Editing Tank (section)

===Classification===
{{main|Tank classification}}
{{unreferenced section|date=August 2017}}
[[File:Purwarupa Harimau MT saat FAT (Factory Acceptance Test) 24 - 25 Februari 2022.jpg|thumb|[[Kaplan MT / Harimau|The Kaplan/Harimau tank]] made in [[Indonesia]] and [[Turkey|Türkiye]] is a medium-quality tank programmed for areas that are difficult for large tanks to reach.]]
Tanks have been classified by weight, role, or other criteria, that has changed over time and place. Classification is determined by the prevailing theories of armoured warfare, which have been altered in turn by rapid advances in technology. No one classification system works across all periods or all nations; in particular, weight-based classification is inconsistent between countries and eras.

In World War I, the first tank designs focused on crossing wide trenches, requiring very long and large vehicles, such as the British Mark I; these became classified as [[heavy tank]]s. Tanks that fulfilled other combat roles were smaller, like the French Renault FT; these were classified as [[light tank]]s or [[tankette]]s. Many late-war and inter-war tank designs diverged from these according to new, though mostly untried, concepts for future tank roles and tactics. Tank classifications varied considerably according to each nation's own tank development, such as "cavalry tanks", "fast tanks", and "breakthrough tanks".

During World War II, many tank concepts were found unsatisfactory and discarded, mostly leaving the more multi-role tanks; these became easier to classify. Tank classes based on weight (and the corresponding transport and logistical needs) led to new definitions of heavy and light tank classes, with [[medium tank]]s covering the balance of those between. The British maintained [[cruiser tank]]s, focused on speed, and [[infantry tank]]s that traded speed for more armour. [[Tank destroyer]]s are tanks or other [[armoured fighting vehicle]]s specifically designed to defeat enemy tanks. [[Assault gun]]s are armoured fighting vehicles that could combine the roles of infantry tanks and [[tank destroyer]]s. Some tanks were converted to [[flame tank]]s, specializing on close-in attacks on enemy strongholds with [[flamethrower]]s. As the war went on, tanks tended to become larger and more powerful, shifting some tank classifications and leading to [[super-heavy tank]]s.

Experience and technology advances during the [[Cold War]] continued to consolidate tank roles. With the worldwide adoption of the modern [[main battle tank]] designs, which favour a modular universal design, most other classifications are dropped from modern terminology. All main battle tanks tend to have a good balance of speed, armour, and firepower, even while technology continues to improve all three. Being fairly large, main battle tanks can be complemented with light tanks, [[armoured personnel carrier]]s, [[infantry fighting vehicle]]s or similar relatively lighter armoured fighting vehicles, typically in the roles of [[armoured reconnaissance]], [[Amphibious warfare|amphibious]] or [[air assault]] operations, or against enemies lacking main battle tanks.