The relevance of main battle tanks (MBTS) in modern warfare is being challenged by the proliferation of precision-guided munitions (PGMS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and real-time surveillance technologies. However, tanks and other armored fighting vehicles (AFVS), including tracked and wheeled platforms, continue to play a central role in the land warfare doctrines of countries like India. India faces complex threats from adversaries, including Pakistan, China, and, to a lesser extent, Bangladesh. The evolving global battlefield, highlighted by recent conflicts such as in Ukraine, necessitates a strategic recalibration in deploying not just MBTS but all armored and mechanized assets. This doctrinal rethink must adapt to modern threats while preserving these platforms’ deterrence and firepower advantages.
The Contemporary Battlefield and Vehicle Vulnerabilities
Modern conflicts illustrate how AFVS operating without air cover, electronic protection, or situational awareness are vulnerable to destruction by loitering munitions, FPV drones, and top-attack PGMS. India’s Cold Start Doctrine and strike corps formations rely heavily on T-90s, Arjuns, BMP-2s, and wheeled infantry fighting vehicles (ICVS). These assets, though formidable, are increasingly exposed unless integrated into a multi-layered defense ecosystem. The Ukrainian battlefield has shown that low-cost drones can take out even Western MBTS with advanced armor. This forces a rethink of traditional employment strategies for all tracked and wheeled armored vehicles.
Moreover, traditional tactics based on maneuver warfare and massed armor formations are now frequently disrupted by real-time intelligence gathering and precise aerial strikes. The shrinking decision-making window, enabled by sensor-to-shooter systems, makes slow or poorly shielded vehicle advances extremely risky. In high-intensity conflicts, the survivability of all cars now hinges on their ability to be part of a larger digital and electromagnetic defense structure, and on their ability to rapidly relocate under persistent ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) coverage.
The U.S. Doctrinal Shift: Lessons for India
The U.S. Army’s repositioning of the M1 Abrams as a support fire platform rather than a spearhead reflects a broader shift applicable to all combat vehicles, including ICVs, reconnaissance vehicles, and command platforms. The doctrine now emphasizes long-range precision fire, coordinated drone-led penetrations, and vehicle protection through standoff tactics. This shift in doctrine is a response to the changing nature of warfare, particularly the increasing role of drones and precision-guided munitions.
Adopting a similar multi-platform approach, the Indian Army should:
- Utilize all armored vehicles as part of layered offensive-defensive grids.
- Employ standoff tactics using precision-guided artillery, tank fire, and ATGMS.
- Increase investment in vehicle-mounted EW suites, APS, and C-UAS systems.
- Deploy UAVS and autonomous vehicles ahead of manned platforms to create breach corridors.
India’s AFVS must evolve from independent combat platforms to nodes within a synchronized battlespace network. This includes shared targeting data, integrated communications, and rapid re-tasking based on real-time ISR inputs.
Strategic Technology Imperatives: Hypersonic Precision and Satellite Integration
A new and critical dimension of this battlefield evolution is the threat posed by platforms such as China’s PL-15, a beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile capable of speeds over Mach 4. Such a capability reduces the reaction time for Indian air assets and necessitates a corresponding leap in offensive and defensive technologies.
India must invest heavily in hypersonic precision-guided munitions (HPGMS) across the tri-services to maintain strategic and tactical parity. These munitions, capable of evading traditional air defense systems due to their speed and unpredictable trajectories, should be:
- Slaved to satellite navigation and targeting systems to avoid relying on ground-based radars emitting detectable signals.
- Interfaced with overhead ISR satellites and airborne early warning systems to maintain stealth and achieve high first-hit probability.
- Integrated all three services—Army, Navy, and Air Force—to ensure joint interoperability and rapid response across land, sea, and air domains.
HPGMS should be developed for strategic deterrence and operational and tactical levels, including anti-armor and counter-air roles. India’s upcoming satellite constellations and AI-driven targeting frameworks must be capable of cueing these weapons with minimal latency and maximum precision.
Expanded Strategic Recommendations for Indian Armoured Doctrine
- Inclusion of All Armoured Platforms:
- Modernise and network all tracked and wheeled combat vehicles.
- Standardise C4ISR capabilities across Arjun, T-90, BMP-2, and wheeled ICVS.
- Retrofit legacy platforms with drone detection, EW, and mobility enhancement kits.
Hypersonic and Space-Based Strike Doctrine
- Develop doctrines for the joint use of HPGMS with space-based targeting.
- Establish tri-service commands to control and allocate HPGMS in wartime.
- Enhance collaboration between DRDO, ISRO, and private space tech startups for real-time satellite ISR.
Joint Force Adaptation
- Train joint strike teams with integrated MBTS, ICVS, UAVS, and EW units.
- Simulate PL-15 and similar high-speed threats in IAF exercises to develop evasive and counterattack strategies.
- Embed HPGM-equipped units within rapid reaction forces and deep strike formations.
Interoperable Combat Vehicles
- Ensure seamless communication protocols between Army vehicles and Air Force ISR systems.
- Equip naval ground-based defenses and amphibious units with adapted armored vehicles featuring C4ISR compatibility and hypersonic munition support.
Academia and Human Capital: Enabling the Defence Tech Ecosystem
A transformation of this scale cannot occur without the active participation of India’s premier technological institutions. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITS) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru must be woven into the national defence innovation fabric. These institutions possess the intellectual capital and the research infrastructure necessary to prototype, simulate, and refine the next generation of weapons and battlefield technologies.
Specific action points include: –
- Establishing defense research cells within IITS and IISc focused on autonomous systems, directed energy, AI-augmented ISR, and stealth materials.
- Creating direct Mod-funded innovation fellowships and PhD programs that link student research to battlefield application.
- Institutionalizing collaboration between military R&D units and academia through regular wargaming, technology incubation, and field trials.
- Equally important is the human resource dimension. India must revisit its HR policies to nurture and retain military personnel with specialized tech acumen. Career pathways that blend combat leadership with cyber warfare, data science, and systems engineering expertise should be introduced.
Moreover, battlefield training must evolve. Combat exercises must integrate drone warfare, EW scenarios, AI-based targeting, and digital battlefield management. Battlecraft training in high-altitude regions must account for the historical lesson that “mountains eat up troops,” an adage emphasizing the need to reduce the physical footprint while increasing precision and survivability. Technology, not numbers alone, must tip the balance in these terrains.
Conclusion
Rather than being obsolete, main battle tanks and other combat vehicles find themselves at a crucial juncture. Their survival and relevance depend on how effectively they are embedded within an ecosystem of electronic, air, and space dominance. For India, a strategic pivot must incorporate doctrinal reform and technological acceleration. By transforming MBTS, ICVS, and wheeled vehicles into smart, connected, and protected firepower hubs, India can retain its combat edge even as the battlefield becomes increasingly digital, decentralized, and hypersonic.
The future of armored warfare lies in full-spectrum modernization—not in isolation but in synergy. India must align its land, air, and space capabilities, building a battle network that is survivable, predictive, and lethally precise. Hypersonic munitions, slaved to satellites and free from radar-based vulnerabilities, must become a central pillar of India’s next-gen warfighting capability. The path forward is clear: integrate, innovate, and dominate across all terrains, all domains, and all services.