"With modern electronics, cheaper precision rockets and bombs can deliver the firepower and flexibility that only tanks could provide in the past. These new weapons are easier to use and maintain than tanks
"There will have to be some battles to make the point. China and India are still building tanks, using technology far behind, and a lot cheaper than, the M-1. But with smarter and cheaper anti-tank weapons available (missiles, "smart mines" and air delivered robot tank killers like SADARM)
"The U.S. and its allies found out that the M-1, and similar Western tanks, very useful against irregulars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Note:
(a) The article says, "The first modern battleship was launched in 1906."
(i) HMS Dreadnought (1906) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dreadnought_(1906)
(Built: 1905–1906; In commission: 1906–1919; a battleship armed solely with 12-inch (305 mm) guns and a speed of 21 knots (39 km/h); the first capital ship to be powered by steam turbines, making her the fastest battleship in the world at the time of her completion)
(ii) HMS Dreadnought http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dreadnought
(Several ships and one submarine of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Dreadnought in the expectation that they would "dread nought", ie "fear nothing, but God".)
(iii) nought: "variant of NAUGHT"
(iv) naught (pronoun; Middle English nought, from Old English nāwiht, from nā no + wiht creature, thing):
"NOTHING <efforts came to naught>" www.m-w.com
(b) T-90: "Produced 1995–present." Wikipedia
(c) Sense and Destroy ARMor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_and_Destroy_ARMor
(SADARM; The system was used for the first time during combat during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, with a total of 121 rounds reported fired by the 3rd Infantry Division with 48 vehicle kills attributed to 108 M898 SADARM projectiles)
(3) The Last F-22. Strategy Page, Dec 19, 2011
("The 187th, and last, F-22 fighter was completed on December 13th")
(4) America Legalizes Cyber War. Strategy Page, Dec 19, 2011 http://strategypage.com/htmw/htlead/articles/20111218.aspx
("Congress approved a new law on December 14th that allows the Department of Defense to conduct offensive Cyber War operations in response to Cyber War attacks on the United States. That is, the U.S. military is now authorized to make war via the Internet")
Note:
(a) CHAN Chak 陳 策
(b) redoubtable (adj; from Anglo-French, from reduter to dread, from re- + duter to doubt):
"causing fear or alarm : FORMIDABLE"