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the us military recently received the m-10 light tank. compared with similar equipment from other countries, this vehicle is at a clear disadvantage in key performance aspects such as firepower, protection, and degree of automation.

since the beginning of this year, news about light tanks has frequently appeared. in april, the us army received the first mass-produced m10 "booker" light tank; in july, the first prototype of india's self-developed "zorawar" light tank was unveiled and a maneuver demonstration was conducted; in august, at the "army-2024" international military technology forum held in moscow, russia, the russian state technology group displayed the export version of the 2s25m1 ("octopus-sdm1") amphibious light tank. the once calm light tanks are now popular again. whether it is a coincidence or an inevitable trend is worth paying attention to.

light tank is a relative concept

the "lightness" of light tanks is mainly relative to the main battle tanks of the same period. from the changes in the weight of light tanks in different periods, it is easy to see that light tanks are a relative concept.

in the late period of world war i, tanks were still a new thing, and there was no distinction between light and heavy tanks. the most famous tank at that time was the ft-17 produced by the french renault company, which weighed about 7 tons and was equipped with a 37mm caliber gun, mainly used for clearing obstacles and crossing trenches. according to today's standards, it may not even be considered an armored vehicle.

after the end of world war i, many countries realized that tanks had broad application prospects, and they increased their investment and developed various types of tanks. before the outbreak of world war ii, the number of tanks in the world reached more than 20,000. a few countries developed tank systems with matching firepower levels and mission capabilities based on their own combat theories and actual needs. these tanks were of different sizes, and the concept of light tanks gradually took shape as the number of small tanks increased.

during world war ii, the definition of light tanks gradually became clear. representative light tanks at that time included the soviet t-26, the american m3/m5, the german type 2 tank, the japanese type 95, etc. their combat weight was mostly around 10 tons, equipped with guns with a caliber of less than 50 mm. the combat weight of main battle tanks of the same period was mostly around 25 tons, and the caliber of the guns was more than 75 mm. the division of tasks was also clearer. the latter was mainly used for battlefield assaults and leading troops to advance operations, while the former was mainly used to support infantry operations and conduct battlefield reconnaissance.

during the cold war, tanks were further developed, and the most prominent feature was that they became heavier. the combat weight of main battle tanks basically reached more than 40 tons, and the caliber of the main gun reached 105 mm or 120 mm. the combat weight and firepower configuration level of light tanks also increased accordingly. for example, the us-made m551 light tank weighs nearly 20 tons and is equipped with a 152 mm caliber gun.

to this day, the standards for light tanks are still changing. their combat weight has reached the standards of past medium or even main battle tanks. they have the same or similar firepower level as the current main battle tanks and can perform some battlefield assault missions.

the combat weight of the m10 "buk" light tank reaches 42 tons, comparable to the t-72 main battle tank. it and the "zoravar" are both equipped with a 105mm caliber rifled gun and the same fire control system as the country's current main battle tanks. the cv-90-120t light tank previously launched by sweden has a combat weight of nearly 40 tons at its highest, and is equipped with a 120mm caliber smoothbore gun used by the "leopard 2" main battle tank. the 2s25m1 amphibious light tank also uses the same 125mm caliber smoothbore gun as the t-90m main battle tank.

hot and cold ups and downs depend on battlefield needs

the development of weapons is like a long river, and the development of many weapons will show the characteristics of alternating hot and cold, rising and falling. this is the case with the development of light tanks.

for a long time, the development of light tanks has been dormant. this is mainly because the possibility of a large-scale ground war on the european continent was basically eliminated when the cold war just ended, and the functions of main battle tanks became more and more comprehensive. other newly developed armored combat vehicles also have some functions of light tanks. by the end of the 1990s, light tanks had basically withdrawn from the equipment system of the army of major countries in the world.

the silence of light tanks stems from changes in the international situation, adjustments in the strategic guiding ideology of various countries, evolution of combat styles, and technological progress and development. similarly, its partial recovery is also closely related to these factors.

the gulf war and several subsequent local wars made precision-guided weapons popular, forcing the traditional army to consider transformation and development. for example, in order to avoid being marginalized, the u.s. army proposed reforms centered on mobility, with the basic idea of ​​using large transport aircraft to deploy armored forces around the world in an organized manner, thereby ensuring that it firmly occupies a place in the u.s.'s efforts to maintain global hegemony.

to this end, the us army formed a lightweight stryker brigade with wheeled infantry fighting vehicles as the backbone. however, with the implementation of the so-called "great power competition" strategy, the us military found that the stryker series of armored vehicles could not cope with future high-end wars in terms of firepower and protection, and the m1a2 "abrams" main battle tank weighed nearly 70 tons and had a low air transport efficiency, so it was necessary to develop an armored vehicle that took into account both firepower intensity and mobility. in this way, light tanks returned to the us army's combat sequence after nearly 30 years.

from the beginning, the us army's requirement for the m10 booker light tank was to ensure that "one c-17 transport aircraft could carry two tanks at the same time." coincidentally, during the development of the zorawar, the indian army also strictly limited its combat weight to no more than 25 tons so that it could be transported by the il-76 transport aircraft.

in addition, under the guidance of modern army combat theory with wide-area mobility as the main content, areas that are inconvenient for main battle tanks to reach, such as plateaus, mountains, water networks, and hills, may also become battlefields for ground forces. faced with anti-tank weapons that are becoming increasingly lethal and concealed, some countries have begun to develop light tanks that are both mobile and firepowerful in order to gain an advantage in future land battles.

the boundary between armored vehicles and

it is worth noting that the u.s. army has not uniformly called the m10 "booker". some u.s. army officials define it as a combat vehicle rather than a light tank, and explain that according to the tradition of the u.s. army, the main purpose of light tanks is reconnaissance, but the m10 "booker" is not a reconnaissance vehicle. interestingly, the u.s. army chief of staff said, "in my opinion, this is a light tank..." the u.s. media also mostly believe that the m10 "booker" is a light tank after analyzing it from aspects such as structural design and operation.

the same disagreement also appeared in the 2s25m1. the russian army called it a self-propelled anti-tank gun, but it was labeled as a "light tank" at the defense exhibition. this is certainly a consideration to help military trade, but it also reflects that the boundary between new light tanks and traditional armored vehicles is becoming increasingly blurred.

on the one hand, the chassis is universal. the m10 "booker" light tank uses a modular tracked chassis developed by an american company, and the technical source is the british "ajax" tracked armored vehicle. the "zorawar" was originally planned to use the chassis of the korean-made k-9 tracked self-propelled howitzer, but later changed to a self-developed new generation of tracked armored vehicle chassis. the 2s25m1 amphibious light tank directly uses the bmd-4m infantry fighting vehicle chassis. the cv-90-120t light tank launched by sweden directly uses the chassis of the cv-90 infantry fighting vehicle.

on the other hand, the protection is comparable. the front of the 2s25m1 amphibious light tank can withstand shooting from 12.7mm caliber bullets, and the rest of the body can provide protection against 7.62mm caliber bullets. there is no substantial difference in the level of protection compared to general infantry fighting vehicles. even the two newly developed light tanks, the m10 "booker" and "zoravar", can only withstand attacks from 14.5mm caliber armor-piercing shells or shell fragments, and the improvement in protection is limited. although both the m10 "booker" and "zoravar" are equipped with active defense systems, such protection cannot create a significant gap with traditional armored vehicles. of course, they all have the potential to be equipped with additional armor, but in this case, the mobility of light tanks will be greatly reduced.

from this perspective, the above-mentioned light tanks are basically a combination of an armored vehicle chassis and a main battle tank turret. the m10 "booker" and "zorawar" also chose the same front-engine layout as the self-propelled artillery. among the three core indicators of mobility, firepower, and protection, they all chose to sacrifice the latter. this design concept is quite similar to the assault guns and tank destroyers of the world war ii period, and it is a helpless choice after weighing all the factors.

overall, it is still a supporting role

according to the plans of the us and indian armies, the first batch of m10 "booker" light tanks will be equipped with 12 tank battalions with a total of 500 vehicles, and "zorawar" will be equipped with 315 vehicles according to the scale of 7 regiments. looking at these figures alone, the procurement volume is not small. however, if compared with the scale of the main battle tanks currently in service in the armies of the two countries, the supporting role of light tanks is obvious.

the 2s25m1 and cv-90-120t are more obvious in this regard. although the russian ministry of defense has been vigorously promoting the 2s25m1, according to public information, it is only equipped with dozens of russian airborne troops. the cv-90-120t light tank is a product designed specifically for foreign trade and has not yet achieved sales results.

the reason for this is largely due to the current limitations of the positioning of light tanks in various countries. the us army's requirement for the m10 booker is to provide fire support for infantry, fill the firepower gap between the m1a2 main battle tank and the m2 infantry fighting vehicle, and is mainly equipped to light divisions. the indian army has made it clear that the zorawar will be mainly used for operations in plateau areas in the future.

in addition, high cost is also a limiting factor. due to the use of many main battle tank technologies, most of the newly developed light tanks in various countries are very expensive. according to relevant information, the price of an m10 "booker" light tank is about 11 million us dollars, which is almost enough to buy three t-90ms. the price of the new cv-90 infantry fighting vehicle easily exceeds 5 million us dollars, and the price of the cv-90-120t light tank must be more expensive. for most countries, the cost-effectiveness of light tanks is far less than that of main battle tanks. after all, not every country has the need to fight in special areas, and not every country needs to subdivide its equipment system to the extent of the us military.

what is certain is that in the short term, light tanks will still be a niche product, and their combat power growth points are mainly in improving situational awareness, active defense, mobility, etc. in the future, light tanks are likely to be unmanned, or in other words, unmanned combat vehicles will be "light tankized". of course, with the development of materials and power technology, if the main battle tank is lightweight to a certain level, the concept of light tanks may no longer exist.