The war in Ukraine has demonstrated that tanks can no longer advance confidently in combat due to threats from inexpensive drones. U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll emphasized that heavy tank losses force a reevaluation of armor tactics, suggesting tanks should remain back to avoid drone attacks. The battlefield is heavily monitored by sensors, making undetected movement challenging. With significant losses reported, both sides are grappling with the changing dynamics of armored warfare amid increasing drone usage, raising concerns about the future relevance of tanks in combat scenarios dominated by aerial threats.
"You cannot move without being seen," Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said of the battlefield in Ukraine during an episode of the War on the Rocks podcast that aired on Tuesday.
"The amount of sensors on the battlefield, the amount of ability from both sides to see what's going on" has created a situation in which Army commanders cannot push tanks "as far forward in the formation as you used to be able to because very cheap drones are able to take them out of any usefulness."
"We have got to be a lot leaner," the secretary said. "We have got to work on hiding ourselves from the air."
The heavy losses have led to assessments that tanks may be obsolete in wars dominated by drones.
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