Target Stopped: The History of the Modern Tank

Author Sam Cranny-Evans explores the technical evolution of the modern tank, from the Second World War through to the present day.

The modern tank is essentially the same concept as the tanks that fought at the beginning of the Second World War: an armoured vehicle that can take a large gun to where it is most needed and support infantry. 

However, the technology used today is a blend between those things that would have been recognisable 80 years ago – the gun, armour and tracks – and things that would have been entirely unimaginable, like the million lines of code in an Ajax reconnaissance vehicle, or the uncrewed turret of the T-14 Armata.

In this talk, Sam Cranny-Evans will explore the technical evolution of the systems that make up a modern tank through a chronological account of the major eras since 1945 – from the Cold War to the various conflicts in the Middle East to Ukraine – and by explaining the threats that have driven these changes.

Using accounts of tank combat, collected from existing historical records or reproduced from archival footage, he will give life to the stories and illustrate the significance of each technological trend.

Drawing on years of expertise in this area, Sam will also look ahead to the revolutionary changes that will drive forward the tanks of the future.

About the speaker

Sam Cranny-Evans is a defence analyst and consultant as well as an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, the oldest defence think-tank in the world. He has previously worked at the Janes Information Group, as the lead land warfare analyst, focusing on all of the world’s armoured fighting vehicles.

He has published thousands of articles on armoured warfare and the technologies driving its development throughout his career and now runs a defence news outlet called 'Calibre Defence'.