Posted on 05/22/2023 10:06:39 AM PDT by Mariner
Russia's tanks are still a formidable force in Ukraine, a new report has claimed, despite their age.
Though they aren't breaking through at the front line, they play significant support roles, it said.
There are three main ways Russian armor has adapted in the conflict, the report said.
Much has been made of Russia's need to bring decades-old tanks out of storage to send to Ukraine, amid major battlefield losses. But a new report describes how Russia is making effective use of its aging tanks and armor, even as the vehicles are barely able to push forward at the front line in Ukraine.
The report, based on multiple interviews with Ukrainian officers in the field, outlined areas where Russia has adapted after its bungled initial invasion last year.
Ever since their humiliating losses earlier in the war, Russian forces have stopped trying to use armor to break through Ukraine's ranks directly, the UK-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) wrote in a report released Friday. Instead, Russian tanks nowadays effectively provide backup for artillery, long-range firepower, and quick raids.
"The Russian use of of armor has evolved significantly during the conflict," the authors wrote, adding: "While the introduction of older tanks such as the T62 and T55 to the field has been mocked online, these vehicles are largely being used in the role of the fire support function offered by BMPs and other infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs)."
Being able to fire from more than a mile away, when in places where anti-tank guided weapons are thin, the tanks "pose a serious battlefield threat," the authors said.
And although an "inefficient form of artillery," they write, tanks are notably less vulnerable, so can be used in a supplemental way where air defense is poor.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Can’t wait to see the vaunted T-34 back in action.
HUH? Uh, pretty sure the ukes are winning. Right joementia? Bhakmut is just fine and firmly in control of them. Right? Hello? Bueller?
Drip drip a little truth leaks out
“Can’t wait to see the vaunted T-34 back in action.”
Yep, just another 100mm tube chopping down Ukraine.
And although an "inefficient form of artillery," they write, tanks are notably less vulnerable, so can be used in a supplemental way where air defense is poor.
This is a reasonable assessment of the advantages of older tanks.
An old tank is much better than no tank, in a lot of situations.
However, old tanks are hard to maintain, (lack of spares) so I would expect considerable maintenance problems.
Quantity has a quality all it’s own.
They are fire support for mobile infantry.
And additional artillery.
Our aging tanks, weapons, and other military equipment would be able to do some serious damage if they were here to protect us from a possible future invasion. At least we’d having something to fight with on our soil until building of new equipment came online. But instead, we’ve depleted our oil reserve, depleted our stockpiled war goods, and depleted our artillery to the point we had to beg South Korea to let us borrow some from them to send to Ukraine.
so funny you took me seriously.
The reason nobody but morons believe the western propaganda is because the pour it on non stop. They really aren’t clever.
T-34s? They had 85mm guns or, for the oldest models, 76mm guns. They did try to arm T-34s with 100mm guns but that experiment ended badly.
Yes, and fairly decent for that purpose.
And additional artillery.
To a small extent. Tanks make lousy artillery. The fire control systems are all wrong for use as artillery other than direct fire.
The rounds used by tank guns are not designed to work as artillery rounds do, in indirect fire mode.
“so funny you took me seriously”
So funny that you think anyone takes you seriously.
How funny. Old Soviet strategy was to artillery shell every square centimeter of a target grid, using tank guns also, until there was nothing there to impede them.
There was a reason for their tactics.
How is a war ever “won” when all the fighting is on your own turf? It seems to me all the damages are confined to your own county, not theirs.
Until they break down.
I figured those tanks must have been good for SOMETHING, otherwise, why store them rather than scrapping them?
Send 4 of them up, first one that goes down instantly becomes a spare parts machine, then the next one goes down the same. 4 will be seen as 2 on the lines by the Russians.
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