Editing MBT-70 (section)

===Armament===
[[Image:MBT-70 Shillelagh rocket firing.JPG|thumb|right|MBT-70 prototype test firing an MGM-51 missile]]

The MBT-70's main armament was a stabilized '''XM150''' 152&nbsp;mm gun/launcher, a longer-barreled and improved variant of the XM-81 gun/launcher used in the light [[M551 Sheridan]] and the [[M60 Patton#M60A2|M60A2 "Starship"]].<ref name=MBT-70atglobalsecurity>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/mbt-70.htm|title=MBT-70 at globalsecurity.org|access-date=8 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100823045247/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/mbt-70.htm|archive-date=23 August 2010|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> This gun/launcher could fire conventional 152&nbsp;mm rounds like [[Explosive material|High Explosive]], [[anti-personnel]], M409A1 [[High explosive anti-tank warhead|High Explosive Anti-Tank]] (HEAT) and the XM578E1 [[Armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot]] (APFSDS) rounds, [[Beehive anti-personnel round|Beehive anti-personnel]] rounds, but also the [[Shillelagh missile|MGM-51 Shillelagh missile]], a 152&nbsp;mm guided missile, which had a combat range of some {{convert|3000|m}}.<ref name="DerSpiegel" />{{sfn|Hunnicutt|1990|p=130}}

In the 1960s the effective combat range of the 105&nbsp;mm [[Royal Ordnance L7|L7 tank gun]] was considered to be about {{convert|1800|m}}. The XM578 APFSDS round was made of a newly developed tungsten alloy, which was 97.5 percent tungsten. This new alloy had a density of 18.5 g·cm³, which was a big improvement compared to the older [[tungsten-carbide]] APDS and APFSDS rounds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/m578.htm |title=XM578 152mm, APFSDS |access-date=2010-11-11 |publisher=GlobalSecurity.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326164634/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/m578.htm |archive-date=2010-03-26 |url-status=live}}</ref> Another new feature of the ammunition was that the tank rounds were "caseless"; i.e., they had combustible cases.<ref name="DerSpiegel" />

[[Image:MBT-70 turret.JPG|thumb|Turret weapon layout, autocannon in stowed position, barrel pointing backwards]]
[[Image:MBT-70 secondary cannon 1.JPG|thumb|upright|The 20&nbsp;mm autocannon deployed]]
The MBT-70 was equipped with a [[laser rangefinder]] and a 26-round [[auto-loader]] in the turret bustle.{{sfn|Hunnicutt|1990|p=130}} Although the auto-loader was supposed to be capable of loading both missiles and combustible-case tank rounds,{{sfn|Hunnicutt|1990|p=130}} the German [[Rheinmetall]] autoloader was prone to deforming the ammunition's fragile combustible cases.<ref name="500 Germany" /> The Americans substituted the German autoloader with a General Motors design,{{sfn|Hunnicutt|1990|p=130}} which increased the ammunition capacity to 48 rounds.{{sfn|Hunnicutt|1990|p=299}} Italy had also contributed to the XM-150 as the automatic loading system was built by [[OTO Melara]] (now [[Leonardo S.p.A.|Leonardo]]). The automatic loading system had a vertical rotating magazine equipped with 16 containers, for 5 types of ammunition, which allowed a firing speed of 12 rounds per minute.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}} 

46 152&nbsp;mm rounds could be carried on the models with Rheinmetall autoloaders. The MBT-70 with the GM autoloader could carry 48 rounds,{{sfn|Hunnicutt|1990|p=299}} and the XM803 could carry 50 rounds.{{sfn|Hunnicutt|1990|p=300}} The MBT-70 with the Rheinmetall loader carried 26 rounds in the autoloader. Twenty more rounds were carried in two compartments including eight rounds stowed on the rear hull bulkhead and twelve behind the driver's capsule.{{sfn|Hunnicutt|1990|p=131}}

The Germans were planning to use the MBT-70 in combination with the ''Keiler'', a tank equipped with a [[Rheinmetall]] 120&nbsp;mm [[smoothbore]] gun.<ref name="DerSpiegel" /> Therefore, a suggestion was made to base a version of the Keiler on the MBT-70 chassis; this version was nicknamed ''Eber'', but only a wooden mock-up was made. According to the German plans, the MBT-70 would destroy enemies at long ranges, while the ''Keiler'' would have an effective combat range of up to {{convert|2000|m}}.<ref name="DerSpiegel" />

The secondary armament of the MBT-70 consisted of a remote-controlled 20&nbsp;mm [[Rheinmetall Mk 20 Rh-202|Rh 202]] [[autocannon]] (with storage for 750 or 660 rounds) for use against aircraft and light armored vehicles.{{sfn|Hunnicutt|1990|p=134, 299}}<ref name="PzMuseumMunster" /> The gun could be retracted into a container behind the driver's rotating cupola for protection as well as to reduce overall height, and was operated remotely by the commander.<ref name="PzMuseumMunster" /> Furthermore, a 7.62&nbsp;mm was mounted co-axially alongside the main gun for close defense. The US prototypes were fitted with the [[M73 machine gun]],{{sfn|Hunnicutt|1990|p=134}} while the German version utilized the [[MG 3 machine gun]].{{cn|date=June 2024}}

The ammunition load of the MBT-70 prototype seen in the [[German Tank Museum|''Deutsches Panzermuseum'']] consists of 42 tank rounds, 6 [[Shillelagh missile]]s, 660 [[20 mm caliber|20×139 mm]] cannon rounds and 2,700 [[7.62×51mm NATO]] machine gun rounds.<ref name="PzMuseumMunster" />