Compass Points - Armor Options
Rebuilding Marine Armor
Compass Points - Armor Options
Rebuilding Marine Armor
April 8, 2026
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Many news outlets are reporting that the US Commander-in-Chief is pausing Operation Epic Fury in Iran for two weeks in order to allow for negotiations. What will happen after two weeks? Thousands of years of conflict in the Middle East predict that the path forward will include unexpected twists and turns.
What can be easily predicted is that after the next two weeks, in any conflict around the globe, aerial drones will still be an important weapon. No matter the mission or location, every commander today must prepare to defend against a variety of aerial drones. Drones are a threat to virtually every major piece of equipment on the battlefield. Drones are a threat to armored and unarmored vehicles of all types, a threat to ships, and a threat to any large system.
What can also be easily predicted is that after the next two weeks, the US Marine Corps will still be lacking the mobile, protected, fire power systems that infantry need on the battlefield today and tomorrow. The Marine Corps will still have zero tanks. Zero tanks?
Six years ago, the Marine Corps, in an abrupt, misguided decision, jettisoned every tank. The Marine Corps might have kept some tanks in the reserve component. The Marine Corps could have kept some tank units at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center and Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command, Twentynine Palms, California. But no tanks were retained. It was not just the tanks themselves that the Marine Corps discarded, it was the tankers and the tank expertise. Today, while infantry around the world have tanks to support them and those units regularly train with tanks, US Marines have no tanks and conduct no tank training.
Those who vainly attempt to justify the Marine Corps’ rash decision, cite not only the weight of tanks but also the vulnerability of tanks to aerial drones. Drones may be new, but tank critics are nothing new. Nearly as soon as the first tanks debuted in combat in 1916 at the Battle of the Somme, some have called tanks obsolete. Despite the critics and despite the passage of more than 100 years, tanks have continually adjusted to new technology and continually remained essential.
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For over a century, military analysts have predicted the demise of the tank. Critics point to the rise of precision-guided missiles, drones, and cyber warfare as evidence that armored vehicles have outlived their purpose. Yet modern conflicts—from Ukraine to the Middle East—demonstrate that tanks remain indispensable. This paper argues that tanks are not obsolete because they continue to fulfill unique battlefield roles: mobile protection, combined-arms support, and psychological dominance. With advances in armor technology, active protection systems, and network integration, the tank has evolved to meet 21st-century threats rather than disappear from the battlefield.
-- Rebellion Research - “Why Tanks are Not Obsolete?”
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Is the Marine Corps Combat Development Command at Quantico conducting a thorough study of Marine Corps armor options? It should be. When the Marine Corps decided it no longer wanted tanks in the Marine Corps inventory, it did not eliminate the need for armor on the battlefield. There has been a tremendous discussion about the armor options on Compass Points. For just one example, see the contribution from Compass Points reader, Polarbear.
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Polarbear
Ten Times Better Trap
I feel there is a great need for the US Marine Corps to field a light tank. This is especially true when the Tank BNs were quickly cascaded out of the Marine Corps T/O, leaving a gap in the MAGTF capabilities doctrine. I also thought that the M1 Abrams was too heavy at 74 tons. The M1’s weight also meant the tank BN needed an heavy bridging package…more weight.
The good news is the elimination of the heavy Abrams presented an opportunity to field a light tank. The US Army’s attempt to develop a light tank (first called a “Mobile Protected Firepower” vehicle, then a “Light Tank”) failed because “the requirements process creating so much inertia that the Army couldn’t get out of its own way”. A simpler explanation is the program was suffering “requirements creep”.
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The answer now seems to be the Marine Corps needs to “buy something off the shelf”, like we did with the Canadian LAV. I say “off the shelf” because we need a light tank now.
Back in the day, a Commandant wanted a light vehicle where multiples could be loaded and quickly rolled off C-141s and C-5s. It needed to be fast and doctrinally flexible and adaptable. When the Marines pushed this idea, the LAV received a lot of criticism from both external and internal sources. In my mind, the final recognition came during Desert Storm, when the US Army “Tiger Brigade Commander” (attached to the 2nd MAVDIV) stated he wished he had a Battalion of LAVs for screening and recon purposes.
I have long stated the Marine Corps needs to take a look at the Swiss CV90120 light tank. It possesses advanced technology and packs a 120mm cannon. The cost, however, is probably prohibitive. The last contract cost was 1.3 Billion Euros for 152 units (approx. $10 million per vehicle).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_Vehicle_90#CV90120
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I caught an article recently about South Korea becoming a major arms manufacture. This did not surprise me because over the past couple decades S. Korea has built a globally prominent ship building industry. Hence the question, are they building light tanks for sale? TADA! Presenting the S. Korean K21 Light Tank.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K21
In my opinion the K21 would be a great “off the shelf” light tank for the Marines to at least evaluate. At 28 tons with 105mm cannon and a cost of $3.2 M per copy, this should make it a candidate. However, another question: Is the Marine Corps Development Center even looking for an “off the shelf” light tank to fill the MAGTF gap left by the elimination of the Abrams and avoiding the “ten times better trap”?
Forget about the three tanks per platoon in the Tank BN, let’s go with a six light tank platoon in order to attach two light tanks per Rifle Company when the situation dictates. S/F.
-- Polarbear
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Compass Points thanks reader Polarbear and all Compass Points readers weighing in on the armor options discussion.
While US Operation Epic Fury in Iran is on pause today, the fighting is not over. While the US Marine Corps discarded all its tanks, the need for armor on the battlefield is not over. The fight goes on. Compass Points salutes all those across the broad Marine community, including in the pages of Compass Points, working every day to make sure that when the next US Marine platoon plunges into the next crisis, they will have every piece of training and every piece of equipment they need.
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Rebellion Research - 10/09/2025
Why Tanks Are Not Obsolete?
https://www.rebellionresearch.com/why-tanks-are-not-obsolete
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I was an M1A1 company commander in Desert Shield/Storm. We were opcon, 8th Marine Regiment and worked along with the Army's Tiger Brigade. I can tell you from personal experience that the 8th Marine regimental commander was very happy to have 14 M1A1 tanks at the pointy end of his spear and then as his regimental reserve, if needed (our flexibility). By the time we got to our final objective in Kuwait, all Iraqi armor and anti-armor capabilities had been cleared from the battlefield by a combination of air, artillery, armor and anti-armor (TOW) assets working together as a coordinated, combined arms team. We were the last ground based heavy anti-armor offense for the 8th Marines in contact. Tanks work in pairs as wing-men to maximize their protection, firepower and target acquisition. Three armored vehicles in a platoon does not seem optimal to me. Four per platoon seems a better choice. The anti-drone/anti-missile defenses now installed on tanks may not survive first contact and can likely be cleared off by enemy artillery or repeated drone attacks and there is no going back to the barn for repair under fire. Superior tactics and mobility are keys to successful employment of armor and its surviveablilty and that depends in large part on the skills and training of the armor company and its crews. You cannot now six years later, just add tanks and send them into harms way with inexperienced crews. The Marine Corps needs to renew its Combined Arms Exercises at 29 Palms if they are not doing so today. Tank crews will need schools and multiple live fire/maneuver training opportunities to be ready for combat. I can't tell you how educating it was for us to get hit by a pair of A4 Skyhawks laying down CS gas just before dawn on the last day of a CAX after no sleep to make me think about what I would do as a tanker if we did not have air superiority over the battlefield. Same can be said for attack by aerial drones.
This string on ARMOR is outstanding! CFROG & Doug Rape’, in particular, have some interesting insights worthy of exploring - at least IMHO. Once upon a time at 29 Palms, the Corps established the LAV Test Directorate to do just that: test the LAV to the Nth degree. Out of that came Cadillac-Gage LAV that has served us so well. Moreover, we worked the Marines very hard in field service - lots of it - I was there at the time & observed it from afar. In one PME opportunity for several Field Grade officers - a hands on class with an LAV & its crew - one Major asked the L/Cpl driver “how fast will it go?” The Marine replied: “Sir, the speedometer says 55, but I guarantee you it will do 70!” We had been using Condor Road as a test area - I believed the L/Cpl. My point? Why not repeat that exacting process again at 29 Palms? Why not have a test-competition with the various systems mentioned herein this string, and select the platform that meets our needs, AND, one that has add-on capacity for product improvements over time? We need the armored punch! Let’s do the testing with systems in existence, and get on with rebuilding the MAGTF. Offered as Food For Thought. Semper Fidelis!