The U.S. Army is the only major ground force in the world that does not equip its combat vehicles with laser warning systems. That will be a big problem in future conflicts, because potential adversaries like Russia and Iran have armed their militaries with laser-guided antitank weapons. Without a laser warning system, it is nearly impossible to tell when an enemy is targeting your vehicle until they actually launch their weapons — by which time it may be too late to take evasive action or release obscurants like smoke. Army leaders recognize the threat (they first stated a requirement for laser warning systems on ground vehicles 23 years ago) but somehow other items always manage to crowd laser detection out of a stretched investment budget. Laser warning needs to be part of any system for protecting U.S. tanks and troop carriers, particularly those that might have to fight Russian forces in Europe. I have written a commentary for Forbes here.
Find Archived Articles: