Page 82 - Australian Defence Magazine June 2021
P. 82

                  80 LAND FORCES
TANKS
JUNE 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
    THE STRATEGIC UTILITY OF THE TANK
Finally, let’s examine the utility of the tank to Australia’s strategic position.
The following is the case for the defence: “Some claim that Army bought the M1 to fight a far-fetched Cold War scenario and that tanks are not relevant in our region. Oth- ers suggest the tank is an unnecessary capability which we have not deployed in decades and are not needed for the conflicts we may choose to fight. In the strategic context provided by Government on what is required of the ADF in future combat operations, and given the unique capabilities the tank provides, these assertions are highly questionable.
“An Australian tank capability is critical to deter and de- feat armed attacks against Australia and its interests. Tanks
LEFT AND ABOVE: Australian Army Trooper Hayden Neal, from the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment, oils the barrel of an M1A1 and does a final check over during routine maintenance at Gallipoli Barracks, Brisbane.
are necessary for future independent combat operation to defend Australia and as part of combat operations region- ally and globally. Tanks and other AFVs are the foundation of credible conventional land deterrence for Australia.
“They also provide the bulk of land combat power if de- terrence fails.”
Now for the prosecution. First, the claim that tanks are not relevant to our region is one made by the USMC, which as mentioned has deemed the tank ‘operationally unsuit- able’ for the Corps’ core mission of providing American am- phibious power in the Indo-Pacific. The acquisition of two Canberra class LHDs and Plan Beersheba would suggest the ADF also has what some call an ‘amphibious destiny’.
So are the Marines now basing their amphibious future on a ‘highly questionable assertion’? And if the assertion tru- ly is questionable, then why did the ADF’s Director General of Navy Capability and Sustainment raise doubts about the ‘application of the tank in the amphibious warfare space’?
Second, the suggestion that the tank is not needed for the conflicts we may choose to fight is based on both the strategic forecast for possible Australian involvement in a wider conflict in the Indo-Pacific (a maritime theatre) as well as the evidence that Australian tanks have not proved
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