Missile tank
The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's general notability guideline. (November 2021) |
A missile tank is an armoured fighting vehicle fulfilling the role of a main battle tank, but using only guided missiles for main armament. Several nations have experimented with prototypes, notably the Soviet Union during the tenure of Nikita Khrushchev (projects , , , Object 287, Object 775),
The West German Jaguar 2 tank destroyer saw service as a standard vehicle, although the Soviet IT-1 missile-armed tank destroyer also saw limited service.
The term is sometimes applied more loosely to conventional tanks which are able to launch anti-tank guided missiles, to supplement their main gun for very long-range fire. Examples are the U.S.-German prototype MBT-70, the defunct U.S. M551 Sheridan and French AMX-13, and several Soviet, Russian, and Ukrainian tanks: T-64, T-72, T-80, T-84, T-90 and T-14. Some of the T-55's currently in use with the Peruvian Army also seem to have racks with missiles fitted to their turrets.
In the 1930s, the Soviet Union tested the rocket-based assault gun, comprising a BT tank mounting two 250-kg "" unguided rockets its turret sides.
References[]
- Zaloga, Steven J. (2004). T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks 1944-2004. Osprey. ISBN 1-84176-792-1.
- Tank destroyers
- Tracked self-propelled rocket launchers
- Military vehicle stubs