul 04, 2024 10:28 am, edited 2 times in total.
HitRed wrote:I recall a few years ago people hinting we would never need cops again.
Maybe you need to refresh our memory on who said this. MAGA cult followers are learning how to exaggerate and lie with confidence from their bigly leader.
Is that why all the blue cities defunded the police?
Major Blue Cities are seeing a decline in crimes, duh.
Serious crime spiked again last year to levels unseen in nearly two decades, according to internal NYPD data obtained by The Post — even as Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly claimed that “crime is down” in the Big Apple.
Published April 3, 2024
HitRed wrote:I recall a few years ago people hinting we would never need cops again.
Maybe you need to refresh our memory on who said this. MAGA cult followers are learning how to exaggerate and lie with confidence from their bigly leader.
Is that why all the blue cities defunded the police?
Major Blue Cities are seeing a decline in crimes, duh.
Serious crime spiked again last year to levels unseen in nearly two decades, according to internal NYPD data obtained by The Post — even as Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly claimed that “crime is down” in the Big Apple.
Published April 3, 2024
Serious crime spiked again last year to levels unseen in nearly two decades, according to internal NYPD data obtained by The Post — even as Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly claimed that “crime is down” in the Big Apple.
Published April 3, 2024
New York Post, hmmm...you might want to get more reliable news from the Enquirer, lol.
Said by the guy who almost NEVER posts ANY sources. I suppose you want us to take YOUR word for any such allegations you make, p-rat? Well done, p-rat; keep up the good work.
