Military Vehicles

A military vehicle is any vehicle, including land combat and transportation vehicles, designed for or significantly used by a military force. Generally speaking, there are seven types of vehicles unique to military use. These are: armored fighting vehicles, reconnaissance vehicles, military light utility vehicles, military engineering vehicles, Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Guns (SPAAGs) / Self-Propelled Air Defense Systems (SPADS), electronic warfare vehicles, and technical vehicles.

An armored fighting vehicle is a vehicle armed for combat and protected with armor. These typically combine operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. Examples of armored fighting vehicles are battle tanks, armored cars, armored SPAAGs, and armored personnel carriers. A reconnaissance vehicle, or scout vehicle, is a military vehicle used for forward reconnaissance. The U.S. military uses both tracked and wheeled reconnaissance vehicles. They are usually designed with low profiles and are lightly armored, allowing them to remain undetected. Their armaments range from medium machine guns to large cannons. A military light utility vehicle is a vehicle of the lightest weight class. Examples of military light utility vehicles include Jeeps and Humvees. These vehicles are compact, usually unarmored, and designed for nimble mobility in all terrains and conditions. Light utility vehicles are by far the most commonly used military vehicle in use today.

Military engineering vehicles are vehicles built for the construction work or transportation of combat engineers on the battlefield. These vehicles are either civilian equipment that has been modified to meet military standards, or purpose-built military vehicles. The first instance of military engineering vehicles being used occurred when British Mark V tanks were modified for bridging and mine clearance during World War I. SPAAG and SPAD vehicles are mobile machines with dedicated anti-aircraft capabilities. They are highly-specific weapons systems built to include machine guns, autocannons, or missiles. The earliest of these vehicles were also designed in World War I.

Electronic warfare vehicles are any vehicles that aid in operations pertaining to electronic warfare, which is defined as any action involving use of the electromagnetic spectrum or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. An example of an electronic warfare vehicle is a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle that has been equipped with a jammer to hinder enemy communications. The final type of military vehicle is called either a technical or non-standard tactical vehicle. These are generally light civilian vehicles that have been modified by the addition of a machine gun, anti-aircraft gun, rotary cannon, anti-tank weapon, or a number of other weapon systems.