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but these cases were all before the internet/cheap tech/drones
Yup, true.
Tanks will do OK for a good while longer.
But US military exercises involving an entire air craft carrier fleet showed on multiple occasions that a swarm of fast moving small craft can overcome things.
One of the first links I could find: https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/2002-exercise-showed-how-swarm-of-small-craft-could-overwhelm-u-s-ships/
This definitely applies to everything in time, but right now the bigger and slower moving the target the more susceptible to be overwhelmed by a swarm of smaller faster moving things.
When I saw the initial Ukraine invasion news about the traffic jammed convoys I did think that this would not happen in the future... another 10-20 years from now and a sitting duck like that would be overwhelmed by kamikaze drones.
Velocio-
entire air craft carrier fleet showed on multiple occasions that a swarm of fast moving small craft can overcome things.
I listened to Dan Carlin's podcast about WW2 in the Pacific. He spoke about it was around there / then that how the first time that an aircraft carrier was used in a naval battle and swarming the opposing battle ships with planes immediately obsoleted them (and unexpectedly at the time, the use case for planes on ships was expected to be for reconnaissance).
I can easily imagine that drones will do similar to most battlefield armour.
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This definitely applies to everything in time, but right now the bigger and slower moving the target the more susceptible to be overwhelmed by a swarm of smaller faster moving things.
I think this is reflected in recent manned armoured vehicle design. There appears to be a tendency towards smaller and faster vehicles that can launch drones and perform reconaissance with the capability to pop smoke and return fire using a cannon. Some of these new vehicles are designed to be remotely operated.
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Suicide bombers in small speedboats did a lot of damage to US ships. The Phalanx guns use up ammo so fast they cannot defend against sustained attack.
christianSpaceman
Stonehedge
davidual
I think I was being a bit flippant in saying that tanks are completely done. These are all good examples and relatively recent in the grand scheme of things, but these cases were all before the internet/cheap tech/drones. Big tech changes over the past decade meaning tanks are too slow and vulnerable now.
Literally swarms, 1000's of cheap drones loaded with munitions remotely piloted by teenagers from the other side of the planet. I think that's what warfare will be/nearly is.