Funny how shit turns out, I remember quite vividly how in 2022 everyone was like “oooh Germany dumping their useless outdated dumb shit on Ukraine just so they sent something too”. Today Germany is biting their own ass for discontinuing that system and the military units using it cause we gotta start from scratch buying new shit and building up new military units using it.
As Europe is re-arming, I hope the tanks we acquire will have some form of integrated drone protection (similar to TROPHY). I also imagine that future tank platoons, or at least battalions, will have dedicated drone groups operating from dedicated armoured CC vehicles that can provide close drone support while operating together with ordinary tanks.
The 2A8 is capable of mounting TROPHY, there is a thing called Eurotrophy, I think that’s the company with the license?
The problem with stuff like TROPHY or ARENA is that they are last-ditch and expensive, shooting drones down with a Gepard or a Tunguska autocannon is cheaper, which can save lives if there are hundreds of drones going for you at the same time.
The “standard” TROPHY system is definitely overkill for an FPV drone, but I can imagine a similar but cheaper system that detects and hits incoming FPV drones or dropped munitions at close range.
A flak system (like gepard) is of course optimal for handling large numbers of drones, and providing local air cover, but I think tanks of the future need to be self-sufficient regarding protection from light threats. That is, after all, what has made tanks the superior spearhead weapons they have been.
Nothing is really self-sufficient. Tanks especially so, especially today.
The idea that the Soviets had was to just have a Tunguska running around within tank platoons, that’s why it’s also a tracked system. The thing with drones is that we have been de-emphasising SHORAD systems since the West always assumed air superiority, while the East was more into asymmetrical defense against expensive platforms, imagine stuff like the 9K31 or the Osa. Somehow nobody thought that progress means that while more and more advanced expensive platforms become reachable, the knock-on effect is that already-available platforms become much much cheaper.
Of course, nothing is completely self sufficient, but the major advantage a tank has is that it’s very well protected against semi-heavy weapons. Until recently, the primary response to enemy tanks was either calling up your own tanks, or bringing in air/artillery support, or having specialised anti-tank equipment on hand. Even autocannons can’t reliably deal with a tank.
With modern drone use that story has fundamentally changed. In order for tanks to remain relevant, they need some way of countering the kind of drone support any infantry platoon can commonly be expected to have. Again, that doesn’t mean they need to be invincible, but they shouldn’t be any more exposed to being taken out by drones than by an RPG.
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Sorry had to: *Deutsche Qualität
Danke
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