Editing Armoured fighting vehicle (section)

==== Infantry fighting vehicle ====
{{Main|Infantry fighting vehicle}}
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|direct]] [[fire support]].<ref name=McNab>{{cite book|title=Combat Techniques: An Elite Forces Guide to Modern Infantry Tactics|year=2010|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-312-36824-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f3YaVQR7x5QC|first1=Martin J. |last1=Dougherty |first2=Chris |last2=McNab |access-date=5 March 2011}}</ref> The first example of an IFV was the [[West Germany|West German]] [[Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30]] which served in the [[Bundeswehr]] from 1958 until the early 1980s.

IFVs are similar to armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and [[Armoured personnel carrier|infantry carrier vehicles]] (ICVs), designed to transport a [[Section (military unit)|section]] or [[squad]] of infantry (generally between five and ten men) and their equipment. They are differentiated from APCs{{snd}}which are purely "troop-transport" vehicles armed only for self-defence{{snd}}because they are designed to give direct fire support to the dismounted infantry and so usually have significantly enhanced armament. IFVs also often have improved [[vehicle armour|armour]] and some have firing ports (allowing the infantry to fire [[firearm|personal weapons]] while mounted).

They are typically armed with an [[autocannon]] of 20 to 57&nbsp;mm calibre, 7.62mm machine guns, [[anti-tank guided missile]]s (ATGMs) and/or [[surface-to-air missile]]s (SAMs). IFVs are usually [[Caterpillar track|tracked]], but some wheeled vehicles fall into this category. IFVs are generally less heavily armed and armoured than [[main battle tank]]s. They sometimes carry anti-tank missiles to protect and support infantry against armoured threats, such as the NATO [[BGM-71 TOW|TOW]] missile and Soviet [[9M117 Bastion|Bastion]], which offer a significant threat to tanks. Specially equipped IFVs have taken on some of the roles of light tanks; they are used by reconnaissance organizations, and light IFVs are used by airborne units which must be able to fight without the heavy firepower of tanks.
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Puma, first series.jpg|The [[Germany|German]] [[Puma (IFV)|Puma]] infantry fighting vehicle
File:BMP-2M.jpg|[[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[BMP-2]]M amphibious IFV
File:Royal Tank Museum 157.jpg|[[South Africa]]n Wheeled [[Ratel IFV]]
</gallery>
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