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The Chieftain has been compared, inevitably, with the French AMX-30, the West German Leopard, and the US M60A1. All these tanks have speed and mobility superior to the Chieftain and are lighter in weight. They also have the 105 mm gun and are inferior to the Chieftain in firepower and armour. Whether mobility or firepower will be the most crucial to top quality in any European major war has yet to be put to the test, but the pace of the technology in armoured warfare is relentless. The Soviets have made big progress with fin-established ammunition (in their T-62 and new T-72 battle tanks) and the Israeli-Arab "Yom Kippur" war of October, 1973 showed for the first time that the main battle tank was very vulnerable to tactical anti-tank missiles skilfully employed. It may be, therefore, that the Chieftain could be the last of the traditional type of tank in the form in which it has been accepted for many years past. Whatever the future, however, Chieftain remains an exciting and powerful fighting vehicle. It has been ordered by the Iranian Army and has interested many others, though the great expense of one of these vehicles limits their availability.
