Monetary values have been updated as close to 2014 figures as possible, often using government or production company reports.ĭuring the Cold War, the Soviet Union had a policy of building two types of tanks: a cheap mass produced version suitable for export (T-62, T-72) and an expensive high end version (T-64, T-80). That said, they are ranked not by which one is ‘the best’ but instead by which tanks cost the most per unit. These tanks are considered the best because they score highly in the three categories of mobility, protection and firepower.
The following list takes a look at 10 of the top-of-the-line tanks in use today. Finally, computers, high end optics and advanced warning and protection devices all make today’s frontline tanks deadly and expensive. Tank guns have become larger and more accurate and fire a range of projectiles from ‘regular’ high-explosives to guided missiles. Gone are the tractor engines of World War One, replaced by turbocharged diesel and, in some cases, turbine engines producing well over 1,000 hp. Engines have improved in power and reliability. Tank armor has gone through radical changes over the years, moving from steel plates to composite material made up of steel, plastics, ceramics and other classified material. Of course, pushing to have the best protected, fastest and most powerful tank costs considerable money. Tank developers have pushed the limits of technology in an attempt to achieve the highest rating in the three most important tank characteristics: mobility, protection and firepower. From the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights to the border region shared by Iraq and Iran, the Middle East has seen some of the largest tank battles of the past 50 years.Īs with any military weapon, the major powers of the world have continued an arms race involving tank production since that September day during World War One. From the fields of Western Europe to the Russian steppe, tanks were integral to how armies fought the Second World War. From that day forward, the tank became an important piece of weaponry which every major power in the world developed and deployed over the following century. While many of these new military creations broke down, roughly one third made it across No-Man’s-Land and sent the Germans troops running. On September 15 th 1916 during the Battle of the Somme, 49 British tanks rumbled slowly across the battlefield toward the German lines.
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