Why Can’t U.S. Army Tanks Tell When They Are Being Targeted? (From Forbes)

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.