In recent years, media have reported on the progress of the U.S. military's unmanned tank development, saying that the tank, called the "coarse tooth saw", is one of the most technologically advanced tanks to date, and it does not require a driver.
It is said that it is an unmanned tank, in fact, it still has to occupy human hands, but people are remotely controlled in the back. So what are the benefits of tossing and turning?
The first benefit is that the tanker is directly protected. Don't look at the tankers sitting in the big iron lump, it seems to be majestic, there are protections on all six sides, but their targets are also large, and the enemy planes, missiles, artillery, tanks and individual anti-tank weapons are all rushing at them. Coupled with the fact that they often charge at the front and go to the soup, the damage rate of tanks in actual wars is much higher than the casualty rate of infantry. For modern warfare, a good tanker is a more valuable asset than a tank, and once the tanker follows the tank to martyrdom, it is a double loss for the country. Now, the unmanned tanker has withdrawn the tanker from the "tip" of the charge to the handle of the knife, at least not to the first line to withstand the blow. Even if the tank is destroyed, the tanker can save his life, and turning back to lead a new tank to fight again can effectively enhance the combat ability of the army.
Another benefit is that unmanned tanks are used as combat platforms, reducing the requirement to "protect the crew" and being more pure in design. No need for crew compartment, no need for ventilation equipment, no need for escape, rescue module, can significantly reduce the load and size of the tank, so that it is lighter and more flexible than a manned tank.
Also, the tanker is not located in the car and does not have to live and die with the tank, which makes the tactical application of the tank less restrictive. Although soldiers should not be afraid of death, in actual combat, not every tanker has the courage to drive into the sea of fire, travel through minefields, enter enemy fire-intensive defense zones, or take the initiative as bait in exchange for friendly sneak attack opportunities. Once the tank is unmanned, for the tanker, there is no need to risk his own life, just risk with a weapon, and the psychological obstacle will be reduced. Commanders can also be bolder when using tank units.
The U.S. military's enthusiasm for unmanned tanks may be related to the poor performance of the M4 Sherman tank in World War II. Many veterans are obsessed with sherman tanks and tear up when they talk about sadness. Especially the protection ability, the front and side protection effects of the Sherman tank are only 70 and 50 mm armor, which can be penetrated by the German Tiger panther tank at 2000 meters away, and the improved model is as high as 3.4 meters, which is simply a target for German tanks to send to the door. The most terrifying thing is that the gasoline engine of the Sherman tank is very easy to catch fire and explode, and when it is fired, the tank becomes a hellish furnace, and the soldiers basically cannot escape.
Hence the Sherman tank was nicknamed: the Ronson Lighter. Because the advertising slogan of this lighter is "One hit, every hit must be!" On the Western Front, there were examples of a Shell of a German tank penetrating two Sherman tanks, and there were examples of shells penetrating the brick walls of houses and destroying Sherman tanks. One German tank soldier recalled: "When we saw The Sherman tanks coming, we joked with each other that the Yankees had sent lighters again. Those thin-skinned tanks were so tall and straight that they could be seen three kilometers away in our scopes, and when they were fired, they burned like festive fireworks, and the people inside were burned alive... Why would a country with the City of Detroit build such a thing for its soldiers to die?"
In this way, the Sherman tanks, despite their absolute superiority in numbers and air superiority, suffered terrible losses in front of the German tanks, and the unfortunate tank soldiers suffered terrible casualties. It is said that the U.S. military has a rule that only those wounded soldiers who climb out of the tank can be rescued, and the bodies inside the tank are not allowed to be overturned, because they are afraid that the soldiers will see the tragic situation inside and affect morale. By the eve of the Battle of the Ardennes, the U.S. Panzer Division suffered heavy casualties, so much so that there were enough tanks and not enough tank men, and many tanks had only 3 crews instead of the prescribed 5 men. In actual combat, the Allies could exchange 7 Shermans for a Tiger. It is no wonder that the plot of 3 Shermans besieging 1 Tiger tank and fighting the enemy at the cost of 2 in the World War II movie "Fury" was ridiculed by World War II military fans as an "anti-German drama".