Are main battle tanks (MBTs)—the largest, heaviest, and most powerful class of tank, including the M1 Abrams, the Leopard 2, and the T-14 Armata—becoming obsolete?

That was the question I asked my colleague, retired United States Army Lieutenant Colonel Daniel L. Davis on my podcast. Davis spent his career in armor and proudly participated in the last great tank battle of the twentieth century in Desert Storm. According to Davis, the Ukraine War has fundamentally altered the role of MBTs in modern warfare. 

But, Davis asserted, the MBT is not obsolete. 

For Davis, the tank in attack has changed. Its primary role is now relegated to fire support roles. The Russians, in particular, have used MBTs in this fashion since the second year of the Ukraine War, when NATO-provided drones and anti-tank weapons utilized by the Ukrainians proved to be serious problems for Russian armor on the battlefield. 

Drones and anti-tank weapons, but especially drones, have changed the role of the MBT forever. To handle this threat, the Russians have employed their tanks by positioning them in relatively friendly areas of the front, then using them to provide cover through distant fire support—on top of the artillery, drones, rocket support, and other heavy weapons that are part of the Russian arsenal. 

This is why the Russians (and Ukrainians)

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