An armoured fighting vehicle or armored fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, assault guns, self-propelled artilleries, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), and armoured personnel carriers (APC).
An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. 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". IFVs often serve both as the principal weapons system and as the mode of transport for a mechanized infantry unit.
The Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in London, Ontario. It has four-wheel drive (8×4) and can be switched to all-wheel drive (8×8).
The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier (APC) that was developed and produced by the FMC Corporation. The M113 was sent to United States Army Europe in 1961 to replace the mechanized infantry's M59 APCs. The M113 was first used in combat in April 1962 after the United States provided the South Vietnamese army (ARVN) with heavy weaponry such as the M113, under the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) program. Eventually, the M113 was the most widely used armored vehicle of the U.S. Army in the Vietnam War and was used to break through heavy thickets in the midst of the jungle to attack and overrun enemy positions. It was largely known as an "APC" or an "ACAV" by the allied forces.
The Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé or VAB is a French armoured personnel carrier and support vehicle designed and manufactured by Renault Trucks Defense. It entered service in 1976 and around 5,000 were produced. It has seen combat in various conflicts in Africa, Asia as well as Europe and has also been exported to more than 15 countries.
The FV432 is the armoured personnel carrier variant in the British Army's FV430 series of armoured fighting vehicles. Since its introduction in the 1960s, it has been the most common variant, being used for transporting infantry on the battlefield. At its peak in the 1980s, almost 2,500 vehicles were in use.
Boragh or Boraq is an Iranian-made armoured personnel carrier. Boragh is believed to be a reverse engineered and upgraded model of the Chinese Type 86 (BMP-1). The upgrades include a reduction in weight, a higher road speed, and stronger armor. The vehicle is fully amphibious and is fitted with an NBC protection system and infra-red night vision equipment.
ACV-15 is the designation of an amphibious Infantry fighting vehicle family developed by the Turkish defense company FNSS Savunma Sistemleri A.Ş. This vehicle is also manufactured by DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies (DefTech). The design is an attempt to combine the capabilities of an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) and an armoured personnel carrier (APC). The ACV-15 is based on the American Advanced Infantry Fighting Vehicle, which in turn is based on the American M113A1 armored personnel carrier.
The South Korean K30 Biho twin 30 mm self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon was developed to meet the operational requirements of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces for a highly mobile short range air defense system suited to the operational and terrain conditions of the Korean peninsula. It combines an electro-optically guided 30 mm gun system with a surveillance radar system on a K200 chassis. It supplements the K263A1 Chungung, a self-propelled 20 mm Vulcan system.
The K21 is a South Korean infantry fighting vehicle. A replacement for the K200-series, it was formerly designated as K300 or XK21 KNIFV. The initial production began in 2009, with the Republic of Korea Army planning to field approximately 466 units. It is designed to effectively defeat other IFVs as heavily armed and armored as the BMP-3.
The AIFV is a US tracked light armored vehicle that serves as an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) in the armies of several countries. It is a development of the M113A1 armored personnel carrier.
The Type 85 is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle produced by Chinese company Norinco. It is an improved version of the Type 63 armoured personnel carrier. The vehicle is bigger, has additional firing ports and periscopes, a longer chassis with an additional road wheel on each side, and is equipped with an NBC protection system.
The Egyptian Infantry Fighting Vehicle (EIFV), also known as Infantry Fighting Vehicle Light (IFVL), is an Egyptian modification of the M113. It is a hybrid, based on an enlarged M113 chassis equipped with the complete two-man power-operated turret of the M2 Bradley IFV. The EIFV never entered production for Egyptian Army.
FNSS Savunma Sistemleri A.Ş. is a Turkish defense manufacturer founded in 1988. It is owned 51% by Nurol Holding of Turkey and 49% by British–American firm BAE Systems Inc., and operates facilities located in Gölbaşı, Ankara.
The VBM – Freccia is a family of 8x8 armoured vehicles that was designed and manufactured for the Italian Army by IVECO for the hull, the engine and the suspension, and OTO Melara for the armament. The first variant to be developed was the IFV, the Freccia being equipped with a Hitfist turret, the same as the one installed on the Dardo IFV.
The Type 08 is a family of eight-wheeled amphibious, modular armored vehicle developed by Norinco for infantry fire support, battlefield logistics, and quick reaction operations. Developed in the early 2000s, the modern Chinese vehicle family were produced for more than 6000 hulls and widely deployed by the People's Liberation Army Ground Force and People's Liberation Army Marine Corps.
The K808/806 White Tiger wheeled armored personnel carrier (APC) is family of 8x8 and 6x6 armored vehicles. Developed by Hyundai Rotem as a private venture in 2012, the Korean Army declared a plan to acquire 600 6×6 and 8×8 wheeled APCs in order to help build rapid response forces molded after U.S. Stryker combat brigades, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). Hyundai Rotem, a, made the K808/806 in competition with the Doosan Black Fox and Samsung Techwin MPV, and eventually won the competition.
The Lynx is a German armoured fighting vehicle developed by Rheinmetall Landsysteme. The Lynx, configured as a KF31 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), was unveiled at the Eurosatory defence exhibition on 14 June 2016. The KF41 variant was unveiled at the Eurosatory defence exhibition on 12 June 2018. According to Rheinmetall, the Lynx family of tracked armoured vehicles is at the forefront of a new trend in IFV design toward armoured vehicles with lower unit and through-life costs and reduced complexity. One of the key principles of the Lynx concept is the integration of proven sub-systems with a high technology readiness level to reduce development time, cost and technical risk.
The CM-21 is an armoured vehicle designed and manufactured by the Republic of China Armoured Vehicle Development Center, based on the United States' model M113 APC. The first prototype was manufactured in 1979, and the CM-21 officially entered service in 1982.
