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An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), or mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire support. The Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe defines an infantry fighting vehicle as "an armoured combat vehicle which is designed and equipped primarily to transport a combat infantry squad, which is armed with an integral or organic cannon of at least 20 millimeters calibre and sometimes an antitank missile launcher." Infantry fighting vehicles are distinct from armoured personnel carriers (APCs), which are transport vehicles armed only for self-defense and not specifically engineered to fight on their own. Consequently, they possess heavier armament and the attached rifle squad fights mounted more often than in an APC. IFVs also often have improved armour and some have ports which allow the infantry to fire personal weapons while on board. They are typically armed with a 20 to 40 mm caliber autocannon, a coaxial machine gun and sometimes anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). IFVs are usually tracked, but there are some wheeled vehicles too. IFVs are much less heavily armed and protected than main battle tanks, but when equipped with larger cannon or ATGMs may pose a significant threat to all but the heaviest armoured fighting vehicles. == History == The first mass-produced IFV was the West German Schützenpanzer 12-3 which served in the Bundeswehr from 1958 until the early 1980s. The SPz 12-3 mounted a 20 mm autocannon in a small turret and carried a half-squad of five armoured infantrymen. Western powers were surprised when the Soviet Union paraded the BMP-1, in 1967. The BMP possessed a very low profile and was armed with both a 73 mm smoothbore gun and an AT-3 Sagger ATGM, making it the first combat vehicle with mounted cannon and missiles in addition to a mounted infantry squad.〔Isby, David C. ''Weapons and Tactics of the Soviet Army'', Jane's, 1988, ISBN 978-0-7106-0352-4.〕 Its steeply-sloped front armour offered full protection against NATO's standard .50 calibre machine gun and partial protection against a 20mm Oerlikon autocannon both in a 60 degree frontal arc, while its armament posed a threat to lighter NATO APCs and even main battle tanks.〔 Soviet infantrymen could thus enter a hypothetical engagement in a vehicle that possessed formidable fighting capability in its own right. This brought combined arms integration to the lowest tactical level.〔 In 1971, the Ratel was designed to a South African specification for a wheeled combat vehicle suited to the demands of a high-speed offensive that combined maximum mobility and firepower. The emphasis was on mobility in particular, as it had to keep pace with a rapid mechanised advance and cross hostile ground quickly. South Africa's motorised units had carried out prior deployments on unprotected Bedford MK and Unimog trucks, but these were deemed unsuitable for the harsh African terrain.〔 They also offered few advantages in mine protection, while the Ratel's blastproof hull was developed to withstand even the most catastrophic anti-tank mine explosions.〔Heitman, Helmoed-Römer. ''South African Arms and Armour - A concise guide to armaments of the South African Army, Navy, and Air Force.'' Struik Publishers 1988. ISBN 0-86977-637-1 p 47-51.〕 During the South African Border War, Ratels equipped with a 90 mm gun adopted from the Eland-90 were utilised as improvised tank destroyers to varying degrees of success. After the BMP and the Ratel, several other countries followed suit in embracing the concept, including the United States, which adopted the M2 Bradley, the United Kingdom the Warrior, and West Germany the Marder.〔 Other examples include the Chinese ZBD-97, the Indian Abhay, the Canadian LAV III, the Spanish ASCOD Pizarro, the Italian Dardo, the French AMX-10P and VBCI, and the Swedish Combat Vehicle 90. In most Western IFVs, the comparatively large smoothbore guns on the BMP and later variants of the Ratel have now been discarded in favour of smaller calibre autocannon. While the former enjoyed a tank-killing capability that most autocannon lack, their low rate of fire and mediocre individual accuracy offset this advantage.〔 Combat applications in close-combat environments are likely to drive up survivability requirements necessitating the same protection level required by most tanks. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Infantry fighting vehicle」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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