A missile tank is an

armoured fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, ...

fulfilling the role of a

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...

, but using only guided missiles for main armament. Several nations have experimented with prototypes, notably the Soviet Union during the tenure of

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

(projects Object 167, Object 137Ml, Object 155Ml,

Object 287 Taifun 9M15 (russian: тайфу́н, ''typhoon'') was a Soviet missile developed to arm the Object 287 tank based on the T-64 tank chassis. The tank was armed with two 73 mm 2A28 low pressure guns mounted either side of a popup missile launcher. ...

Object 775 The Obiekt 775, or Object 775 (Объект 775), was a Soviet experimental missile tank built in 1964. The tank had an extremely low profile, with a crew of two which sat in an isolated compartment in the turret. The main armament was a 125 ...

), The West German

Jaguar 2 The Raketenjagdpanzer 4 Jaguar 2 was a West German tank destroyer equipped with anti-tank guided missiles. It was only operated by the Bundeswehr. History From 1983 to 1985, 162 Kanonenjagdpanzers were converted to ''Raketenjagdpanzer 4'' Jaguar ...

tank destroyer saw service as a standard vehicle, although the Soviet

IT-1 The IT-1 (russian: Истребитель танков–1 - 'Istrebitel tankov–1', lit. 'tank destroyer-1') was a Soviet cold war missile tank based on the hull of the T-62. The tank fired specially designed 3M7 Drakon missiles from a pop-up ...

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 missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...

s, to supplement their main gun for very long-range fire. Examples are the U.S.-German prototype

MBT-70 The MBT-70 (German: ''KPz 70 or KpfPz 70'') was an American– West German joint project to develop a new main battle tank during the 1960s. The MBT-70 was developed by the United States and West Germany in the context of the Cold War, intend ...

M60A2 The M60 is an American List of main battle tanks by generation#Second generation, second-generation main battle tank (MBT). It was officially standardized as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 in March 1959. Although developed from ...

, the defunct U.S.

M551 Sheridan The M551 "Sheridan" AR/AAV ( Armored Reconnaissance/Airborne Assault Vehicle) was a light tank developed by the United States and named after General Philip Sheridan, of American Civil War fame. It was designed to be landed by parachute and to ...

and French

AMX-13 The AMX-13 is a French light tank produced from 1952 to 1987. It served with the French Army, as the Char 13t-75 Modèle 51, and was exported to more than 26 other nations. Named after its initial weight of 13 tonnes, and featuring a tough and re ...

, and several

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

, Russian, and

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

tanks:

T-64 The T-64 is a Soviet tank manufactured in Kharkiv, and designed by Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau. The tank was introduced in the early 1960s. It was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62: the T-64 served in tank divisions, whil ...

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet/Russian main battle tanks that entered production in 1969. The T-72 was a development of the T-64, which was troubled by high costs and its reliance on immature developmental technology. About 25,000 T-72 tanks h ...

T-80 The T-80 is a main battle tank (MBT) that was designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union and manufactured in Russia. The T-80 is based on the T-64, while incorporating features from the later T-72. The chief designer of the T-80 was S ...

T-84 The T-84 is a Ukrainian main battle tank (MBT), based on the Soviet T-80 MBT introduced in 1976, specifically the diesel engine version: T-80UD. The T-84 was first built in 1994 and entered service in the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 1999. Its h ...

T-90 The T-90 is a third-generation Russian main battle tank. It uses a 125mm 2A46 smoothbore main gun, the 1A45T fire-control system, an upgraded engine, and gunner's thermal sight. Standard protective measures include a blend of steel and comp ...

and T-14. In the 1930s, the Soviet Union tested the RBT-5 rocket-based assault gun, comprising a

BT tank The BT tanks (russian: Быстроходный танк/БТ, translit=Bystrokhodnyy tank, lit. "fast moving tank" or "high-speed tank") were a series of Soviet light tanks produced in large numbers between 1932 and 1941. They were lightly arm ...

mounting two 250-kg " TT Tank Torpedo" unguided rockets its turret sides.

References

* Tank destroyers Tracked self-propelled rocket launchers {{mil-vehicle-stub

See also

References