Editing Armoured fighting vehicle (section)

=== Self-propelled artillery ===
{{Main|Self-propelled artillery|Self-propelled gun}}
Self-propelled [[artillery]] vehicles give mobility to [[artillery]]. Within the term are covered [[self-propelled gun]]s (or [[howitzer]]s) and [[rocket artillery]]. They are highly mobile, usually based on tracked chassis carrying either a large howitzer or other field gun or alternatively a [[mortar (weapon)|mortar]] or some form of rocket or missile launcher. They are usually used for long-range [[indirect-fire|indirect]] bombardment support on the battlefield.

In the past, self-propelled artillery has included direct-fire "Gun Motor Carriage" vehicles, such as [[assault gun]]s and [[tank destroyer]]s (also known as self-propelled anti-tank guns). These have been heavily armoured vehicles, the former providing danger-close fire-support for infantry and the latter acting as specialized anti-tank vehicles.

Modern self-propelled artillery vehicles may superficially resemble tanks, but they are generally lightly armoured, too lightly to survive in direct-fire combat. However, they protect their crews against [[Shrapnel (fragment)|shrapnel]] and [[small arms]] and are therefore usually included as armoured fighting vehicles. Many are equipped with [[machine gun]]s for defence against enemy infantry.

The key advantage of self-propelled over towed artillery is that it can be brought into action much faster. Before towed artillery can be used, it has to stop, unlimber and the guns set up. To move position, the guns must be limbered up again and brought – usually towed – to the new location. By comparison, self-propelled artillery in combination with modern communications, can stop at a chosen location and begin firing almost immediately, then quickly move on to a new position. This ability is very useful in a mobile conflict and particularly on the advance.

Conversely, towed artillery was and remains cheaper to build and maintain. It is also lighter and can be taken to places that self-propelled guns cannot reach, so despite the advantages of the self-propelled artillery, towed guns remain in the [[arsenal]]s of many modern armies.
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File:Destroyed german self-propelled gun carriage.jpg|A [[Wespe]] destroyed in [[Normandy]], 1944.
File:G6 Howitzer2.JPG|[[G6 howitzer]] wheeled SPG
File:Slovak Ground Forces Zuzana 2 first time outside Slovakia (1) (cropped).jpg|Slovak Self-propelled 155mm Howitzer model 2000 [[155 mm SpGH Zuzana|Zuzana]]
File:April 9th rehearsal in Alabino of 2014 Victory Day Parade (558-34).jpg|A Russian [[2S19 Msta-S]] in 2014
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==== Assault gun ====
{{Main|Assault gun}}
An assault gun is a gun or howitzer mounted on a motor vehicle or armoured chassis, designed for use in the [[direct fire]] role in support of [[infantry]] when attacking other infantry or [[fortified]] positions.

Historically, the custom-built fully armoured assault guns usually mounted the gun or howitzer in a fully enclosed [[casemate]] on a tank chassis. The use of a [[casemate]] instead of a [[gun turret]] limited these weapons' [[field of fire (weaponry)|field of fire]], but allowed a larger gun to be fitted relative to the chassis, more armour to be fitted for the same weight, and provided a cheaper construction. In most cases, these turretless vehicles also presented a lower profile as a target for the enemy.
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File:ISU-152 at Victory Park in Moscow.jpg|[[ISU-152]]K, [[Poklonnaya Hill|Victory Park]], [[Moscow]], Russia
File:Ikv 91 a.jpg|[[Infanterikanonvagn 91]], Swedish [[gun turret|turreted]] amphibious assault gun
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==== Self-propelled siege gun ====
[[File:Karl6.jpg|thumb|A [[Karl-Gerät]] firing in Warsaw,1944]]
{{Main|Self-propelled siege gun}} 
Self-Propelled siege guns often carry cannons or mortars in excess of 400mm. The carrying platform could be multiple vehicles, built for use on train rails, or a purpose-built chassis.
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==== Mortar carrier ====
{{Main|Mortar carrier}}
A mortar carrier, or self-propelled mortar, is a [[self-propelled artillery]] vehicle carrying one or more [[mortar (weapon)|mortar]] as its primary weapon. Mortar carriers cannot be fired while on the move and some must be dismounted to fire. In U.S. Army doctrine, mortar carriers provide close and immediate indirect fire support for maneuver units while allowing for rapid displacement and quick reaction to the tactical situation. The ability to relocate not only allows fire support to be provided where it is needed faster, but also allows these units to avoid [[counter-battery fire]]. Mortar carriers have traditionally avoided direct contact with the enemy. Many units report never using secondary weapons in combat.

Prior to the [[Iraq War]], American 120&nbsp;mm mortar platoons reorganized from six [[M1064 mortar carrier]]s and two M577 fire direction centres (FDC) to four M1064 and one FDC.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.benning.army.mil/Armor/eARMOR/content/issues/2006/JUL_AUG/ArmorJulyAugust2006web.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.benning.army.mil/Armor/eARMOR/content/issues/2006/JUL_AUG/ArmorJulyAugust2006web.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Mortar Platoon Training Focus to Meet the Evolving Battlefield |magazine=[[Armor (magazine)|Armor]] |last=Ward |first=CPT Stephen |publisher=United States Army Armor Center |location=[[Fort Knox]] |date=July–August 2006 |volume=CXV |issue=4 |pages=41–42 |issn=0004-2420}}</ref> The urban environment of Iraq made it difficult to utilize mortars. New technologies such as mortar ballistic computers and communication equipment and are being integrated. Modern era combat is becoming more reliant on [[direct fire]] support from mortar carrier [[machine gun]]s.
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File:T5E1-motar-carrier-4.2inch-haugh.jpg|T5E1 4.2inch mortar carrier variant of the [[M3 Scout Car]].
File:ParkPatriot2015part11-150.jpg|[[2S9 Nona]]-S 120&nbsp;mm Soviet [[self-propelled mortar]], 2016.
File:Stryker MCV-B.jpg|An American [[M1129 mortar carrier]]
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==== Multiple rocket launcher ====
{{Main|Multiple rocket launcher}}
A multiple rocket launcher is a type of unguided [[rocket artillery]] system. Like other [[rocket (weapon)|rocket]] artillery, multiple rocket launchers are less accurate and have a much lower (sustained) rate of fire than batteries of traditional [[artillery]] guns. However, they have the capability of simultaneously dropping many hundreds of kilograms of explosive, with devastating effect.

The [[Korea|Korean]] [[Hwacha]] is an example of an early weapon system with a resemblance to the modern-day multiple rocket launcher. The first self-propelled multiple rocket launchers – and arguably the most famous – were the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Katyusha rocket launcher|BM-13 Katyushas]], first used during World War II and exported to Soviet allies afterwards. They were simple systems in which a rack of launch rails was mounted on the back of a truck. This set the template for modern multiple rocket launchers. The first modern multiple rocket launcher was the [[Nazi Germany|German]] ''[[15 cm Nebelwerfer 41]]'' of the 1930s,{{citation needed|date=September 2013}} a small towed artillery piece. Only later in [[World War II]] did the British deploy similar weapons in the form of the [[Mattress (rocket)|Land Mattress]].The Americans mounted tubular launchers atop [[M4 Sherman]] tanks to create the [[T34 Calliope]] rocket launching tank, only used in small numbers, as their closest equivalent to the Katyusha.
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File:Panzerwerfer alias Maultier.jpg|[[Nazi Germany|German]] [[Panzerwerfer]] [[Half-track|half-tracked]] MRLS.
File:BM-31-12 on ZIS-12 chassis at the Museum on Sapun Mountain Sevastopol 4.jpg|[[Katyusha rocket launcher]] at the Museum ([[Diorama]]) on Sapun Mountain, [[Sevastopol]]
File:9a52 smerch.jpg|[[BM-30 Smerch]] 300&nbsp;mm rocket launcher in raised position
File:Army mlrs 1982 02.jpg|The [[M270]] MLRS conducts a rocket launch.
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==== Missile vehicle ====
[[Missile vehicle]]s are trucks or tractor units designed to carry rockets or missiles. The missile vehicle may be a self-propelled unit, or the missile holder/launcher may be on a trailer towed by a prime mover. They are used in the military forces of a number of countries in the world. Long missiles are commonly transported parallel to the ground on these vehicles, but elevated into an inclined or vertical position for launching.
* A [[Transporter erector launcher]] (TEL) is a missile vehicle with an integrated prime mover (tractor unit) that can carry, elevate to firing position and launch one or more missiles. Such vehicles exist for both surface-to-air missiles and surface-to-surface missiles.
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File:19-03-2012-Parade-rehearsal - Topol-M.jpg|Missile truck [[MZKT]] 79221 under missile [[RT-2PM2 Topol-M|Topol-M]]
Image:sa-4.jpg|A [[Soviet]] [[2K11 Krug]] [[Transporter erector launcher|TEL]]
File:MoscowParade2009 7.jpg|[[S-300 missile system]].
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==== Tank destroyer ====
{{Main|Tank destroyer|Anti-tank missile carrier|Anti-tank warfare}}

Tank destroyers and tank hunters are armed with an [[anti-tank gun]] or [[anti-tank missile]] launcher, and are designed specifically to engage enemy armoured vehicles. Many have been based on a tracked tank chassis, while others are wheeled. Since World War II, main battle tanks have largely replaced gun-armed tank destroyers; although lightly armoured anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) carriers are commonly used for supplementary long-range anti-tank engagements.

In post-[[Cold War]] conflict, the resurgence of [[expeditionary warfare]] has seen the emergence of gun-armed wheeled vehicles, sometimes called "protected gun systems", which may bear a superficial resemblance to tank destroyers, but are employed as direct fire support units typically providing support in low intensity operations such as Iraq and Afghanistan. These have the advantage of easier deployment, as only the largest air transports can carry a main battle tank, and their smaller size makes them more effective in urban combat.

Many forces' IFVs carry anti-tank missiles in every infantry platoon, and attack helicopters have also added anti-tank capability to the modern battlefield. But there are still dedicated anti-tank vehicles with very heavy long-range missiles, or intended for airborne use. There have also been dedicated anti-tank vehicles built on ordinary armoured personnel carrier or armoured car chassis. Examples include the U.S. M901 ITV (Improved TOW Vehicle) and the Norwegian NM142, both on an [[M113]] chassis, several Soviet ATGM launchers based on the [[BRDM-2|BRDM scout car]], the British FV438 [[Swingfire]] and [[FV102 Striker]] and the [[West Germany|German]] ''Raketenjagdpanzer'' series built on the chassis of the [[HS 30]] and [[Marder (infantry fighting vehicle)|Mardar IFV]]s.

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File:M3 75mm gun motor carriage.jpg|American [[M3 Gun Motor Carriage|M3 GMC]] [[half-track]]ed tank destroyer
Image:M-36 tank destroyer at Dudelange, Luxembourg, 3 January 1945 (SC 198612).jpg|90&nbsp;mm GMC [[M36 tank destroyer|M36]] during the Battle of the Bulge in January, 1945
File:Jagdtiger 1 Bovington.jpg|British-captured [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[Jagdtiger]] in [[The Tank Museum]], the UK
File:NM142 x 3.jpg|A Norwegian anti-tank platoon equipped with [[NM142]] TOW missile launchers
File:Panzermuseum Munster 2010 0915.JPG|[[West Germany|West German]] missile tank destroyer [[Raketenjagdpanzer 2]].
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