why tanks and APC’s exist separately? Why not make a tank that can carry a lot of soldiers?

Question

I guess what I’m asking is what are the different functions of the two types of vehicles? Why can’t militaries combine them?

In: Other

Answer 1

Armour, guns engines etc are very heavy. The ground, bridges, etc have limits limits in what weight they can handle. The longer a tracked vehicle is compared to it width the harder it is to maneuver.

The guns, ammunition, engines, fuel, crew, soldiers etc take up space. The larger you make the vehicles the more will it weigh if the armour remains the same. If the weight increases you need more powerful engines, drive trains etc for the same mobility. A heavier vehicle needs more fuel and it takes up space too

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The heavy tanks already weigh about 65 tonnes and you really do not want to get even heavier. So a tank that can carry soldiers would be less well protected than one that can.

Israeli Merkava has a space that technically can be used to carry troops in the back. The problem is that the space ammunition usually carries space so if you carry a trope it is a lot less usable as a tank. It is for medical evacuation especially in low-intensity conflict and as a way to enter and exit the take more protection the exit in the back is useful.

You can build a vehicle with less armor than a tank, a lower caliber gun efficiency against everything that is not the front of a tank, and have space for troops. This is and has been done for a long time and they are called infantry fighting vehicles (IFV). IFV has replaced APC for lots of military applications. Some of the heaviest IFVs are a bit over 40 tonnes. You often have anti-tank guided missiles on them so they can take out tanks, what they can’t handle is a direct hit from the gun of a tank.

Military units are meant to cooperate not work alone. A single vehicle does not need to do everything. A tank and APC combination that could do both would cost more than a vehicle that is only one of the tasks. A tank and an IFV provide two guns and a sensor system. IFV guns will be more efficient against targets that have little or no armor and they can carry more ammunition because it is smaller and larger. So use both and let them engage the target they are best at.

A single-tank APC combination is also a single target and a single hit can take it out and kill everyone in it. Two vehicles are more survivable than one.