Anti-tank missile: Difference between revisions
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'''Anti-tank missiles''' are [[surface-to-surface missile|surface-to-surface]] or [[air-to-surface missile]]s optimized to defeat the most heavily armored of battlefield vehicles, [[tank (military)|tanks]]. They range in size from easily portable shoulder-fired missiles [[e.g., [[FGM-148 Javelin]]) to larger weapons fired from purpose-built vehicles or aircraft (e.g., [[BGM-71 TOW]]). TOW is an abbreviation for the defining characteristic of a generation of medium to heavy anti-tank missiles: tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided. Newer missiles in this class have more autonomous guidance. | '''Anti-tank missiles''' are [[surface-to-surface missile|surface-to-surface]] or [[air-to-surface missile]]s optimized to defeat the most heavily armored of battlefield vehicles, [[tank (military)|tanks]]. They range in size from easily portable shoulder-fired missiles [[e.g., [[FGM-148 Javelin]]) to larger weapons fired from purpose-built vehicles or aircraft (e.g., [[BGM-71 TOW]]). TOW is an abbreviation for the defining characteristic of a generation of medium to heavy anti-tank missiles: tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided. Newer missiles in this class have more autonomous guidance. | ||
There are also anti-tank missiles that can be fired from the shoulder of a single soldier, which previously had been the province of [[unguided rocket]]s with [[Explosively formed projectile#Munroe effect and close relatives|warheads optimized for armor damage]]s. The unguided versions included the [[Second World War]] U.S. [[bazooka]], German [[Panzerfaust]], and Soviet [[RPG]]; the next generation, more lethal, included an upgraded 3.5" bazooka, the 66mm [[light antitank weapon]] (LAW) and the [[AT-4]]. Representative of a modern antitank | There are also anti-tank missiles that can be fired from the shoulder of a single soldier, which previously had been the province of [[unguided rocket]]s with [[Explosively formed projectile#Munroe effect and close relatives|warheads optimized for armor damage]]s. The unguided versions included the [[Second World War]] U.S. [[bazooka]], German [[Panzerfaust]], and Soviet [[RPG]]; the next generation, more lethal, included an upgraded 3.5" bazooka, the 66mm [[light antitank weapon]] (LAW) and the [[AT-4]]. Representative of a modern antitank guided missile is the U.S. [[FGM-148 Javelin]]. | ||
==Optimizations== | ==Optimizations== | ||
Latest revision as of 14:42, 3 October 2024
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 Anti-tank missiles are surface-to-surface or air-to-surface missiles optimized to defeat the most heavily armored of battlefield vehicles, tanks. They range in size from easily portable shoulder-fired missiles [[e.g., FGM-148 Javelin) to larger weapons fired from purpose-built vehicles or aircraft (e.g., BGM-71 TOW). TOW is an abbreviation for the defining characteristic of a generation of medium to heavy anti-tank missiles: tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided. Newer missiles in this class have more autonomous guidance. There are also anti-tank missiles that can be fired from the shoulder of a single soldier, which previously had been the province of unguided rockets with warheads optimized for armor damages. The unguided versions included the Second World War U.S. bazooka, German Panzerfaust, and Soviet RPG; the next generation, more lethal, included an upgraded 3.5" bazooka, the 66mm light antitank weapon (LAW) and the AT-4. Representative of a modern antitank guided missile is the U.S. FGM-148 Javelin. OptimizationsTop attackOn virtually all tanks, the armor is thinnest, and thus most vulnerable, on top of the turret. Further, the tank commander, and quite likely most of the crew, are likely to be in the turret, so a top attack can disable the crew and score a mission kill. Dual warheadSome armored vehicles have a protective measure, seemingly counterintuitive, of reactive armor: sheets of explosive that will detonate outwards when hit, which can interfere with explosively formed projectiles used in antitank warheads. Fire and forgetExamplesLight to medium, shoulder-fired or fired from portable mount
Medium to heavy, fired from mountThe larger anti-tank missiles may variously be fired from a mount on an armored or unarmored vehicle, from helicopters, and sometimes from fixed-wing aircraft.
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