Purpose-built armored reconnaissance and scout vehicles, including tracked and wheeled combat reconnaissance designs.
Designed in Britain for Russian requirements, the twin-turret Austin family became one of Imperial Russia’s characteristic First World War armored cars and later received important Russian-built modifications.
Read the profileThe First World War Lanchester was a turreted British armored car built from the Sporting Forty chassis and used by Royal Naval Air Service units before later service with allied forces.
Read the profileA luxury-car chassis became one of Britain’s most durable early armored-car families, serving from the First World War into the interwar imperial campaigns and Second World War security duties.
Read the profileGermany’s Ehrhardt armored cars were heavy First World War reconnaissance vehicles whose later production versions also became important internal-security vehicles after the fighting ended.
Read the profileThe Soviet BA-3 and BA-6 placed a tank-style 45 mm turret on a 6×4 truck-derived armored chassis, producing unusually heavy firepower for an interwar armored car.
Read the profileThe Renault AMR 33 was a small tracked reconnaissance vehicle developed for French cavalry formations.
Read the profileThe Renault AMR 35 was a small armored reconnaissance vehicle developed for the French Cavalry.
Read the profileGermany’s light four-wheeled reconnaissance-car family combined compact armored hulls with machine-gun, autocannon, and radio-command variants for early-war reconnaissance units.
Read the profileGermany’s early eight-wheeled heavy armored cars combined high road speed, all-wheel steering, dual driving positions, and radio or fire-support variants for long-range reconnaissance.
Read the profileThe BA-10 refined the Soviet 6×4 heavy armored-car formula with better-shaped armor while retaining the 45 mm gun and the ability to fit auxiliary tracks over the rear wheels.
Read the profileThe compact Dingo combined a low silhouette, four-wheel drive, independent suspension, and a reversible transmission to become one of Britain’s most successful Second World War scout cars.
Read the profileThe Daimler Armoured Car enlarged the company’s successful scout-car engineering into a turreted 4×4 reconnaissance vehicle armed with the British 2-pounder gun.
Read the profileThe Humber family became one of Britain’s principal wartime armored cars, moving reconnaissance units from early light designs toward a reliable, mass-produced 4×4 platform.
Read the profileThe AEC Armoured Car was unusually heavy for a reconnaissance vehicle, combining a truck-derived chassis with tank-level guns that grew from 2-pounder to 6-pounder and 75 mm armament.
Read the profileThe compact 4×4 BA-64 replaced the Soviet Union’s heavy prewar armored cars with a much lighter scout vehicle based on GAZ automotive components and optimized for wartime mass production.
Read the profileDesigned in the United States but used mainly by British and Commonwealth forces, the large twin-engine Staghound combined a 37 mm gun with exceptional automotive redundancy and long-range road performance.
Read the profileThe M8 and turretless M20 gave U.S. cavalry reconnaissance units a fast six-wheeled armored family for scouting, command, liaison, and security during the Second World War.
Read the profileThe Sd.Kfz. 234 was Germany’s final wartime eight-wheeled reconnaissance family, combining a new armored chassis and diesel engine with 20 mm, 50 mm, short-75 mm, and PaK 40 armament variants.
Read the profileThe Panhard EBR used an unusual eight-wheel layout, oscillating turret, central steel wheels, and front-and-rear driving positions to give postwar French cavalry high road speed and rapid reversal.
Read the profileThe small Daimler Ferret became a signature British postwar scout car, combining compact dimensions, reliable 4×4 mobility, and a flexible family of reconnaissance and liaison variants.
Read the profileThe amphibious BRDM-1 gave Soviet reconnaissance units a purpose-built 4×4 scout vehicle with auxiliary belly wheels for crossing trenches and rough ground.
Read the profileThe six-wheeled Saladin gave British and export reconnaissance units a turreted 76 mm gun vehicle with high road speed and better direct-fire capability than the light Ferret.
Read the profileThe light Panhard AML paired a compact 4×4 chassis with multiple turret choices, most famously the 90 mm AML-90, and became one of the most widely exported French armored cars.
Read the profileThe BRDM-2 improved the Soviet amphibious scout-car concept with a rear engine, enclosed turret, 14.5 mm machine gun, better crew layout, and worldwide export service.
Read the profileThe low-silhouette tracked M114 was intended to give U.S. armored cavalry scouts and commanders a smaller reconnaissance vehicle than the M113, but mobility and reliability problems shortened its career.
Read the profileThe FV101 Scorpion was not a main battle tank. It was a compact tracked reconnaissance and fire-support vehicle, officially designated in British FV-number usage as “Combat Vehicle, Reconnaissance Tracked, 76MM Gun.
Read the profileBritain’s CVR(T) family used a common lightweight tracked chassis for reconnaissance, troop carrying, command, recovery, and antitank roles, with the existing Scorpion profile serving as the family anchor.
Read the profileThe Fox combined a light aluminum armored hull with a 30 mm RARDEN cannon, giving Britain a fast wheeled reconnaissance vehicle related in concept and turret technology to the CVR(T) family.
Read the profileThe eight-wheeled Luchs was designed for West German armored reconnaissance with extreme quietness, amphibious capability, all-wheel steering, and a second driver position for rapid withdrawal.
Read the profileThe six-wheeled ERC-90 Sagaie gave French expeditionary forces a lighter, air-transportable 90 mm reconnaissance vehicle for operations where the larger AMX-10RC was less practical.
Read the profileThe six-wheeled AMX-10RC combined a 105 mm gun, high road mobility, reconnaissance sensors, and later protection upgrades to serve as France’s principal heavy wheeled reconnaissance vehicle for decades.
Read the profileThe eight-wheeled LAV-25 family gave the U.S. Marine Corps a fast, amphibious reconnaissance vehicle armed with the M242 25 mm cannon and supported by several mission-role variants.
Read the profileJapan’s Type 87 RCV is a six-wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicle armed with a 25 mm autocannon and designed for rapid road movement, surveillance, and flank-security missions.
Read the profileThe eight-wheeled Rooikat was created for long-range South African reconnaissance, combining exceptional road and cross-country mobility with a stabilized 76 mm gun and later modernization.
Read the profileThe tiny tracked Wiesel family gives German airborne and light forces an air-transportable armored weapons carrier that can support reconnaissance, antitank, cannon, mortar, air-defense, and medical roles.
Read the profileFrance’s small VBL gives armored-cavalry scouts a low-profile protected vehicle for observation, liaison, antitank, and tactical-intelligence tasks alongside heavier reconnaissance systems.
Read the profileThe M1127 adapts the eight-wheeled Stryker platform for reconnaissance and surveillance teams, emphasizing sensors, communications, and protected mobility within Stryker formations.
Read the profileThe low-profile Fennek centers reconnaissance on sensors, communications, acoustic discretion, and long endurance rather than a large turret or heavy gun.
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