Approaching nearly a decade of use, the
M-216 Paxton is the classic example of a tank from a linage that has survived nearly 200 years of people declaring 'the death of the tank'. Certainly during the ecological collapse of the 2060s it did appear that Tanks were going to fall out of favor.
* Heavy armor could be countered by infantry portable
weapons.
* The same main gun's same effects could be achieved with similarly man portable weapons
* The great weight of the tank made it difficult to transport in large numbers
* Poor situational awareness made the large
vehicles a liability
However, infantry still found themselves with a need for ground vehicles that could carry heavier systems. Short-range air defense became increasingly helpful against drone swarms and advanced artillery pieces were increasingly mandatory for complex urban fights.
The Tank would survive by consuming these other battlefield roles. As railguns and guided munitions became more common place, the tank could take over the role of self-propelled artillery. With similar range and capabilities as artillery, there was no longer a need to maintain two separate vehicles when one would do.
These new more powerful guns also had the power and precision to hit aircraft. It didn't take long for tanks to start receiving radar systems for tracking aircraft, which soon translated into tracking bombs, missiles,
drones, and artillery allowing the tank to defend itself against a range of threats coming from the air.
Now that the tank had both an artillery and anti-air role, it needed to include high speed data links so that it could work within a battlegroup at a strategic level. This increased the computing capacity that the tank had available, and allowed it to field radars that are useful for seeing through walls in urban environments.
The M-216 Paxton picks up here. A single Paxton can provide communications, fire support, anti-air protection, counter-battery fire, remote drone operation, and a range of supporting capabilities that would have required an entire battalion of vehicles 200 years ago.
This also makes the M-216 Paxton heavy. It can not ford rivers and is not easy to transport between planets. The
American Union instead chooses to pre-position stockpiles of M-216s throughout the
Human Sphere. New crews for these tanks can quickly be brought in should a conflict requiring heavy support flare up.