I hate to say this but Tanks are obsolete.

[Shagnifico]

I think the bigger question is, is the infantryman obsolete. When the riflemen are never unobserved by the enemy they can’t maneuver, they just have to stay put, pray, and fortify.

[michaelwhittmann]

I think the bigger question is, is the infantryman obsolete. When the riflemen are never unobserved by the enemy they can’t maneuver, they just have to stay put, pray, and fortify.

Although I'm not a fan of double negatives, your statement is spot on. Armies began using observation balloons in the 18th century. They were used in the Civil War.

In WW1, they were used by both sides. Someone figured out how to retrofit a Vickers Machine Gun to a French biplane to shoot down German balloons.

IN WW2 during the Battle of the Bulge, Henry Fonda got in a recon plane in the fog to find Robert Shaw's tank squadron. He got his pilot killed; but he found him.

Cold War and Modern ASW is all based on staying quiet and unobserved.

I think the "biggest" question isn't whether infantryman or tanks are obsolete, maybe the current modern warfare paradigm of taking and holding ground with ground-based troops needs a complete rethink.

[Son of a gun-ner]

With modern tech, you can run, but you can't hide, unless it's underground.