Engineering and design mean smaller vehicles can be tank killers but is it a good idea?
An FNSS Pars 4x4 launches a Kornet-EM ATGM, a capability being increasingly added to smaller wheeled vehicles. (Photo: FNSS)
The eulogy for the dedicated tank hunter or buster appears to have been written with most armies putting them out to retirement in the face of alternatives like longer-range missiles or uncrewed aerial systems (UAS). However, arming infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) or armoured personnel carriers (APCs) with medium-range missiles seems to indicate some kind of tank killer is required.
Introducing tank killer capability to IFVs and APCs, or even smaller vehicles, can add a capability without the need for an extra fleet of vehicles and it is an option now being picked up by most forces.
While adding two pods of anti-tank guided weapons (ATGWs) onto the latest turrets is a common design, consideration still needs to be given to whether it is necessary, as the total cost goes beyond just the missile.
Adding ATGMs to counter threats such as main battle tanks (MBTs) can deal with the large platforms which cannot be neutralised by the IFV’s primary armament, normally a 20-40mm cannon. This can
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