Its symbolic force is very well attuned to the requirements of peacekeeping where you don't want to kill people

Patrick Wright Tank historian

When it is eventually phased out it is likely to be superseded by a smaller, lighter vehicle, spelling the end of the 70-ton battletank, according to Maj Gen Gilchrist.

Military designers are already looking at sophisticated lightweight armour and stealth capabilities, while March 2000 saw the development of a plastic tank.

Modern tanks have played a crucial role in numerous wars, but with their large weight and size can be cumbersome and an easy target for planes.

Not obsolete

The new breed of armoured vehicle would need the same firepower and protection but would be easier to transport on planes and quicker on the field of battle.

But a spokesman for the MoD told BBC News Online that the Army's 350 Challenger II tanks are not obsolete and will continue to play a vital role until they are phased out around 2025.

"Technological development in the tank is moving towards lighter materials - by 2025, the next generation will probably take account of lighter equipment, using a lighter vehicle.

"There will be no change in the capability requirement but current technology cannot deliver it except by heavy armour.

"It is still probably one of the best tanks in the world."

Symbolic dimension

Patrick Wright, author of a cultural history of the tank, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the heavy battletank was of symbolic importance.

"People talk about it as a rational instrument of warfare but it has always had a symbolic dimension - it is a monstrous object that crawls towards you and scares you half to death.

"Its symbolic force is very well attuned to the requirements of peacekeeping where you don't want to kill people - what is better for establishing your presence than a tank on a bridge."

Like the cavalry moved from the horse to the tank ... we all move on

Brigadier Andrew Gadsby Vickers

Brigadier Andrew Gadsby, former director of the Royal Armoured Corps and marketing manager of Vickers, said the technology would change but the tank's role would remain.

"From one point of view the tank is dead - the 70-ton monster that crawled around the battlefield in a Cold War context will be replaced, but by something that brings to the battlefield the exact same characteristics.

"I don't think it is anything to do with virility symbols ... it is about capability - a mobile, agile, well-protected land platform with overwhelming firepower.

"It will probably take about 20-25 years to get there but the industry like Vickers working with Dera [Defence Evaluation and Research Agency] are starting to develop this technology.

"It will be fielded in a much smaller package so it can react to the strategic context of deployment over much greater areas than in the Cold War era.

"Like the cavalry moved from the horse to the tank, the tank crew moved from the first hulks that crossed the battlefield at Cambrai to what we have now - we all move on."