Guns and ammo: Tanks seek to become more lethal

摘要

Amain battle tank's (MBT's) primary role is to engage an adversary's armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs), but the secondary role of providing fire support for mounted and dismounted infantry persists and indeed has been prevalent of late. Recent and extant operations have emphasised this secondary role and this has led to the development and fielding of more specialised ammunition. Meanwhile, the advent of better protection for tanks has caused a number of countries, including Germany and Russia, to develop larger calibre tank guns made of stronger steel that can fire new-generation kinetic energy ammunition with a higher muzzle velocity.