What makes a weapon anti-air or anti-tank? Would anti-air be effective against tanks? Could we create one weapon that covers both, or even all possible targets?

Question

What makes a weapon anti-air or anti-tank? Would anti-air be effective against tanks? Could we create one weapon that covers both, or even all possible targets?

In: 864

Answer 1

Generally it comes down to the actual system cueing the weapon to the target. A Surface to Air Missile will take out a tank, much like an anti-tank round will take out an aircraft.

Generally Anti-tank weapons must be lightweight (Carried by infantry) reasonably disposable and short range (within visual range). Anti-Aircraft missiles need to solve a target location in angle. range and velocity and the associated rates of change of those as a fighter travels at 800mph. This carries with it the requirement for (normally) a Radar to cue the weapon which is technologically advanced, large in size and has significant power and processing requirements.

Fighter pilots don’t care about the weapon, they care about and aim to defeat the radar cueing it.