The Trouble With Tanks (Part 321)

The longest distance at which a tank has ever taken out another tank, in all of history is less than 3 miles (about 5 km), during the 1991 Gulf War by a British Challenger 1 tank.

The trouble is, that even in this cakewalk conflict, when anti-tank missiles were a lot less sophisticated, most tanks were destroyed by military resources other than tanks (like Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, A-10 close air support aircraft, attack helicopters, ordinary fighter jets, and dismounted infantry with anti-tank weapons). Tanks are destroyed by weapons other than tanks about 95% or more in more recent conflicts. 

And, three miles is just not that long. The primary weapon of the main U.S. main battle tank, the M1 Abrams' M256 120-millimeter smoothbore gun, has a maximum effective range of between 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) and 4 kilometers (2.48 miles).

It is not difficult to make an anti-tank missile, or armed drone, or artillery system, however, with a range of much more than three miles, allowing the tank to be destroyed before the anti-tank force is within range of the tank's main gun.

But, if the tank's main gun is not the main way to address enemy tanks, what is it for?

The claim that it is necessary for bunker busting is unconvincing. 

It might be useful against ground vehicles other than tanks that don't have any anti-tank weapons of their own. But often, those vehicles are so much faster than a tank that it doesn't take long for the enemy ground vehicle to escape the range of the tank's main gun, and tanks aren't known for their superior stealth, allowing them to take an adversary within range by surprise.