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Infantry fighting vehicle
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Infantry fighting vehicle
An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, light tank, and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 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, and which is armed with an integral or organic cannon of at least 20 millimeters calibre and sometimes an antitank missile launcher". IFVs often serve both as the principal weapons system and as the mode of transport for a mechanized infantry unit.
Infantry fighting vehicles are distinct from general armored personnel carriers (APCs), which are transport vehicles armed only for self-defense and not specifically engineered to fight on their own. IFVs are designed to be more mobile than tanks and are equipped with a rapid-firing autocannon or a large conventional gun; they may include side ports for infantrymen to fire their personal weapons while on board.
The IFV rapidly gained popularity with armies worldwide due to a demand for vehicles with higher firepower than APCs that were less expensive and easier to maintain than tanks. Nevertheless, it did not supersede the APC concept altogether, due to the latter's continued usefulness in specialized roles. Some armies continue to maintain fleets of both IFVs and APCs.
The infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) concept evolved directly out of that of the armored personnel carrier (APC). During the Cold War of 1947-1991 armies increasingly fitted heavier and heavier weapons systems on an APC chassis to deliver suppressive fire for infantry debussing from the vehicle's troop compartment. With the growing mechanization of infantry units worldwide, some armies also came to believe that the embarked personnel should fire their weapons from inside the protection of the APC and only fight on foot as a last resort. These two trends led to the IFV, with firing ports in the troop compartment and a crew-operated weapons system. The IFV established a new niche between those combat vehicles which functioned primarily as armored weapons-carriers or as APCs.
During the 1950s, the Soviet, US, and most European armies had adopted tracked APCs. In 1957, however, France's Ministère des Armées adopted the AMX-VCI (VCI for Véhicule de Combat d'Infanterie, literally Infantry Fighting Vehicle), which resembled a small, conventional tracked APC but carried a turret-mounted 20 mm autocannon that enabled it to engage other armored vehicles. The AMX-VCI was the first purpose-built IFV, renamed from AMX-VTT in 1957, One year before German SPz-12-3, the second true IFV.
The Ministère des Armées's doctrine called for mounted infantry to fight and maneuver alongside tank formations rather than the previously well-known heavy armor doctrine. AMX-VCI could carry ten troops in addition to a three-man crew.
As the AMX-VCI and SPz-12-3 were being inducted into service, the Austrian army adopted new APCs which possessed firing ports, allowing embarked infantry to observe and fire their weapons from inside the vehicle. These were known as the Saurer 4K. Austria subsequently introduced an IFV variant of the Saurer 4K which carried a 20 mm autocannon, making it the first vehicle of this class to possess both firing ports and a turreted weapons-system.
In the early to mid-1960s, the Swedish Army adopted two IFVs armed with 20 mm autocannon turrets and roof firing hatches: Pansarbandvagn 301 and Pansarbandvagn 302, having experimented with the IFV concept already during WWII in the Terrängbil m/42 KP wheeled machine gun armed proto-IFV. Following the trend towards converting preexisting APCs into IFVs, the Dutch, US, and Belgian armies experimented with a variety of modified M113s during the late 1960s; these were collectively identified as the AIFV (Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle).
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Infantry fighting vehicle
An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, light tank, and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 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, and which is armed with an integral or organic cannon of at least 20 millimeters calibre and sometimes an antitank missile launcher". IFVs often serve both as the principal weapons system and as the mode of transport for a mechanized infantry unit.
Infantry fighting vehicles are distinct from general armored personnel carriers (APCs), which are transport vehicles armed only for self-defense and not specifically engineered to fight on their own. IFVs are designed to be more mobile than tanks and are equipped with a rapid-firing autocannon or a large conventional gun; they may include side ports for infantrymen to fire their personal weapons while on board.
The IFV rapidly gained popularity with armies worldwide due to a demand for vehicles with higher firepower than APCs that were less expensive and easier to maintain than tanks. Nevertheless, it did not supersede the APC concept altogether, due to the latter's continued usefulness in specialized roles. Some armies continue to maintain fleets of both IFVs and APCs.
The infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) concept evolved directly out of that of the armored personnel carrier (APC). During the Cold War of 1947-1991 armies increasingly fitted heavier and heavier weapons systems on an APC chassis to deliver suppressive fire for infantry debussing from the vehicle's troop compartment. With the growing mechanization of infantry units worldwide, some armies also came to believe that the embarked personnel should fire their weapons from inside the protection of the APC and only fight on foot as a last resort. These two trends led to the IFV, with firing ports in the troop compartment and a crew-operated weapons system. The IFV established a new niche between those combat vehicles which functioned primarily as armored weapons-carriers or as APCs.
During the 1950s, the Soviet, US, and most European armies had adopted tracked APCs. In 1957, however, France's Ministère des Armées adopted the AMX-VCI (VCI for Véhicule de Combat d'Infanterie, literally Infantry Fighting Vehicle), which resembled a small, conventional tracked APC but carried a turret-mounted 20 mm autocannon that enabled it to engage other armored vehicles. The AMX-VCI was the first purpose-built IFV, renamed from AMX-VTT in 1957, One year before German SPz-12-3, the second true IFV.
The Ministère des Armées's doctrine called for mounted infantry to fight and maneuver alongside tank formations rather than the previously well-known heavy armor doctrine. AMX-VCI could carry ten troops in addition to a three-man crew.
As the AMX-VCI and SPz-12-3 were being inducted into service, the Austrian army adopted new APCs which possessed firing ports, allowing embarked infantry to observe and fire their weapons from inside the vehicle. These were known as the Saurer 4K. Austria subsequently introduced an IFV variant of the Saurer 4K which carried a 20 mm autocannon, making it the first vehicle of this class to possess both firing ports and a turreted weapons-system.
In the early to mid-1960s, the Swedish Army adopted two IFVs armed with 20 mm autocannon turrets and roof firing hatches: Pansarbandvagn 301 and Pansarbandvagn 302, having experimented with the IFV concept already during WWII in the Terrängbil m/42 KP wheeled machine gun armed proto-IFV. Following the trend towards converting preexisting APCs into IFVs, the Dutch, US, and Belgian armies experimented with a variety of modified M113s during the late 1960s; these were collectively identified as the AIFV (Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle).
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