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An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV),<ref name="MICV">Template:Cite journal</ref> is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support.<ref name=McNab>Template:Cite book</ref> 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".<ref name=Viotti>Template:Cite book</ref> IFVs often serve both as the principal weapons system and as the mode of transport for a mechanized infantry unit.<ref name=Viotti/>
Infantry fighting vehicles are distinct from general armored personnel carriers (APCs), which are transport vehicles armed only for self-defense and not specifically engineered to fight on their own.<ref name="MICV"/> 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.<ref name="CIA1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref name="CIA1"/> Nevertheless, it did not supersede the APC concept altogether, due to the latter's continued usefulness in specialized roles.<ref name="MICV"/> Some armies continue to maintain fleets of both IFVs and APCs.<ref name="MICV"/>
HistoryEdit
Early Cold WarEdit
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The infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) concept evolved directly out of that of the armored personnel carrier (APC).<ref name="MICV" /> During the Cold War of 1947-1991 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.<ref name="MICV" /> 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.<ref name="MICV" />Template:Refn These two trends led to the IFV, with firing ports in the troop compartment and a crew-operated weapons system.<ref name="MICV" /> The IFV established a new niche between those combat vehicles which functioned primarily as armored weapons-carriers or as APCs.<ref name="USMC">Template:Cite journal</ref>
During the 1950s, the Soviet, US, and most European armies had adopted tracked APCs.<ref name="USMC" /> In 1957, however, France's {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} adopted the AMX-VCI (VCI for Véhicule de Combat d'Infanterie, literally Infantry Fighting Vehicle), which resembled a small, conventional tracked APC but carried a turret-mounted 20 mm autocannon that enabled it to engage other armored vehicles.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name=Guardia>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Coffey">Template:Cite thesis</ref>
The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}'s doctrine called for mounted infantry to fight and maneuver alongside tank formations rather than the previously well-known heavy armor doctrine.<ref name="AMX-VCI">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> AMX-VCI could carry ten troops in addition to a three-man crew.<ref name="Pint-Sized Battle Taxi">Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref name="USMC" /> These were known as the Saurer 4K.<ref name="USMC" /> 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.<ref name="USMC" />
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.<ref name="ointres">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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 (Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle).<ref name="USMC" />
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.<ref name="USMC" /> The XM765 design, though rejected for service, later became the basis for the very similar Dutch YPR-765.<ref name="USMC" /> The YPR-765 had five firing ports and a 25 mm autocannon with a co-axial machine gun.<ref name="USMC" />
The Soviet Army fielded its first tracked APC, the BTR-50, in 1957.<ref name=Guardia /> Its first wheeled APC, the BTR-152, had been designed as early as the late 1940s.<ref name=Guardia /> Early versions of both these lightly armored vehicles were open-topped and carried only general-purpose machine guns for armament.<ref name="USMC" /> 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.<ref name=Guardia /> 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.<ref name=Guardia /> Soviet design work on a new tracked IFV began in the late 1950s and the first prototype appeared as the Obyekt 765 in 1961.<ref name=Guardia /> After evaluating and rejecting a number of other wheeled and tracked prototypes, the Soviet Army accepted the Obyekt 765 for service. It entered serial production as the BMP-1 in 1966.<ref name=Guardia />
The BMP-1 was heavily armed and armored, combining the qualities of a light tank with those of the traditional APC.<ref name=Russia>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name=Guardia /> Its hull had sufficiently heavy armor to resist .50 caliber armor-piercing ammunition along its frontal arc.<ref name="USMC" /> Eight firing ports and vision blocks allowed the embarked infantry squad to observe and engage targets with rifles or machine guns.<ref name="USMC" /> 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.<ref name="USMC" />
The Soviet Union produced about 20,000 BMP-1s from 1966 to 1983,<ref name=Russia /> at which time it was considered the most widely adopted IFV design in the world.<ref name="USMC" /> In Soviet service, the BMP-1 was ultimately superseded by the more sophisticated BMP-2 (in service from 1980) and by the BMP-3 (in service from 1987).<ref name=Russia /> 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.<ref name="USMC" />
In 1971 the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 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.<ref name="USMC" /> 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.<ref name="USMC" /> The Marder, AMX-10P, and M-80 were all armed with similar 20 mm autocannon and carried seven to eight passengers.<ref name="USMC" /> They could also be armed with various anti-tank missile configurations.<ref name="USMC" />
Late Cold WarEdit
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Wheeled IFVs did not begin appearing until 1976,<ref name="USMC" /> 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.<ref name=Harmse>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name=Harmse /> 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.<ref name=Harmse /> Excessive track wear was also an issue in the region's abrasive, sandy terrain, making the Ratel's wheeled configuration more attractive.<ref name=Harmse /> 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.<ref name=Harmse /> Other variants were also fitted with mortars, a bank of anti-tank guided missiles, or a 90 mm cannon.<ref name=SurviveRide /> 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.<ref name=SurviveRide />
Like the BMP-1, the Ratel proved to be a major 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.<ref name="USMC" /> However, improvements during the 1970s in power trains, suspension technology, and tires had increased their potential strategic mobility.<ref name="USMC" /> Reduced production, operation, and maintenance costs also helped make wheeled IFVs attractive to several nations.<ref name="USMC" />
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.<ref name=Guardia /> Although considered reliable, the M113 chassis did not meet the necessary requirements for protection or stealth.<ref name=Guardia /> The US also considered the M113 too heavy and slow to serve as an IFV capable of keeping pace with tanks.<ref name=Guardia /> 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.<ref name=Guardia /> 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.<ref name=Guardia />
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.<ref name="Guardia" /> It initially carried a single 20 mm autocannon in a one-man turret<ref name="Guardia" /> 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.<ref name="USMC" /> The XM723 possessed amphibious capability, nine firing ports, and spaced laminate armor on its hull.<ref name="USMC" /> It was accepted for service with the US Army in 1980 as the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.<ref name="USMC" /> Successive variants have been retrofitted with improved missile systems, gas particulate filter systems, Kevlar spall liners, and increased stowage.<ref name="Guardia" /> The amount of space taken up by the hull and stowage modifications has reduced the number of passengers to six.<ref name="Guardia" />
By 1982 30,000 IFVs had entered service worldwide, and the IFV concept appeared in the doctrines of 30 national armies.<ref name="USMC" /> 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.<ref name="USMC" /> However, contrary to expectation the IFV did not render APCs obsolete.<ref name="MICV" /> 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.<ref name="MICV" />
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.<ref name="USMC" /> In 1980, it made the decision to adopt a new tracked armored vehicle, the FV510 Warrior.<ref name="USMC" /> 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.<ref name="USMC" />
DoctrineEdit
The role of the IFV is closely linked to mechanized infantry doctrine.<ref name="USMC"/> While some IFVs are armed with a direct fire gun or anti-tank guided missiles for close infantry support, they are not intended to assault armored and mechanized forces with any type of infantry on their own, mounted or not.<ref name="USMC"/> Rather, the IFV's role is to give an infantry unit battlefield, tactical, and operational mobility during combined arms operations.<ref name="USMC"/>
Most IFVs either complement tanks as part of an armored battalion, brigade, or division. Others perform traditional infantry missions supported by tanks.<ref name="USMC"/> Early development of IFVs in a number of Western nations was promoted primarily by armor officers who wanted to integrate tanks with supporting infantry in armored divisions.<ref name="USMC"/> There were a few exceptions to the rule: for example, the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}'s decision to adopt the SPz 12-3 was largely due to the experiences of Wehrmacht {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}s who had been inappropriately ordered to undertake combat operations better suited for armor.<ref name="Coffey"/> Hence, the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} concluded that infantry should only fight while mounted in their own armored vehicles, ideally supported by tanks.<ref name="Coffey"/> This doctrinal trend was later subsumed into the armies of other Western nations, including the US, leading to the widespread conclusion that IFVs should be confined largely to assisting the forward momentum of tanks.<ref name="Coffey"/>
The Soviet Army granted more flexibility in this regard to its IFV doctrine, allowing for the mechanized infantry to occupy terrain that compromised an enemy defense, carry out flanking movements, or lure armor into ill-advised counterattacks.<ref name="Coffey"/> While they still performed an auxiliary role to tanks, the notion of using IFVs in these types of engagements dictated that they be heavily armed, which was reflected in the BMP-1 and its successors.<ref name="Coffey"/> Additionally, Soviet airborne doctrine made use of the BMD series of IFVs to operate in concert with paratroops rather than traditional mechanized or armored formations.<ref name="USMC"/>
IFVs assumed a new significance after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.<ref name="Coffey"/> In addition to heralding the combat debut of the BMP-1, that conflict demonstrated the newfound significance of anti-tank guided missiles and the obsolescence of independent armored attacks.<ref name="Coffey"/> More emphasis was placed on combined arms offensives, and the importance of mechanized infantry to support tanks reemerged.<ref name="Coffey"/>
As a result of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, the Soviet Union attached more infantry to its armored formations and the US accelerated its long-delayed IFV development program.<ref name="Coffey"/> An IFV capable of accompanying tanks for the purpose of suppressing anti-tank weapons and the hostile infantry which operated them was seen as necessary to avoid the devastation wreaked on purely armored Israeli formations.<ref name="Coffey"/>
DesignEdit
The US Army defines all vehicles classed as IFVs as having three essential characteristics: they are armed with at least a medium-caliber cannon or automatic grenade launcher, at least sufficiently protected against small arms fire, and possess off-road mobility.<ref name="Arms">Template:Cite book</ref> It also identifies all IFVs as having some characteristics of an APC and a light tank.<ref name="Arms"/>
The United Nations Register for Conventional Arms (UNROCA) simply defines an IFV as any armored vehicle "designed to fight with soldiers on board" and "to accompany tanks".<ref name="Arms"/> UNROCA makes a clear distinction between IFVs and APCs, as the former's primary mission is combat rather than general transport.<ref name="Arms"/>
ProtectionEdit
All IFVs possess armored hulls protected against rifle and machine gun fire, and some are equipped with active protection systems.<ref name="Arms"/> Most have lighter armor than main battle tanks to ensure mobility.<ref name="Coffey"/> Armies have generally accepted risk in reduced protection to recapitalize on an IFV's mobility, weight and speed.<ref name="Coffey"/> Their fully enclosed hulls offer protection from artillery fragments and residual environmental contaminants as well as limit exposure time to the mounted infantry during extended movements over open ground.<ref name="Coffey"/>
Many IFVs also have sharply angled hulls that offer a relatively high degree of protection for their armor thickness.<ref name="USMC"/> The BMP, Boragh, BVP M-80, and their respective variants all possess steel hulls with a distribution of armor and steep angling that protect them during frontal advances.<ref name=Guardia/> The BMP-1 was vulnerable to heavy machine guns at close range on its flanks or rear, leading to a variety of more heavily armored marks appearing from 1979 onward.<ref name=Guardia/>
The Bradley possessed a lightweight aluminum alloy hull, which in most successive marks has been bolstered by the addition of explosive reactive and slat armor, spaced laminate belts, and steel track skirts.<ref name=Guardia/> Throughout its life cycle, an IFV is expected to gain 30% more weight from armor additions.<ref name="IFV obesity">Template:Cite book</ref>
As asymmetric conflicts become more common, an increasing concern with regards to IFV protection has been adequate countermeasures against land mines and improvised explosive devices.<ref name=Guardia/> During the Iraq War, inadequate mine protection in US Bradleys forced their crews to resort to makeshift strategies such as lining the hull floors with sandbags.<ref name=Guardia/> A few IFVs, such as the Ratel, have been specifically engineered to resist mine explosions.<ref name=SurviveRide/>
ArmamentEdit
IFVs may be equipped with: turrets carrying autocannons of various calibers, low or medium velocity tank guns, anti-tank guided missiles, or automatic grenade launchers.<ref name="Arms"/>
With a few exceptions, such as the BMP-1 and the BMP-3, designs such as the Marder and the BMP-2 have set the trend of arming IFVs with an autocannon suitable for use against lightly armored vehicles, low-flying aircraft, and dismounted infantry.<ref name="USMC"/> This reflected the growing inclination to view IFVs as auxiliaries of armored formations: a small or medium caliber autocannon was perceived as an ideal suppressive weapon to complement large caliber tank fire.<ref name="Coffey"/> IFVs armed with miniature tank guns did not prove popular because many of the roles they were expected to perform were better performed by accompanying tanks.<ref name="USMC"/><ref name="Coffey"/>
The BMP-1, which was the first IFV to carry a relatively large cannon, came under criticism during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War for its mediocre individual accuracy, due in part to the low velocities of its projectiles.<ref name=Guardia/> During the Soviet–Afghan War, BMP-1 crews also complained that their armament lacked the elevation necessary to engage insurgents in mountainous terrain.<ref name=Guardia/> The effectiveness of large caliber, low-velocity guns like the 2A28 Grom on the BMP-1 and BMD-1 was also much reduced by the appearance of Chobham armor on Western tanks.<ref name=Guardia/>
The Ratel, which included a variant armed with a 90mm low-velocity gun, was utilized in South African combat operations against Angolan and Cuban armored formations during the South African Border War, with mixed results.<ref name="Lessons">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Although the Ratels succeeded in destroying a large number of Angolan tanks and APCs, they were hampered by many of the same problems as the BMP-1: mediocre standoff ranges, inferior fire control, and a lack of stabilized main gun.<ref name="Grove">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Ratels' heavy armament also tempted South African commanders to utilize them as light tanks rather than in their intended role of infantry support.<ref name="Lessons"/>
Another design feature of the BMP-1 did prove more successful in establishing a precedent for future IFVs: its inclusion of an anti-tank missile system.<ref name="USMC"/> This consisted of a rail-launcher firing 9M14 Malyutka missiles which had to be reloaded manually from outside the BMP's turret.<ref name=Guardia/> Crew members had to expose themselves to enemy fire to reload the missiles, and they could not guide them effectively from inside the confines of the turret space.<ref name=Guardia/>
The BMP-2 and later variants of the BMP-1 made use of semiautonomous guided missile systems.<ref name=Guardia/> In 1978, the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} became the first Western army to embrace this trend when it retrofitted all its Marders with launchers for MILAN anti-tank missiles.<ref name="USMC"/>
The US Army added a launcher for TOW anti-tank missiles to its fleet of Bradleys, despite the fact that this greatly reduced the interior space available for seating the embarked infantry.<ref name="Coffey"/> This was justified on the basis that the Bradley needed to not only engage and destroy other IFVs, but support tanks in the destruction of other tanks during combined arms operations.<ref name="Coffey"/>
MobilityEdit
IFVs are designed to have the strategic and tactical mobility necessary to keep pace with tanks during rapid maneuvers.<ref name="Arms"/> Some, like the BMD series, have airborne and amphibious capabilities.<ref name="USMC"/> IFVs may be either wheeled or tracked; tracked IFVs are usually more heavily armored and possess greater carrying capacity.<ref name="USMC"/> Wheeled IFVs are cheaper and simpler to produce, maintain, and operate.<ref name="USMC"/> From a logistical perspective, they are also ideal for an army without widespread access to transporters or a developed rail network to deploy its armor.<ref name=Harmse/>
See alsoEdit
- List of infantry fighting vehicles
- Armored car (military)
- Armoured personnel carrier
- Armoured warfare
- BMP development
- Improvised fighting vehicle
- Infantry Squad Vehicle
- List of modern armoured fighting vehicles
- Lists of armoured fighting vehicles
- Mechanized infantry
- Motorized infantry
- Tank desant