A Washington Post headline from
January 2014 succinctly summarizes
a widely held belief about the utility
of tanks in modern warfare: “The end
of the tank? The Army says it doesn’t
need it, but industry wants to keep
building it.” The article goes on to
state that, “The manufacturing of
tanks — powerful but cumbersome —
is no longer essential, the military
says. In modern warfare, forces must
deploy quickly and ‘project power
over great distances.’ Submarines
and long-range bombers are needed.
Weapons such as drones — nimble
and tactical — are the future.”
While this assertion may hold true for
militaries worldwide in the long-run,
for now it appears to apply uniquely
to the United States, which like no
other nation on earth has a history of
expeditionary warfare and enjoys a
high degree of security from invasion
by a conventional foe. Consequently,
with the U.S. tank force numbering
around 6000 main battle tanks (MBTs)
, it makes sense for the United States
military to allocate resources to other
weapons programs.
However, looking to the Asia-Pacific
the story is different. There, the
majority of countries are in the
process of upgrading their tank
forces.
In a recent article, the Asian Military
Review has listed the major
procurement and upgrade programs
in the region. Almost every regional
power is investing in new tank forces.
For example, China currently fields
approximately 8000 MBTs, 5000 of
which are of the obsolete Type 59 – a
Chinese produced version of the
Soviet T-54, 55 series. However, the
People’s Liberation Army has
acquired around 700 of the advanced
Type-99 MBTs. China is also working
on a cost-efficient modern MBT, the
MBT-3000, specifically designed for
export to developing countries.
By 2020, India plans to procure 1657
Russian T-90 tanks (1000 of which
will be build domestically under a
technology agreement with Russia),
enough for 59 tank regiments. In
addition, India will upgrade its 1900
strong T-72 MBT force, and will
continue to build indigenous third
generation MBTs (the Arjun MKI and
MKII).
Japan is currently downsizing its
tank fleet of Mitsubishi Type 90 MBTs
to 400, but it will add 68 new
Mitsubishi Type 10 MBTs – a lighter
and more agile tank better suitable
for urban combat, the type of warfare
that the Japan Self-Defense Forces
are most likely to face in the defense
of Japan.
The backbone of the South Korean
tank forces are the Hyundai KI and
KIAI MBTs. General Dynamics has
assisted South Korea in upgrading
this fleet of 1500. The military also
aims to acquire 397 new K2 Black
Panther MBTs, currently being
developed by Hyundai.
Other Asia-Pacific countries have
also gone on a tank buying spree:
Indonesia is projected to receive the
last of 104 German Leopard 2A6 MBTs
by 2016, Bangladesh has ordered 44
Chinese MBT-2000s, Thailand is
expected to purchase up to 200 MBTs
in the years ahead, and Pakistan
aims to increases its MBT force from
300 to 600 in the near future. Finally,
Taiwan aims to replace its aging tank
fleet and might purchase the M1A1
Abrams from the United States.
Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam,
while currently not planning to
expand their MBT fleets, are
nevertheless gradually upgrading
existing forces.
It is fair to conclude, then, that the
MBT will be part of Asian-Pacific
military arsenals for a while.
source :: thediplomat.com/2015/01/the-main-battle-tanks-of-asia-junk-or-still-useful/
Media barat mulai menyorot keefektivan MBT.. pesan buat pak moel perbanyak medium tank aja