List of main battle tanks by generation

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The fundamental issue with classifying main battle tanks into generations is the lack of a common, internationally accepted definition. Different attempts to define main battle tanks have been made by authors, historians and militaries in the past, many of which co-exist to this day.

The Canadian Army Command & Staff College developed a system to classify Western main battle tanks in three different generations (Soviet/Russian ones are not covered).^[1] Tanks such as the Chieftain, Leopard 1, M48 and M60 are considered first generation MBTs, while the Challenger 1, Leopard 2 and M1 Abrams are considered second generation ones. Digital tanks such as the Leclerc, Leopard 2A5 and M1A2 Abrams are considered third generation tanks.

The military of the People's Republic of China also recognizes three generations of its own tanks.

In his 1983 book, Rolf Hilmes describes three generations of post-war main battle tanks.^[2] In his system for the classification of main battle tanks, the first generation of MBTs was roughly being fielded between 1950 and 1960, the second generation roughly between 1960 and 1970, and the third generation starting in 1980 with a predicted end by 1990.

In Hilmes' system, older tanks cannot reach higher generations via upgrades even when these upgrades include all characteristics defining the newer generations. Instead, heavily upgraded tanks belong to so-called intermediate generations (Zwischengenerationen) with the first, ranging from 1970 to 1980, containing upgraded second generation MBTs (e.g. M60A2, Leopard 1A4) as well as new MBTs produced during that time frame (e.g. the T-64, Merkava and TAM) which lack some of the features defining the third generation. The first generation of main battle tanks was based on or influenced by designs of World War II, most notably the Soviet T-34.^[3] The second generation was equipped with NBC protection systems, night-vision devices, a stabilized main gun and at least a mechanical fire-control system.^[3] The third generation is in Western parlance determined by the usage of thermal imagers, improved fire-control systems and special armour. However, Hilmes acknowledged that tanks cannot be definitively grouped by generations, as each tank-producing country develops and introduces its tanks in tune with its own ideas and needs. He also states that breakdown of postwar tanks by generations is based on timeframe and technical factors, as a basis for further discussion.

By 2007, Hilmes saw a fourth generation of post-war main battle tanks (containing certain tanks fielded in 1990 to 2000) and predicted a fifth (expected to appear by 2010).^[4] Defining characteristics of the fourth generation are autoloaders, adapted modular armour, battlefield managements systems and improved digital electronics, more powerful guns, night sights (passive or thermal imagers) for the commander's independent periscope and often hydropneumatic suspensions.^[4] Additionally, a third intermediate generation (1990 to 2000) was established in his system, containing tanks like the Leopard 2A5, the PT-91 Twardy and the T-90.^[4]

In the late 1990s, the Russian author Gennady Lvovich Kholyavasky describes a total of five generations of main battle tanks; with the first starting in 1920 and lasting to the end of World War 2, followed by the second generation covering 1946 to 1960, the third generation lasting from 1961 to 1980 and a fourth generation starting in 1981.^[5] As per Kholyavasky, no Russian fourth generation tank was fielded by 1998, but the Challenger 2, the M1A2 Abrams, and Leopard 2A6 can be considered fourth generation tanks. Despite not providing an official end for the fourth generation, the Leclerc was considered a fifth generation main battle tank.^[6]

As per Rafał Kopeć from the University of the National Education Commission, Krakow no fourth generation tank had already been fielded by 2016, suggesting that all earlier tanks belong to the earlier three generations based on the system he used for classification.^[7] In addition to the three main generations, tanks like the T-64, T-72 and Merkava belong to a generation "two plus" according to Kopeć. In a similar fashion, a generation "three plus" consisting of never fielded prototypes with 140–152 mm guns is defined.^[7]

In their 2010 book, the Hungarian authors Ernő Hegedűs and Károly Turcsányi define four generations of main battle tanks.^[8][9] The first generation of main battle tanks has no autoloader, a conventional propulsion system with diesel engine and layered armour. This generation includes tanks like the Challenger and Leopard 2. The second generation of main battle tanks has a similar set-up with layered armour, conventional diesel propulsion systems but features and autoloader; it includes tanks such as the Leclerc and T-72. The third generation of MBTs like the second but uses a conventional propulsion system with a gas turbine instead of a diesel; it includes the T-80, the HSTV(L) and the Stridsvagn 103. Hegedűs and Turcsányi define a fourth generation of main battle tanks, utilizing composite materials in their construction, gas turbines and electromagnetic weapons, with the ACAV-P and FCS-T being examples of implementations of fourth generation tank technologies.^[8]

Like Hilmes, military historian Hptm Marc Lenzin, Oberst Peter Forster, Div Fred Heer and Hptm Stefan Bühler from the Swiss Army recognise five generations of post-war main battle tanks, as well as a further four Zwischengenerationen consisting of upgraded versions of older main battle tanks.^[10][11] Tanks are categorised by generation based solely on the rough date of their introduction into service rather than on technical aspects of their design.^[10] The first generation covers tanks introduced between 1950 and 1960; the second generation, between 1960 and 1980. The third generation covers tanks introduced between 1980 and 1990, followed by the fourth generation, which lasted from 1990 to 2010. The fifth generation of main battle tanks has been in production since 2010.^[10]

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Because there is no widely accepted definition of main battle tank generations, it is often difficult to determine which generation a tank belongs to. Depending on the definition used by the author, the same tank may belong to several different generations. For example, according to Hegedűs and Turcsányi, the Leopard 2 is a first-generation main battle tank, whereas Pierre Lamontage of the Canadian Army Command & Staff College places it in the second generation. German author Rolf Hilmes considers the Leopard 2 a third-generation tank, assigning upgraded variants to different Zwischengenerationen (intermediate generations).

Consequently, a tank may be listed as belonging to multiple generations. The name(s) behind the entry refers to the author, so placements based on the same definition can be identified.