would a civil war era cannon hurt a modern day tank?

The need to modernise many of these cannons has been acknowledged since the early 1990s as increasingly well-protected light vehicles entered service such as the Russian BMP-3. James Ormsby, assigned to 2nd Squadron, 13th Cavalry, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, prepares to replace the barrel of a M242 Bushmaster 25 mm Chain Gun on an M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle during gunnery training at the Doña Ana Range Complex, N.M., 3 August 2018. Nevertheless, times are changing and larger calibres are being developed to meet the perceived need for greater lethality and more complex operational profiles. With the occasional exception of the 40 mm cannons used by the CV9040 and the K21 from South Korea, and a few countries that operate 35 mm weapons, the 30 mm cannon has broadly dominated the medium-calibre market. As a result, the Russian and Chinese armed forces still broadly rely upon the 30 mm 2A42 Shipunov cannon developed in the 1970s and its mechanically simpler descendent the 2A72, the UK’s Scimitar and Warrior are armed with the 30 mm RARDEN designed in 1966, and the US M2 Bradley retains its capable 25 mm M242 Bushmaster, which was designed in 1976. These weapons ranging in bore diameter from 20 mm to 57 mm have been common to armoured fighting vehicles since the 1970s and provide vital fire support to infantry formations and anti-armour capabilities against their opponent’s equivalents.ĭespite their long service history, many of these weapons have remained relatively unchanged with the exception of some improvements to ammunition since entering service.

Few would argue that medium-calibre cannons are an essential tool of modern warfare.

Would a civil war era cannon hurt a modern day tank?