This pocket guide to today's tanks and armored vehicles contains thousands of facts and key data. Tanks have been essential components of armies for decades and modern armies rely on them to provide both the knockout punch on the battlefield and to give backbone to infantry operations. Modern tanks have been refined and updated to withstand the multitudes of anti-tank weaponry deployed against them and include technological advances that would amaze the tank's original developers. The latest designs sport composite armor, jamming systems, advanced sights and laser range-finding gear, 120mm guns, anti-personnel machine-guns and light mortars. This revised and updated edition includes entries on America's M1A1, France's Leclerc, Germany's Leopard 2, Britain's Challenger 2, Iraq's T-55, Israel's Merkava, Russia's T-90, China's Norinco and others from across the world. Each entry includes a detailed line profile, photos for identification, a description of the key features and detailed technical specifications. The fully-illustrated information in Battle Tanks is a valuable guide to the tanks of the world.