Today we are going to talk about Anti-Tank Guided Weapons (ATGW)

A thread

1/

Except we are not going to talk about Anti-Tank Guided Weapons (ATGW), instead, we are going to talk about the ability of the joint force to detect, process, disseminate and destroy enemy vehicles from the deep to the close battle.

/2

Too often we see these subjects through a narrow green tinted set of goggles but in reality, if we can use naval and air power to batter enemy forces (especially vehicles, and really especially armoured vehicles) at distance, we can make the job of land forces that much easier
/3

So any discussion of ATGW must seem them as players in a team sport, and we should also see close range unguided systems like NLAW as part of the mix as well.

/4 https://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/uk-complex-weapons/next-generation-light-anti-tank-weapon-nlaw/

Crucially, it must look across the whole of the joint ISTAR chain, making sure we can have a deep and common understanding of what is going on 'beyond the next hill', and that understanding must be available at the right time and place to those that need it

/5

This is what makes it hard to conceptualise, it is complex, but dropping a guided 127mm round from a Type 26 onto an enemy tank is not dissimilar to dropping a Brimstone onto the same tank from a Typhoon, all at distances well beyond land forces.

/6

One of the most neglected parts of the ISTAR chain seems to be the I, but that is really where it all starts, together with other means of gathering data, we can then turn this data into information, process it, and then decide what to do, target or not.

/7

It doesn't have to be all high tech electronic systems either, a SF team member with a pair of binoculars can be just as effective as a high altitude surveillance satellite, or even someone checking Facebook for an inadvertent selfie

/8

Unattended sensors, hacking into APNR cameras, satellite imagery, selfies off Facebook, close observation, a submarine taking a peek onshore, the possibilities are endless, but they all contribute to building a picture of what's going on in time and space.

/9

Brimstone, in particular, was designed to even the odds against massive numbers of Warsaw Pact tanks with each Tornado being able to stand off, lob a dozen Brimstone's into the general vicinity of the enemy and get the f out of dodge

/10 https://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/uk-complex-weapons/brimstone/

Brimstone is clever, all sorts of cunning fox like skulduggery. If we can pack one of these onto GMLRS, then LAND can get into the same fight. Or perhaps use a smart mine launched from the same.

/11

(yes, I know)

The Royal Navy can get into the action as well, with Type 26 there are a number of options for guided munitions, the automated feed system could easily pump out a Typhoon squadron's worth of guided weapons in short order, then likewise double out of there

/12

To re-state the obvious, fair fights are for boxers and children, the more we do at length, the better for everyone. But if it does get into close battle then the same rules apply, use a mesh of sensors and communications links to create a common picture

/13

Separate the guidance from the weapon launcher if you can, distribute weapons that can be fired without reliance on fragile communications link and decision chains, and you have coverage for a number of scenarios.

/14

Agility, fire and forget, off firing point guidance, remote systems like smart mines and even dumb mines, all have a part to play in the complex web of weapons, sensors and people.

Clearly, no one system is the silver bullet

/15

NLOS systems are interesting in this context, EXACTOR in a box, Brimstone in a box, anything in a box, where that box is pallet sized, means they can be ground dumped by a UGV, Boxer, Land Rover, RM hovercraft, parachuted in by A400M, or even kept on the back of a MAN truck

/16

There are so many options available, but above all, we should not lose sight that anti-tank is a joint sport, and the more we do at distance in a thoroughly one sided and fundamentally unfair manner, the better for all

/END