Q&A · 2:16:31-2:17:05

Do portable anti-tank weapons make tanks obsolete?

Active armour and Russian and Israeli protection systems challenge the claim that portable weapons have ended the tank's usefulness.

Question

Have man-portable anti-tank weapons made the tank obsolete?

Short answer

No. Active armour and other protection systems offer responses to portable anti-tank weapons.

Notes

Infantry anti-tank weapons raise a serious survivability question, particularly where their operators can hide. Active armour and protection systems provide ways to answer that threat. Russian and Israeli systems are cited as examples of equipment that can make a tank difficult to attack, so the existence of portable anti-tank weapons does not by itself establish obsolescence.