List of main battle tanks by generation

The first generation consists of the medium tanks designed and produced directly after World War II that were later redefined as main battle tanks.

Name	Entered service in	Origin	Number Built	Notes
Centurion[3][6]	1946	United Kingdom	4,423[7]	First "Universal Tank" (MBT) Culmination of the WWII cruiser tanks.
T-54[3][6]	1949	Soviet Union	100,000 (T-54/T55)	USSR's First Generation of MBT.
M47 Patton	1952	United States	8,576	A development of the M46 Patton and M26 Pershing tanks.
M48 Patton	1953	United States	12,000	A further development of the M47 Patton tank.
T-55[3][6]	1958	Soviet Union	100,000 (T-54/T55)	Improved T-54.
Type 59	1959	China	10,000	A further development of the T-54 tank.
Type 61[3]	1961	Japan	560	Used by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.

The second generation had enhanced night-fighting capabilities and in most cases NBC protection. Most western tanks of this generation were armed with the 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 tank gun or derivatives of it.

Name	Entered service in	Origin	Notes
T-62[3][6]	1961	Soviet Union	A further development of the T-55.
M60 Patton	1961	United States	A further development of the M48 Patton tank. Later models(M60A2 and M60A3) are considered as the first intermediate generation.
Leopard 1[3][6]	1965	West Germany	A main battle tank designed and produced in West Germany that first entered service in 1965.
Panzer 61[3]	1965	Switzerland	A further development of the Panzer 58 tank.
MBT-70	1965	United States /  West Germany	An American-West German joint project to develop a new main battle tank. Never entered service.
T-64[3]	1966	Soviet Union	World's first composite armored tank, later versions of the T-64 may be considered as third generation.
AMX 30[3][6]	1966	France	The AMX 30 served as the principal Main Battle Tank (MBT) for the French Army.
FV 4201 Chieftain[3][6]	1966	United Kingdom	Armed with the British 120 mm Royal Ordnance L11A5 gun.
Vickers MBT[3]	1963	United Kingdom	British private venture design for export.
Vijayanta	1965	India	Indian license built version of British Vickers MBT
Stridsvagn 103[3][6]	1968	Sweden	Turretless design developed and employed solely by Sweden. Double engine feature; both diesel and gas turbine.
Panzer 68	1971	Switzerland	Swiss Main Battle Tank (MBT) based on the Panzer 61.
T-72	1973	Soviet Union	Hilmes puts the T-72 in the first intermediate generation.[3]
Olifant Mk 1	1974	South Africa	A further development of the Centurion Tank.
Type 74	1975	Japan	Hilmes puts the Type 74 in the first intermediate generation.[3]
Merkava Mark I	1979	Israel	First Main Battle Tank developed and used by Israel Defense Forces.
Ch'onma-ho	1980	Soviet Union /  North Korea	Copy of the T-62; later versions include upgrades.
OF-40	1981	Italy	Main Battle Tank used by United Arab Emirates.
Merkava Mark II	1983	Israel	Improved Merkava Mark I.
T-55AM[8][9]	1985	Soviet Union /  Czechoslovakia	T-55 with new engine, FCS computer, BDD composite armor (later active armor or ERA; T-55AMV, T-55AMD), equipped with new APFSDS ammunition (BM-20 or BM-25). Frontal protection of T-55AM with BDD add-on equals first T-72s .[8][10][9]
Lion of Babylon	1985	Iraq	Licensed copy of the T-72.
Type 88	1988	China	Variants include the Type 80, Type 85 and Type 88C.
CM-11(M48H)	1990	Taiwan	Variant from M48 Patton.
CM-12	1990	Taiwan	Variant from M48 Patton.
Type 96	1997	China	Domestic version of Type 85-IIM later known as Type 96.

The third generation of main battle tanks is characterized by composite armour and computerized stabilized fire control systems, which allow firing on the move as well as very high first hit probability on targets up to 2,000 meters away.

Name	Entered service in	Origin	Notes
T-80[3][11]	1976	Soviet Union	World's first turbine engine equipped tank. Though the Swedish Stridsvagn 103 that entered service in 1960s used a turbine engine alongside a diesel. However, T-80 in Hilmes's book is very different to a T-80 in real world,[12] and early models of the T-80 offer no big differences compared to T-64A in overall performance. So models prior to the T-80B should be regarded as Second generation intermediate.
Leopard 2[3][11]	1979	West Germany	Replaced Leopard 1.
MBT-80	N/A	United Kingdom	Prototype, never entered service.
M1 Abrams	1980	United States	Replaced M60 Patton.
FV4030/4 Challenger 1[3][11]	1983	United Kingdom	Replaced FV 4201 Chieftain.
AMX-40	1983	France	Prototype, never acquired by the French Army.
M-84	1984	Yugoslavia	A Yugoslav variant of the Soviet T-72.
EE-T1/EE-T2 Osório	1986	Brazil	Prototype, never acquired by the Brazilian Army.
K1 88-Tank	1988	South Korea	First Main Battle Tank in use with the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, developed by Hyundai Precision (later Hyundai Rotem).[13]
Merkava Mark III	1989	Israel	As of 2016, the Merkava III is by far the most numerous tank in frontline IDF service. Compared to the Merkava II, it has upgrades to the drivetrain, powertrain, armament, and electronic systems. The most prominent addition was the incorporation of the locally developed IMI 120 mm gun.
Type 90[11]	1990	Japan	Replaced Type 74.
Ch'onma-ho 215/216	1992	North Korea	A further development of Ch'onma-Ho.
AMX Leclerc[11]	1993	France	Replaced AMX 30.
Zulfiqar I/II/III	1993	Iran	Iranian tank derived from T-72 and M60 Patton. Zulfiqar III is the most advanced variant.
T-90[11]	1993	Russia	Updated version of the T-72; originally introduced into service on October 1992 as T-72BU, but simultaneously renamed as the T-90
PT-91 Twardy	1995	Poland	A development of the T-72M1.
C1 Ariete[11]	1995	Italy	Replaced American tanks.
TR-85	1996	Romania	First built in 1985, the modernised TR-85M1 "Bizonul" (the bison) variant was updated in 1996, as an effort to bring it up to date with other NATO countries. The project was a cooperative effort between Aerospatiale-Matra, Sagem, Kolmorgen-Artus, Racal and Romanian factories, such as ROMARM, METRA, I.O.R. and Aerostar
Stridsvagn 122	1997	Sweden	Based on the German Leopard 2.
M-95 Degman	1997	Croatia	Croatian development of the prototype Yugoslav M-91 Vihor. Only 2 prototype, never entered service.
FV4034 Challenger 2[11]	1998	United Kingdom	Armed with the British 120 mm Royal Ordnance L30 gun. A future life upgrade is in the planning phase.
T-84	1999	Ukraine	Upgraded Ukrainian version of the T-80 tank.
K1A1	2001	South Korea	Upgraded version of the K1 88-Tank.
Al-Khalid/MBT-2000	2001	China/ Pakistan	Exported by China as VT-1A/MBT-2000[14]
Type 98/99	2001	China	Replaced Type 88.
Tank EX	2002	India	Prototype, Never entered service.
T-72M4 CZ[15]	2003	Czech Republic	Upgraded Czech version of the T-72 tank.
Olifant Mk 2	2003	South Africa	Improved Olifant Mk 1 Tank.
Arjun MBT[3][11]	2004	India	Replaced Vijayanta.
Merkava Mark IV	2004	Israel	Improved Merkava Mark III.
M-84AS	2004	Serbia	Upgraded Yugoslav version of the M-84 tank. M-84AS is sometimes referred to as M-84AB1 and M-2001.
Type 96A/B	2005	China	Upgraded version of the Type 96.
T-72B3	2013	Russia	Upgraded Russian version of the T-72. T-72B3M is the most advanced variant.
PT-16	2016	Poland	A further development of PT-91 Twardy. Upgrades include improved armor, armament, and mobility.
M-84D	2018	Croatia	Upgraded version of the M-84 with improvements to its armor, armament, mobility and electronics. 75 to be upgraded, possibly replacing the 125mm 2A46 gun with a NATO 120mm gun

Third generation advanced

Third Generation Advanced[16] has been stated, rather than "Next/Fourth Generation" in many premieres for advanced new tanks. Those described as "Third Generation Advanced" are normally upgraded variants using the same framework of the standard third generation tank. They have their advancements built into existing or newly designed frames than being an add-on technology. Those described as "Next Generation" have had their tanks and their advanced features designed and built from scratch and are not considered upgrades of previous existing tanks.

Name	Entered service in	Origin	Notes
Merkava IVm Windbreaker	2011	Israel
T-90M[17]	2011	Russia
Type 99A	2011	China
Arjun MBT MK 2	2012	India
Leopard 2A7+	2014	Germany
VT-4	2014	China	Developed from Type-90-II (MBT-2000) tank
Karrar	2017	Iran
M1A2C Abrams	2017	United States
Leclerc XLR	2020	France

Next Generation[18] or Fourth generation tanks are still under development or at early stages of their generation. While the term '(Fourth) Next generation' has no formal basis, these main battle tanks are using the latest technology and designs to compete with the current advanced warfare environment.[19]

Name	Entered service in	Origin	Notes
Type 10[20]	2012	Japan	Next Generation[21]
K2 Black Panther[20][22]	2014	South Korea	Next Generation
T-14 Armata	2015	Russia	Next Generation
Altay	2017[23]	Turkey /  South Korea	Next Generation[24]

• Future Combat Systems
• Future Combat Systems Manned Ground Vehicles
• ASM Program (Cancelled due to the end of the Cold War)
• Future Force Unit of Action
• List of U.S. military vehicles by model number
• List of main battle tanks by country
• List of armoured fighting vehicles
• List of modern armoured fighting vehicles
• Armoured fighting vehicle classification
• List of armoured trains
• Improvised fighting vehicle
• Infantry fighting vehicle (IFV)
• Armoured fighting vehicle (AFV)
• Armored personal carrier (APC)
• Reconnaissance vehicle
• Military engineering vehicle
• Armoured recovery vehicle
• Armoured vehicle-launched bridge
• Armored bulldozer
• Infantry mobility vehicle
• Medium Mine Protected Vehicle
• Armoured car
• Tank destroyer
• Super-heavy tank
• Heavy tank
• Medium Tank
• Light tank
• Infantry tank
• Cruiser tank
• Tankette
• Mech

• Note to the Pancerni website source - Translation of most important parts of 1st, 2nd, 2.5 and 3rd generation MBTs characteristics: "The first generation MBTs are tanks made immediately after WWII. The second generation MBTs have better sights in comparison to the first generation MBTs. Also second generation MBTs were the first ones to use laser sights and APFSDS rounds. The third generation consists of tanks armed with high caliber and velocity guns like M1A1 Abrams. Third generation tanks also use composite armour as well as armour made out of highly resistant sintered ceramic materials. Third generation tanks also have full stabilization system for the main gun. There tanks between second and third generations, like Soviet T-72 which has powerful gun which would classify it as a third generation MBT but at the same time the stabilization system is much too primitive for it to a third generation MBT. It also lacks engine power to be a third generation MBT and has ammunition with less quality."

• Lamontagne, J.G. Pierre (2003). "Are the Days of the Main Battle Tank Over?" (PDF). Toronto, Ontario, Canadian Forces College. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Sewell, Stephen ‘Cookie’ (1998). "Why Three tanks? in Armor vol 108, no 4, p 21" (PDF). Fort Knox, KY US Army Armor Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-06-28. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Hunnicutt, R. P. (1984). Patton: A History of the American Main Battle Tank. ISBN 0-89141-230-1.
• Hilmes, Rolf (1983). Kampfpanzer der Die Entwickelungen der Nachkriegszeit (in German). ISBN 3-524-89001-6.