Anti-tank missile

An anti-tank missile (ATM), anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon, is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles.

ATGMs range in size from shoulder-launched weapons, which can be transported by a single soldier, to larger tripod-mounted weapons, which require a squad or team to transport and fire, to vehicle and aircraft mounted missile systems.

The introduction to the modern battlefield of smaller, man-portable ATGMs with larger warheads has given infantry the ability to defeat light and medium tanks at great ranges, though main battle tanks (MBTs) using composite and reactive armors have proven to be resistant to smaller ATGMs. Earlier infantry anti-tank weapons, such as anti-tank rifles, anti-tank rockets and magnetic anti-tank mines, had limited armor-penetration abilities and/or required a soldier to approach the target closely.

History

The earliest anti-tank missiles to see combat were the German Ruhrstahl X-7 "Rotkäppchen" (little red riding hood) wire guided missile and the Hungarian 44M ""Buzogányvető"" un-guided rocket launcher of World War II.

Anti-tank warfare

Anti-tank warfare arose as a result of the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during the First World War. Since the first tanks were developed by the allies in 1916 but not principally used till 1917 the first anti-tank weapon was developed by Germany. It was a scaled-up bolt-action rifle designated the Mauser Tank-Gewehr Model 1918 that fired a 13mm cartridge with a solid bullet that could penetrate the thin armor of tanks of the time and destroy the engine or ricochet inside killing occupants. Because tanks represent an enemy's greatest force projection (aside from nuclear artillery and tank vs. tank engagements), anti-tank warfare has been incorporated into the doctrine of nearly every combat service since. The predominant anti-tank weapons at the start of the Second World War were the tank-mounted gun, limbered (towed) anti-tank guns and anti-tank grenades used by the infantry as well as ground-attack aircraft such as the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka.

Anti-tank warfare evolved rapidly, particularly on the Eastern Front, to include new infantry and infantry support weapons such as the bazooka, anti-tank combat engineering, specialized anti-tank aircraft and self-propelled anti-tank guns (tank destroyers). Both the Soviet Red Army and the German Army developed methods of combating tank-led offensives, including deployment of static anti-tank weapons embedded in in-depth defensive positions, protected by anti-tank obstacles and minefields, and supported by mobile anti-tank reserves and ground attack aircraft.