STM, the company that developed Turkey’s first Tank Command Control Information System (TCCIS), reviewed the Past, Present and Future of Tanks.

At the “Information Exchange Platform” held on November 21, 2009 at STM, İbrahim ARSLAN from the Systems Department presented the review, which included the definition of tank, the evolution of tanks, basic operational principles of tanks and armoured units, probable future innovations in tanks, the warfare systems of the future and the role of tanks in future warfare.

ARSLAN said that the purpose of using tanks is to “cause maximum destruction on the target through high fire power balanced according to requirements in terms of movement capacity and survival capability, using a command control and information system”.

The presentation emphasized that replacement of tanks with unmanned vehicles in the future will depend on widespread use of “network centric warfare”, ability of armour technologies to ensure lighter protection against existing kinetic energy ammunition, transformation of unmanned vehicles into smart systems that can assess situations and make decisions rather than being remote controlled, and more importantly, on combat proven systems that will be developed.

The seminars, continuing for the last two years, are held on the last Saturday of every month, with participation from relevant departments.