Various armor levels for the sides - RE: Well, too interesting to drop all of the posts in this thread...

Then again this means you stick to "modern" ideas and not futuristic ones.

For instance, if the trend of top-firing missiles continues, then top
armor will become a priority. If mobile mines, or "tunneling" missiles become
prevalent, then bottom armor will become more important. Bottom
armor will also increase in importance as anti-grav or semi-flying tanks
evolve where the bottom side would become more exposed while flying.

If a "hellglobe" fusion encapsulation weapon is deployed where it attacks the
weakest armor on a vehicle, you might see vehicles armored all around.

The future might also encompass super-ablative armor - it will withstand
anything up to a 1 kilo-ton fusion blast on a direct hit; once.  In
which case you would rotate the vehicle to have a new face towards the enemy.

Or  Self-arranging armor, either nano-tech or "amorphous ceramo-metallic
armor" that flows to the side that requries more armor at the moment. In which
case the values of the armor vary based on the situation.

There are also probably a case for specialized vehicles that might have
higher rear or side armor values - such as the WW2 British Archer with a
rear mounted AT gun. In cases like that it would make sense to armor the rear,
then use shoot and scoot tactics. Or naval tactics might come
back into vogue and you have multi-turreted super tanks that fire
"broadsides" at the enemy, in which case the sides would be as well or better
armored than the front or rear.

--Binhan

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