supersquirrelFeb 24

Why Russia’s Best Cold War Tank T-80 Is Disappearing

https://sopuli.xyz/post/41666684

Why Russia’s Best Cold War Tank T-80 Is Disappearing - Sopuli

The T-80 is still a piece of shit tank. The reverse speed sucks which makes it a deathtrap and also the ammo and propellant is stored close to the crew making it a deathtrap when it cooks off from a hit. Still, this was one of the better tanks russia had. It is pretty amazing how terrible russia is at making tanks and how much they refuse to accept their tank design lineage is a dead end.

Show threadCptEnderFeb 24
That T-90 MBT that got taken out by a Bradley just running circles around it and hammering it 100 times was hilarious.
Show threadsupersquirrelFeb 24

Growing up playing video games with the Bradley in it used to make me think… this thing is kind of a monster, it doesn’t really feel like an APC, it feels like an angrier version of a tank that exchanged heavier armor and a larger gun for a set of attributes that allows it to be more bloodthirsty than a tank… and then seeing that yes in real life the Bradley is in fact a monster like that has been wild.

I just figured it was American-centric wargame developers always making the Bradley a beast “because 'Murica the best” but nope… the Bradley is just a terrifying machine to fight that can shit out a full crew of infantry and then send you straight to hell with its gun. It seems like you have to physically coax the Bradley away from the frontline after it has dropped troops off as the driver, it just instinctually wants to turn around and charge the enemy autocannon blazing.

Russia has nothing even close to the Bradley IFV while Europe is building a new generation of Bradley inspired IFVs that will likely outclass any Main Battle Tanks russia can field in a meaningful amount for the forseeable future… while being able to carry AT infantry crews in the back to boot (with Manpads or AT drones).

Show threadanachronist

Bradley is surprisingly good considering all the “Pentagon Wars” development hell. I think a lot of people still think its junk. When it was more effective than the Abrams in Iraq the theory was that the fighting there mostly didn’t require tanks. In Ukraine of course, the fighting was very mechanized in the beginning until equipment losses and drones ended it.

And the Bradley still did very well, better than the MBTs. At this point I think it’s reasonable to wonder if MBTs are obsolete, if not all tanks. A lightly-armored vehicle like a Bradley is going to be no more vulnerable against modern MANPATS and drones than a MBT, but it’s going to provide just as effective protection against small arms. It’s easier to maintain, longer range, and it can do more missions.

Feb 25 at 1:26amWeb
Show threadsupersquirrelFeb 25

A modern Abrams is terrifying, they can acquire a target in seconds and hit it while moving over uneven terrain at 30 mph. If the objective is to hit the enemy at a concentrated point there is literally nothing on earth more well suited.

This isn’t a bash on the Bradley, the Bradley is clearly built by people who deeply understood armored manuever warfare and knew how to make a monster IFV.

The tank is very much not obsolete, the Bradley just gives it a run for the money because of how forward thinking, uncompromised yet balanced the design is. Also manpads/drones have become so powerful it multiplies the power of a vehicle like a Bradley…

…still though, doesn’t beat a main battle tank like the abrams.