Armoured fighting vehicle

An armoured (or armored) fighting vehicle (AFV) is a combat vehicle, protected by strong armour and generally armed with weapons, which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. It is not uncommon for AFVs to be simply referred to as "armour".

Armoured fighting vehicles are classified according to their intended role on the battlefield and characteristics. This classification is not absolute; at different times different countries will classify the same vehicle in different roles. For example, armoured personnel carriers were generally replaced by infantry fighting vehicles in a similar role, but the latter has some capabilities lacking in the former. There may also be hybrid vehicles, such as the Stryker family of AFVs; the M1128 Mobile Gun System, an armoured car which mounts a large 105 mm gun normally used in tank destroyers, but can theoretically be reconfigured to the M1126 Infantry Carrier Vehicle.

Combat vehicle

A combat vehicle, also known as a ground combat vehicle, is a self-propelled, weaponized military vehicle used for combat operations. Combat vehicles can be wheeled or tracked.

History

Ancient

The chariot is a type of carriage using animals (almost always horses) to provide rapid motive power. Chariots were used for war as "battle taxis" and mobile archery platforms, as well as other pursuits such as hunting or racing for sport, and as a chief vehicle of many ancient peoples, when speed of travel was desired rather than how much weight could be carried. The original chariot was a fast, light, open, two-wheeled conveyance drawn by two or more horses that were hitched side by side. The car was little more than a floor with a waist-high semicircular guard in front. The chariot, driven by a charioteer, was used for ancient warfare during the bronze and the iron ages. Armor was limited to a shield.

Modern

In the modern time, combat vehicle is protected by strong armour and armed with weapons, which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities.

Next Generation

Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to:

Publications and literature

Technology

Infantry fighting vehicle

An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), or mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire support. The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe defines an infantry fighting vehicle as "an armoured combat vehicle which is designed and equipped primarily to transport a combat infantry squad, which is armed with an integral or organic cannon of at least 20 millimeters calibre and sometimes an antitank missile launcher."

Infantry fighting vehicles are distinct from armoured personnel carriers (APCs), which are transport vehicles armed only for self-defense and not specifically engineered to fight on their own. Consequently, they possess heavier armament and the attached rifle squad fights mounted more often than in an APC. IFVs also often have improved armour and some have ports which allow the infantry to fire personal weapons while on board.

They are typically armed with a 20 to 40 mm caliber autocannon, a coaxial machine gun and sometimes anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). IFVs are usually tracked, but there are some wheeled vehicles too. IFVs are much less heavily armed and protected than main battle tanks, but when equipped with larger cannon or ATGMs may pose a significant threat to all but the heaviest armoured fighting vehicles.