Three US Army vehicle upgrade programs look smart after Russia’s Ukraine debacle
US investments, from scout robots to anti-drone and anti-missile defenses, look remarkably smart after Russian forces ran into repeated ambushes in Ukraine.
By SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR.
on April 18, 2022 at 10:15 AM
The following is one in a series of regular analysis pieces by deputy editor Sydney Freedberg.
Video after video shows Russian armored vehicles burning in Ukraine, which has raised the question of whether armored vehicles are simply a tool of the past. But that’s not the right question. Instead, the question is whether American armored forces would fare any better — to which the answer is yes, with some caveats.
Primarily, American forces would have more success because of better training — the secret sauce we are seeing exposed in the Ukrainian conflict. But the American military is also making investments in three key technologies that would amp its armor in a future war.
If the US Army has its ways, instead of manned vehicles blundering into ambushes, the first machines into the danger zone could be robotic scouts. Vehicle-mounted active protection systems would intercept anti-tank missiles before they hit, while specialized air defense vehicles would use guns, missiles, and even lasers to shoot down drones. All three technologies are works in progress, but based on the lessons so far from Russia’s invasion, these three investments should set America up well against the near-term threats their fleets of armored vehicles may face.
https://breakingdefense.com/2022/04/three-us-army-vehicle-upgrade-programs-look-smart-after-russias-ukraine-debacle/
