I think you're misunderstanding me. I don't condone light tanks being used this way or APS making missiles and rockets against tanks obsolete. But it does change the game and demand more from an enemy firing at the tank. That could be a very important difference. My real point is heavy tanks are just as dead as light tanks in these unfavourable scenarios and modern strategists will always avoid these urban settings if they can. PLA has more than enough choice to always avoid sending tanks in with zero support. There is literally no useful difference between a $2M Type 96b as it currently is, to a $3M upgraded Type 96 with reinforced side armour. Spending the half billion or so you save on drones and gunships alone will be enough to solve all your tank problems. Adding effective APS to this gen of tanks will upgrade them FAR more than adding any more layers of heavy armour.
ZTQ-15 and PRC Light Tanks
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I think you're misunderstanding me. I don't condone light tanks being used this way or APS making missiles and rockets against tanks obsolete. But it does change the game and demand more from an enemy firing at the tank. That could be a very important difference. My real point is heavy tanks are just as dead as light tanks in these unfavourable scenarios and modern strategists will always avoid these urban settings if they can. PLA has more than enough choice to always avoid sending tanks in with zero support. There is literally no useful difference between a $2M Type 96b as it currently is, to a $3M upgraded Type 96 with reinforced side armour. Spending the half billion or so you save on drones and gunships alone will be enough to solve all your tank problems. Adding effective APS to this gen of tanks will upgrade them FAR more than adding any more layers of heavy armour.
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I don't think that the PLA has much of a choice in this matter, urban warfare is definitely going to be a staple of modern warfare with cities getting ever larger and more prevalent. Large cities with their expansive infrastructure support systems are just to great a factor to just ignore, unless of course the PLA decides to besiege the city which is a violation of war conducts.. High rise buildings means that drones and gunships will have a hard time finding targets, and that is before the enemy starts breaking out their anti air weapons. Nor can drones and helicopters can provide consistent fire support and defensive cover that a tank can for infantry.
A MBT in this scenario can at least shrug off light to medium anti tank weapons from the front and possibly from the sides, whereas a light tank or IFV will have to jump at every moving shadow that looks like an RPG-7
For the near to medium term I can only foresee a military invasion of Taiwan scenario where this will play out the way you described. Tanks have been proven to be bad performers in this area. Even if they were made small and nimble, they are easily knocked out. If they are well armoured, they can't maneuver as effectively. If you need MBTs in the city to use as cover for infantry and to knock out bigger well armoured targets, I'd rather they used light tanks with APS instead of heavy tanks with APS because at least the light tanks can maneuver. The APS will protect them from the majority of weapons fired at them. Infantry are not going to be firing sabot rounds at your tank. So the APS almost evens up the defense factor for both light and heavy tanks. If you are facing opfor tanks firing sabots at you, light tanks will be less well protected but it'll be your mobility advantage vs opfor protection advantage and mobility should win over protection in an urban environment because tanks are often sitting ducks. I still think it's a well calculated decision to stick with lighter tanks for PLA and focus funding on more important stuff that desperately need attention like airforce and navy.
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Assuming if China does intent to intervene much more significantly that what it is doing now. There will be plenty of scenarios where PLA forces will find themselves fighting in an urban setting, just look at how the pivotal battles of Aleppo and Mosul were won. And those aren't even on the level of megalopolises like Taipei or Pyongyang (which at least is large due to the sole virtue of being the capital).
Light tanks are fine and all, don't get me wrong. But urban warfare is a nightmare setting for all armored vehicles no matter what their weight and size are. And light tanks aren't going to fare well against full sized MBTs with the kind of weapon caliber that they are packing. straight streets and narrow alleyways means that light tanks will not be able to utilizes its better agility and mobility to its max.
Then there is the issue of APS, I will caution against treating it as a silver bullet that puts other IFVs on an even footing with MBTs because of a few reasons
1) It is still a tech in its infancy, even though some like the Trophy has proven itself in low level threat enviroments.
2)Missile tech aren't sitting still either, already weapons like the RPG-30 are already in existence which are designed with countering APSs, and once the APS is breach then you will have to count on other defenses to stop the missile from getting through.
If APSs eventually mature into a level that is reliable enough, or that a new armor concept/design will fundamentally change the way we think of a tank like how composite armor did back in the Cold War. Then the idea of a light tank taking over the role of a MBT might seem plausible, but for now. The MBT is perhaps the best answer that any army can put forth in an modern battlefield when possible, be it an urban setting or not.
With the distance involved, it wouldn't matter if you are driving a heavy tank or a light tank. The one who shoot and hit the target first will survive
Urban warfare super tank is being developed, most likely, it is going to be type 99B. There were rumors about it in specific thread.
For sure China is also developing next gen tank.
For sure China is also developing next gen tank.
We rarely see MBTs involved in urban warfare training exercises in China or elsewhere. It's always just infantry, IFVs, APCs, and helicopters. However we look at it, MBTs in an urban environment is just not a good idea. Maybe they can develop strategies where infantry support armour and vice versa effectively enough to take out risks. APS certainly isn't a silver bullet. But a good enough system can elevate the protection level of a less than well armoured tank since most anti-tank weapons can be intercepted by APS. Of course it will need to be an ongoing development to match the cycles like CIWS on naval ships.
Well, strictly speaking there are two modern tanks with such conditions in mind, albeit very different ones.
First is Japanese type 10, which mentions it specifically:
squarish and short, fast turner, relatively light, very fast and dynamic both forwards and rearwards.
Second is, oddly enough,
BMPT. This is a weird one, but it's side protection is great, plus it has additional AGLs and high-angle main armament.
First is Japanese type 10, which mentions it specifically:
squarish and short, fast turner, relatively light, very fast and dynamic both forwards and rearwards.
Second is, oddly enough,
BMPT. This is a weird one, but it's side protection is great, plus it has additional AGLs and high-angle main armament.
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Depends on the weapon that is fired, if you are firing a 105mm cannon against a modern MBT from the front, then you better brace for a counterfire. If you are firing a 120mm-125mm cannon with depleted uranium, then it is a matter of who pulls the trigger first.
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Its definitely not a commander's first choice, preferable options would be to by pass the city completely or besiege it into surrender, or to level it completely with artillery, if none of those are an option, then it will be down to brutal urban fighting. In which case, armour would be need in the least expected of places.
One of the reasons why I think that MBTs are not regularly involved in urban warfare training is the amount of inconvenience and damage it does to the infrastructure, driving a 50 plus MBT across an asphalt road is the surest way to get a re pavement of the entire street