Infantry fighting vehicle
An infantry fighting vehicle, also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle, 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, 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.
History
Early Cold War
The infantry fighting vehicle concept evolved directly out of that of the armored personnel carrier. During the Cold War, 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, 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.
The first US M113-based IFV appeared in 1969; known as the XM765, it had a sharply angled hull, ten vision blocks, and a cupola-mounted 20 mm autocannon. The XM765 design, though rejected for service, later became the basis for the very similar Dutch YPR-765. The YPR-765 had five firing ports and a 25 mm autocannon with a co-axial machine gun.
The Soviet Ground Forces fielded its first tracked APC, the BTR-50, in 1957. Its first wheeled APC, the BTR-152, had been designed as early as the late 1940s. Early versions of both these lightly armored vehicles were open-topped and carried only general-purpose machine guns for armament. As Soviet strategists became more preoccupied with the possibility of a war involving weapons of mass destruction, they became convinced of the need to deliver mounted troops to a battlefield without exposing them to the radioactive fallout from an atomic weapon. The IFV concept was received favorably because it would enable a Soviet infantry squad to fight from inside their vehicles when operating in contaminated environments. Soviet design work on a new tracked IFV began in the late 1950s and the first prototype appeared as the Obyekt 765 in 1961. After evaluating and rejecting a number of other wheeled and tracked prototypes, the Ground Forces accepted the Obyekt 765 for service. It entered serial production as the BMP-1 in 1966.
The BMP-1 was heavily armed and armored, combining the qualities of a light tank with those of the traditional APC. In addition to being amphibious and superior in cross-country mobility to its predecessors, the BMP-1 carried a 73mm smoothbore cannon, a co-axial PKT machine gun, and a launcher for 9M14 Malyutka anti-tank missiles. Its hull had sufficiently heavy armor to resist.50 caliber armor-piercing ammunition along its frontal arc. Eight firing ports and vision blocks allowed the embarked infantry squad to observe and engage targets with rifles or machine guns. The BMP-1's use of a relatively large caliber main gun marked a departure from the Western trend of fitting IFVs with automatic cannon, which were more suitable for engaging low-flying aircraft, light armor, and dismounted personnel.
The Soviet Union produced about 20,000 BMP-1s from 1966 to 1983, at which time it was considered the most widely adopted IFV design in the world. In Soviet service, the BMP-1 was ultimately superseded by the more sophisticated BMP-2 and by the BMP-3. A similar vehicle known as the BMD-1 was designed to accompany Soviet airborne infantry and for a number of years was the world's only airborne IFV- however, it had no infantry carrying compartment and was only intended to provide IFV firepower to airborne troops.
In 1971 the Bundeswehr adopted the Marder, which became increasingly heavily armored through its successive marks and – like the BMP – was later fitted as standard with a launcher for anti-tank guided missiles. Between 1973 and 1975 the French and Yugoslav armies developed the AMX-10P and BVP M-80, respectively – the first amphibious IFVs to appear outside the Soviet Union. The Marder, AMX-10P, and M-80 were all armed with similar 20 mm autocannon and carried seven to eight passengers. They could also be armed with various anti-tank missile configurations.
Late Cold War
Wheeled IFVs did not begin appearing until 1976, when the Ratel was introduced in response to a South African Army specification for a wheeled combat vehicle suited to the demands of rapid offensives combining maximum firepower and strategic mobility. Unlike European IFVs, the Ratel was not designed to allow mounted infantrymen to fight in concert with tanks but rather to operate independently across vast distances. South African officials chose a very simple, economical design because it helped reduce the significant logistical commitment necessary to keep heavier combat vehicles operational in undeveloped areas. Excessive track wear was also an issue in the region's abrasive, sandy terrain, making the Ratel's wheeled configuration more attractive. The Ratel was typically armed with a 20 mm autocannon featuring what was then a unique twin-linked ammunition feed, allowing its gunner to rapidly switch between armor-piercing and high-explosive ammunition. Other variants were also fitted with mortars, a bank of anti-tank guided missiles, or a 90 mm cannon. Most notably, the Ratel was the first mine-protected IFV; it had a blastproof hull and was built to withstand the explosive force of anti-tank mines favored by local insurgents.Like the BMP-1, the Ratel proved to be a watershed in IFV development, albeit for different reasons: until its debut wheeled IFV designs were evaluated unfavorably, since they lacked the weight-carrying capacity and off-road mobility of tracked vehicles, and their wheels were more vulnerable to hostile fire. However, improvements during the 1970s in power trains, suspension technology, and tires had increased their potential strategic mobility. Reduced production, operation, and maintenance costs also helped make wheeled IFVs attractive to several nations.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the United States Army had gradually abandoned its attempts to utilize the M113 as an IFV and refocused on creating a dedicated IFV design able to match the BMP. Although considered reliable, the M113 chassis did not meet the necessary requirements for protection or stealth. The US also considered the M113 too heavy and slow to serve as an IFV capable of keeping pace with tanks. Its MICV-65 program produced a number of unique prototypes, none of which were accepted for service owing to concerns about speed, armor protection, and weight. US Army evaluation staff were sent to Europe to review the AMX-10P and the Marder, both of which were rejected due to high cost, insufficient armor, or lackluster amphibious capabilities.
In 1973, the FMC Corporation developed and tested the XM723, which was a 21-ton tracked chassis which could accommodate three crew members and eight passengers. It initially carried a single 20 mm autocannon in a one-man turret but in 1976 a two-man turret was introduced; this carried a 25 mm autocannon like M242 or Oerlikon KBA, a co-axial machine gun, and a TOW anti-tank missile launcher. The XM723 possessed amphibious capability, nine firing ports, and spaced laminate armor on its hull. It was accepted for service with the US Army in 1980 as the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Successive variants have been retrofitted with improved missile systems, gas particulate filter systems, Kevlar spall liners, and increased stowage. The amount of space taken up by the hull and stowage modifications has reduced the number of passengers to six.
By 1982 30,000 IFVs had entered service worldwide, and the IFV concept appeared in the doctrines of 30 national armies. The popularity of the IFV was increased by the growing trend on the part of many nations to mechanize armies previously dominated by light infantry. However, contrary to expectation the IFV did not render APCs obsolete. The US, Russian, French, and German armies have all retained large fleets of IFVs and APCs, finding the APC more suitable for multi-purpose or auxiliary roles.
The British Army was one of the few Western armies which had neither recognized a niche for IFVs nor adopted a dedicated IFV design by the late 1970s. In 1980, it made the decision to adopt a new tracked armored vehicle, the FV510 Warrior. British doctrine is that a vehicle should carry troops under protection to the objective and then give firepower support when they have disembarked. While normally classified as an IFV, the Warrior fills the role of an APC in British service and infantrymen do not remain embarked during combat.