Slitherine

quote:

ORIGINAL: mmacguinness

Selected quotations and related charts from the 1980 intelligence assessment:

Chart: Tank Quality: The AMSAA View

In brief, the United States is now behind, tank for tank, and even when our developmental XM-833 depleted-uranium round for the 105-mm cannon becomes available, the XM-1 is likely to be no more than an even match for the T-80.

Charts: Probability of Kill given Hit:

As may be seen, while all weapons have provided high assurance of kill against the T-62, the M735 - planned to be the most numerous round aboard US tanks - is impotent against the T-72. Our two most powerful ATGM are marginal in a frontal attack against the lower bound-best case T-72, and virtually useless against the upper bound-worst case T-72.

Chart: US ATGM vs. Soviet Tank

Our ATGM clearly can defeat the T-62, but the T-72 - and the like armored T-64 - could be largely invulnerable to them. In facvt, chances are better than 50-50 that either TOW or DRAGON would explode without effect against the nmose of the T-72, even if that tank's armor is onlt of "lower bound, best case"toughness.