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Light armoured vehicles er, light?
The idea behind the creation of the so-called light armoured vehicle was primarily to enable soldiers to follow the main battle tank on the battlefield. For this reason, they generally tended to be tracked, because as 'followers' they had to operate on fields totally broken up by the Tanks. Hasn't this changed ...
There are two aspects in the recent evolution of the armoured fighting vehicle: the tracks and the wheels. While the latter still have a penalty in terms of footprint (in other words the pressure they impart on the ground in kilograms per square metre) progress made in tyre technology, drive techniques and suspension systems are making them increasingly attractive. The tracked vehicle, on the other hand, still remains more efficient in extreme terrain, such as snow and marsh. Because of their lower footprint, they also offered a preferred solution to carry heavier turrets. Why offered? Because, as we shall see, the wheeled vehicle is now closing the gap, very quickly. General Technology--Track The tracked vehicle still has its attraction. Contrary to a widespread belief, its design looks more complicated than its wheeled counterpart, but in fact is not. A tracked vehicle can very much be regarded as a 2 x 10 or a 2 x 12 truck rolling on articulated steel carpet, only that it continuously picks the carpet up at the end of the run and reinserts it under the front wheels. The drive thus consists of a couple of half-shafts running out of the differential to drive two sprockets. The only added subtlety is the differential inverter to enable the sprockets to turn in opposite directions to steer the vehicle...See the full content of this document
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