Editing Assault gun (section)

=== Since World War II ===
In the post-World War II era, most vehicles fitting into an "assault gun" category were developed as a light-weight, air-deployable, direct fire combat vehicles for use with airborne troops. Those weapons were either based on [[Military light utility vehicle|light utility vehicles]] or small [[tracked vehicles]] and the airborne troops thus always fought at a distinct disadvantage in terms of heavy weapons. The Soviet Union and the United States were the most attracted to the idea of providing this capability to traditionally light airborne forces. Their answers to the problem were similar, with the United States developing the [[M56 Scorpion]] and the Soviet Union developing the [[ASU-57]], both essentially airdroppable light anti-tank guns.

[[File:ASU-85 6 Dywizji Powietrznodesantowej.jpg|thumb|left|Soviet [[ASU-85]] air-deployable assault gun]]
The Soviets went on to develop an improved airdroppable assault gun, the [[ASU-85]], which served through the 1980s, while their [[SU-100]] remained in service with Communist countries, including Vietnam and Cuba, years after World War II. The US M56 and another armoured vehicle, the [[M50 Ontos]], were to be the last of the more traditional assault guns in US service. Improvised arrangements such as [[M113 Armored Personnel Carrier#Armament|M113 personnel carriers]] with recoilless rifles were quickly replaced by missile carrier vehicles in the anti-tank role.

The only vehicle with the qualities of an assault gun to be fielded after the removal of the M50 and M56 from service within the US military was the [[M551 Sheridan]]. The Sheridan's gun was a low-velocity weapon suitable in the assault role, but with the addition of the [[Shillelagh missile]] could double in the anti-tank role as well. The Sheridan, however, was not developed as an assault gun but as a light reconnaissance vehicle.

[[File:US Army soldiers in a M1128 Stryker Mobile Gun System assigned to Apache Company, 1st Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment in 2012.jpg|thumb|US [[M1128 mobile gun system]] assault gun]]

Currently, there appears to be a move toward wheeled vehicles fitting a "tank destroyer" or "assault gun" role, such as the [[M1128 mobile gun system]] of the [[United States Army]], the [[B1 Centauro]] wheeled tank destroyer of the [[Italian Army|Italian]] and [[Spanish Army|Spanish Armies]], the Chinese anti-tank gun [[PTL-02]] and [[Type 08|ZBL08 assault gun]], and the French [[AMX-10 RC]] heavy armoured car. While these vehicles might be useful in a direct fire role, none were developed with this specifically in mind, reminiscent of the use of tank destroyers by the US military in the assault gun role during World War II.