Over a century after they were first used, tanks can be as potent a force in battle as they’ve ever been. This is because they have continued to evolve. So too, then, have the weapons designed to fight back against them. Throughout the early 1940s in World War II alone, the British-developed anti-tank gun grew from the 130-kilogram 2-pounder to the 826-kilogram 17-pounder.
With anti-tank measures becoming smaller and less conspicuous and predictable, active protection devices like the potent Trophy system were devised to allow tank crews to monitor for threats, detect incoming projectiles, and counter and destroy them. They can protect themselves, in short, via radar technology similar to that which protects certain navy ships. In the future, such systems could evolve into something akin to a force field around a tank, making them tremendously difficult to deal with on the battlefield. At the same time, though, there’s no doubt that the shells and bullets that have always menaced them will become increasingly more advanced too.
