Tanks for a small nation?

[Kharuyan]

For a small nation whose defense funding is limited and whose population mostly resides in small and medium-sized cities, do main battle tanks make sense as a main part of the army?

Advantages:
-Firepower + + + +
-Protection + +
-Mobility + + +

Disadvantages:
-Logistics Cost - - - -
-Target Profile - - -
-Flexibility - -

On the one hand, they offer very good firepower, armor and mobility. However, they are susceptible to an increasing variety of anti-tank weapons to include AT missiles mounted on IFVs or man-portable; explosive-formed penetrator mines/bombs; SADARM artillery shells and air-to-ground missiles. They're also a heavy logistical burden due to the manpower, fuel, ammunition, supplies, etc... they need to stay effective. For that reason, I'm leaning towards eschewing tanks in favor of lower cost IFVs (i.e. M3 Bradley) equipped with AT missiles and more flexible Stryker wheeled armored vehicles. Given my nation's small size, limited defense budget and primarily defensive military stance, I'm not sure if main battle tanks are a necessity at this time.

I am curious to see what other small nations have done to meet their army's combat vehicle needs. No god-modders, please

[Distruzio]

The Distruzian federal government is a secularized subsidiary of the Church. The secular leader, the Doge, is the Holy Father, the Head of Church. Given this fact, the federal level concerns itself primarily with the industrial, spiritual, and law/order aspect of Distruzian existence. National defense is not an exclusive responsibility for the federal government. Each province, each city, each merchant, and each family is responsible, ultimately, for the defense of themselves. Although there exists a federal military it is relegated exclusively to maintaining and protecting the Distruzian commercial exploits (aero/naval warfare with very limited conventional capabilities).

The Distruzian government maintains a hands off approach to military design. There is no military contractor cartel in the country, no government licensed (privileged) firms. Any corporation with the tools and manufacturing capability is free to engage in armored military construction. Over time, the hundreds of original firms have been out-competed by a number of smaller more efficient firms and conglomerates. Given the competitive nature of national defense, and the bounty of consumers both domestic and foreign, military hardware prices are within reason. There are no arbitrary price negotiations (OOC: The US gov't pays for tanks, planes, and ships, by negotiating with the privileged firm on an acceptable price rather than relying on market indicators... hence the outrageous and exorbitant costs) between any level of Distruzi government and private firms.

Naturally, there exists within Distruzio a great variety of armored tanks, transports, artillery pieces, and modern main battle tanks. From the Confederated Ontos to the Steel Legion Mk9, Distruzians are more than able to defend domestic interests. Rahmos Corp, the most successful defense firm, fields the wildly popular Rahmos MBT. This tank is the closest tank to be considered a traditional "main" battle tank in that it is the first tank manufactured with a standardized ammunition common to all competing firms. Much like the railroads (OOC: American rail industry standardized the rail sizes and time zones w/o gov't mandates in order to maximize productivity, efficiency, and profit), the defense firms are quickly discovering the opportunities for increased revenues by moving to standardized safety and capability for their products. The Rahmos MBT further enjoys its current marketplace dominance for its survivability, its lethality, and its independent atmospheric respiration unit.

Tanks, much like anything resembling a standardized military force, are a rarity in Distruzio. Citizens rely instead on personal ingenuity, communal activities, and rugged survival methods to maintain Distruzio's domestic integrity. A variety of handcrafted mechanical and clockwork machines armed to the teeth would make life very difficult indeed for any invader.

[Secunderabad]

As our main combat challenges are of the crowd control and street fighting kinds, rather than open warfare over large areas, self-propelled artillery and main battle tanks are unnecessary. We find much success with wheeled IFVs, APCs, tank destroyers, and trucks with mounted weapons. Mounted anti-aircraft weapons, such as in the 20-40mm range of calibers, work very well for such fighting. Also, attack helicopters.

But basically, find a way not to need to worry about heavy tanks. Maybe buddy up with an ally who has lots of them.

[Allanea]

I am curious to see what other small nations have done to meet their army's combat vehicle needs. No god-modders, please

Ahem.

[Cameroi]

grav-sleds mounted with energy beam excavating tools. tanx but no tanx.

and your welcome. cameroi is tankful for being a small nation too.

(yes i know i'm making a dumb post. sorry. i just had to.)

[Basementees]

For a small nation whose defense funding is limited and whose population mostly resides in small and medium-sized cities, do main battle tanks make sense as a main part of the army?

The Tanks could be shown to have been bought off of a much larger nation, one whose influence sphere stretches into your nation. Or perhaps a nation which acts as a mentor. These tanks would not be expendable as much as those of a nation of greater power, but would still feature in your main army. If the tanks are bought, then there is a possibility that they will have been modified to fit your terrain, and to make them somewhat more economically efficient. So yes, it does make sense for them to be a main part of "the" army.
I would recommend having bought them from an empire with no military interests in your empire, but perhaps one that sells quite cheaply - older ones, not brand new.

[Vorond]

I am curious to see what other small nations have done to meet their army's combat vehicle needs. No god-modders, please

Ahem.

Another example.

Vorond is a large but fairly poor nation, thus we use our own development of the T80, akin to the ukrainian T-84. Our own project on a modern MBT is in the works, but the T80-92, as our model is called, remains the backbone of our armoured forces. Updated armour, newer electronics and a voronda-made engine bring it up to the challenge, and we don't expect full-scale war any time soon anyways.

[Wilfred Test]

We have no army. Let alone tanks.

[DeusII]

The empire would recommend against investing in tanks and instead more versatile methods of air assault. Most warfare is today fought in urban environments which often render tanks useless - and regardless of the strength of your tanks they always need refueling and more ammunition, and this is where the enemy would attack.

However, the Strategic Ground Command would be willing to sell off some of her older (but still efficient and functioning) equipment to meet your needs if you felt it necessary.

[Bajireyn]

What tech are you?