Editing Infantry fighting vehicle (section)

== Design ==
[[File:GCV Infantry Fighting Vehicle.jpg|thumb|right|A typical configuration of a tracked infantry fighting vehicle]]

The US Army defines all vehicles classed as IFVs as having three essential characteristics: they are armed with at least a medium-caliber cannon or automatic grenade launcher, at least sufficiently protected against [[small arms]] fire, and possess off-road mobility.<ref name="Arms">{{cite book | title = The Arms Trade Treaty: A Commentary | last = Parker | first = Sarah | editor1-last = Clapham | editor1-first = Andrew | editor2-last = Casey-Maslen | editor2-first = Stuart | editor3-last = Giacca | editor3-first = Gilles | location = Oxford | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 978-0198723523 | date = 2016 | page = 77}}</ref> It also identifies all IFVs as having some characteristics of an APC and a [[light tank]].<ref name="Arms"/>

The [[United Nations]] Register for Conventional Arms (UNROCA) simply defines an IFV as any armored vehicle "designed to fight with soldiers on board" and "to accompany tanks".<ref name="Arms"/> UNROCA makes a clear distinction between IFVs and APCs, as the former's primary mission is combat rather than general transport.<ref name="Arms"/>

=== Protection ===
[[File:ZBD-04A IFV 20170716.jpg|thumb|Chinese [[ZBD-04]]A infantry fighting vehicle]]
All IFVs possess armored hulls protected against rifle and machine gun fire, and some are equipped with [[active protection system]]s.<ref name="Arms"/> Most have lighter armor than [[main battle tank]]s to ensure mobility.<ref name="Coffey"/> Armies have generally accepted risk in reduced protection to recapitalize on an IFV's mobility, weight and speed.<ref name="Coffey"/> Their fully enclosed hulls offer protection from artillery fragments and residual environmental contaminants as well as limit exposure time to the mounted infantry during extended movements over open ground.<ref name="Coffey"/>

Many IFVs also have sharply angled hulls that offer a relatively high degree of protection for their armor thickness.<ref name="USMC"/> The BMP, [[Boragh]], BVP M-80, and their respective variants all possess steel hulls with a distribution of armor and steep angling that protect them during frontal advances.<ref name=Guardia/> The BMP-1 was vulnerable to [[heavy machine gun]]s at close range on its flanks or rear, leading to a variety of more heavily armored marks appearing from 1979 onward.<ref name=Guardia/>

The Bradley possessed a lightweight aluminum alloy hull, which in most successive marks has been bolstered by the addition of explosive reactive and slat armor, spaced laminate belts, and steel track skirts.<ref name=Guardia/> Throughout its life cycle, an IFV is expected to gain 30% more weight from armor additions.<ref name="IFV obesity">{{cite book|title=Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies|year=2004|publisher=Method Publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=06tIAAAAYAAJ&q=%22upgraded+throughout+their+life+cycle%22|access-date=31 March 2011|page=30}}</ref>

As [[Asymmetric warfare|asymmetric conflict]]s become more common, an increasing concern with regards to IFV protection has been adequate countermeasures against [[land mine]]s and [[improvised explosive device]]s.<ref name=Guardia/> During the [[Iraq War]], inadequate mine protection in US Bradleys forced their crews to resort to makeshift strategies such as lining the hull floors with sandbags.<ref name=Guardia/> A few IFVs, such as the [[Ratel IFV|Ratel]], have been specifically engineered to resist mine explosions.<ref name=SurviveRide/>

===Armament===
[[File:Marder1A3.5.jpg|thumb|A [[Marder (IFV)|Marder]] fires a [[MILAN]] anti-tank missile.]]

IFVs may be equipped with: [[gun turret|turret]]s carrying [[autocannon]]s of various calibers, low or medium velocity [[tank gun]]s, [[anti-tank guided missiles]], or [[automatic grenade launcher]]s.<ref name="Arms"/>

With a few exceptions, such as the BMP-1 and the BMP-3, designs such as the [[Marder (IFV)|Marder]] and the [[BMP-2]] have set the trend of arming IFVs with an autocannon suitable for use against lightly armored vehicles, low-flying aircraft, and dismounted infantry.<ref name="USMC"/> This reflected the growing inclination to view IFVs as auxiliaries of armored formations: a small or medium caliber autocannon was perceived as an ideal suppressive weapon to complement large caliber tank fire.<ref name="Coffey"/> IFVs armed with miniature tank guns did not prove popular because many of the roles they were expected to perform were better performed by accompanying tanks.<ref name="USMC"/><ref name="Coffey"/>

The BMP-1, which was the first IFV to carry a relatively large cannon, came under criticism during the [[Yom Kippur War|1973 Arab-Israeli War]] for its mediocre individual accuracy, due in part to the low velocities of its projectiles.<ref name=Guardia/> During the [[Soviet–Afghan War]], BMP-1 crews also complained that their armament lacked the elevation necessary to engage insurgents in mountainous terrain.<ref name=Guardia/> The effectiveness of large caliber, low-velocity guns like the [[2A28 Grom]] on the BMP-1 and BMD-1 was also much reduced by the appearance of [[Chobham armour|Chobham armor]] on Western tanks.<ref name=Guardia/>

The Ratel, which included a variant armed with a 90mm low-velocity gun, was utilized in South African combat operations against [[Angola]]n and [[Cuba]]n armored formations during the [[South African Border War]], with mixed results.<ref name="Lessons">{{Cite web |last=Scholtz |first=Leopold |title=The Lessons of the Border War |url=https://www.ajol.info/index.php/smsajms/article/viewFile/89172/78726 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128103422/http://www.ajol.info/index.php/smsajms/article/viewFile/89172/78726 |archive-date=28 January 2015 |access-date=24 March 2017 |location=Stellenbosch, South Africa |publisher=Military Science Department, Stellenbosch University |date=2012}}</ref> Although the Ratels succeeded in destroying a large number of Angolan tanks and APCs, they were hampered by many of the same problems as the BMP-1: mediocre standoff ranges, inferior fire control, and a lack of stabilized main gun.<ref name="Grove">{{Cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Ratel teen tenk en |url=http://www.samagte.co.za/weermag/hc/grove.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728040847/http://www.samagte.co.za/weermag/hc/grove.html |archive-date=28 July 2012 |location=Port Elizabeth, South Africa |publisher=International Veterans' Association/South African Forces Club |date=2011 |access-date=20 September 2016}}</ref> The Ratels' heavy armament also tempted South African commanders to utilize them as light tanks rather than in their intended role of infantry support.<ref name="Lessons"/>

Another design feature of the BMP-1 did prove more successful in establishing a precedent for future IFVs: its inclusion of an anti-tank missile system.<ref name="USMC"/> This consisted of a rail-launcher firing 9M14 Malyutka missiles which had to be reloaded manually from outside the BMP's turret.<ref name=Guardia/> Crew members had to expose themselves to enemy fire to reload the missiles, and they could not guide them effectively from inside the confines of the turret space.<ref name=Guardia/>

The BMP-2 and later variants of the BMP-1 made use of semiautonomous guided missile systems.<ref name=Guardia/> In 1978, the {{lang|de|Bundeswehr}} became the first Western army to embrace this trend when it retrofitted all its Marders with launchers for [[MILAN]] anti-tank missiles.<ref name="USMC"/>

The US Army added a launcher for TOW anti-tank missiles to its fleet of Bradleys, despite the fact that this greatly reduced the interior space available for seating the embarked infantry.<ref name="Coffey"/> This was justified on the basis that the Bradley needed to not only engage and destroy other IFVs, but support tanks in the destruction of other tanks during combined arms operations.<ref name="Coffey"/>

===Mobility===
[[File:خودروی زرهی آبی خاکی مکران.jpg|thumb|Iranian [[Makran IFV]]]]
IFVs are designed to have the strategic and tactical mobility necessary to keep pace with tanks during rapid maneuvers.<ref name="Arms"/> Some, like the BMD series, have airborne and amphibious capabilities.<ref name="USMC"/> IFVs may be either wheeled or tracked; tracked IFVs are usually more heavily armored and possess greater carrying capacity.<ref name="USMC"/> Wheeled IFVs are cheaper and simpler to produce, maintain, and operate.<ref name="USMC"/> From a logistical perspective, they are also ideal for an army without widespread access to transporters or a developed rail network to deploy its armor.<ref name=Harmse/>