What makes a good MBT?

[Ramm]

For me a good MBT has,

The advantages of being cheap and packing enough punch to kill any other tank.

The disadvantages are it can be slow/inaccurate/paper armour/complete lack SDF smoke, no TI. Baisicly a tank that you would make penal soldiers drive.

But the tasty cost and power justify this as my fav.

[Wdll]

IMO you can surpass any disadvantages of a MBT in your arsenal as long as it has enough armour. If it is not very good on that, then why waste your money on them when you can buy cheaper tanks or IFVs or even infantry.

[Marek_Tucan]

Depends on mission and use - and potentional adversary. M60A3TTS may be a deadly MBT around the Gulf War despite it having weak armor and already relatively weak gun, but it has TI so can generally use smoke cover to blast enemies with impunity unless it faces some other Western MBT with TI.

[hoplitis]

What makes a good MBT?
History! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Ramm]

hoplitis, sorry for being dense but what do you mean?

[hoplitis]

Eventually a good MBT is judged on how it performs in real battle.

[Randy]

I think these are qualities to look for in developing a good MBT: affordability, maintenance costs, speed, armor protection, armament, range, and deployability. The Panther was a good tank, but had a complicated running gear. The T34 was cheap to build and maintain. The Sherman was easy to build but could not stand up to German armor. I think you have to have the right balance of the above in order to get what you need. The Israeli Merkava is heavy, but does not need to be deployed by air to get to its anticipated battle areas. The M1A1 is not really rapidly deployable due to its weight.

[Ramm]

O.K. of all the 255,000 registered users only these few brave soles will tell us what they think a "good" MBT is?

[Sniper23]

Ramm said:
O.K. of all the 255,000 registered users only these few brave soles will tell us what they think a "good" MBT is?



I'll be one of those brave soles http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

I think a good MBT has to have great firepower,Speeds a must,small size is good,armour has to be good but cost affective,maintenance must be quick and simple,range is a must, as for weight that is the last thing on my mind[though it has to be light enough to transport by plane], and crew protection is a must have.

I think that makes a good MBT

[Wdll]

a MBT that can be transported by plane? What's the point?

[hoplitis]

Global and rapid projection of power? It's an american "thing"! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[PlasmaKrab]

Compromise between mobility and protection, firepower being an uncompromisable requisite.
That's my version for the time being, swap around the word in bold in the sentence above to your liking http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif.

Also, no one ever thinks about this (except tankers, I guess), but reliability, maintainability, general sturdiness and affordability are musts. You don't want your mother-of-all-tanks to fall apart ten meters after rolling out of the assembly line...

[Ramm]

What kind of tank would Jesus drive?

[hoplitis]

Ramm said:
What kind of tank would Jesus drive?



I really hope you are not part of the engineering team designing the next generation MBTs! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/eek.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

And BTW "HE" has certainly solved the rapid deployment issue! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

PlasmaKrab,
well put! /threads/images/Graemlins/icon09.gif

[Warwick]

You can now add a fourth attribute IMHO, :- vision.
Having a rating of forty when your opponent has less is a pretty devastating advantage as demonstrated in the last two Gulf wars (walkovers?).

Regards, Warwick

[Urban]

Firepower
Range
Accuracy
Agility
Passive protection
Active protection
Reliability
Survivability
Vision

Note : for the vision just avoid to use IL,TL and other kind of vision device in day light condition, fog, sandstorm, dust, snow ... or you will just see a big green screen http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif.

[pdoktar]

In WinMBT the priorities when purchasing a MBT are following IMO

1. Armour

-When advancing I use my tanks as mobile armored boxes in breakthrough points. So they have to be able to resist frontally as heavy AT weapons as possible. Who needs firepower, if you´re dead when you stick your nose first time out of the bushes. Generally I prefer high CE armor values over KE values because HEAT AT-Weapons are cheap and numerous. And ATGMs are a PAIN.

Active protection systems are cheap in game purchase points and can give you an extra life just when you was about to be lit up by that incoming TOW-2B. Don´t count on it though.

2. Vision

-Now who doesn´t understand the benefits of TI in WinMBT? Go and find out yourself.

3. Firepower

-Preferably a main gun that can fire true HE shells. Although nowadays the HEAT shell can double in HE role. Also good KE pen is somewhat important, however sometimes you still don´t need that 90 pen figure a 60 will do since it can frontally take out any but the heaviest opponents, who must be left to be dealt with specialized equipment (like a section of tank-killing specialized Leo2A6 or heavy ATGM, perhaps of the TA-kind).

4. Mobility

-It´s nice to have speed of 26 hexes per turn. But you don´t use this mobility as you use the three above in a WinMBT game. A few full dashes in a single game is in my tactics mostly utilised then slow advancing.. the main gun might be utilized for a full 50 times so you get the point. Okay you get faster to a hilltop or down from it but you still have to kill those two companies of advancing enemy infantry.

-Hey ho to the armored foe-

[TLAM_Strike]

Don't forget mechanical reliablity and ease of matenace. What good is a tank unless the engine turns over and the gun fires when you need it.

[PanzerBob]

I'm surprised nobody has really mentioned CREWS, the men inside the machines.

Crew training and morale are huge factors in a MBT and in the better MBT's are a big factor in their design. I could cite many battle and campaigns where CREWS made a big difference in the outcomes.

Without the men crewing these puppies taken into consideration no matter how the other factors handled you will have 50-80 ton chuck of metal and grease, at best a steel mobile pillbox, at worst a brewed up wreck!!

http://www.euronet.nl/users/wilfried/ww2/network/tanktot.gif

[Randy]

I think for the most part that when describing "what makes a good MBT" most answer with the mechanical, weaponry, and armor concerns. Having seen the "Top Tens" on the Military Channel that is what they most often cover. Additionally such aspects as reliability, cost, survivability, and longevity are I believe are also important considerations.