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

A multi purpose missile or projectile would be needlessly expensive, complex and very likely less effective trying to do too many things.

Anti-air requires speed, maneuverability and typically can disable aircraft by proximity detonation in a certain volume of space.

Anti-tank is usually anti-armor. The energy has to be directed very specifically (or the thing has to be huge) to be effective against modern armor.

It would be difficult to make both happen with a single type of warhead.