Smoothbore

[Captndan]

I read that today's tanks have smoothbore cannons. Why? What are the projectiles?

 

[Magungo1066]

I think your post will get removed because it regards modern stuff but I will answer anyway! Our tanks today are made to shoot endless counts of different projectiles, many of which would not be compatible with rifling. Ie. Small "missiles"/guided shells. Some of the super high velocity anti tank rounds that these guns use are sub bore size, and are sabots that are stabilized in flight by fins. Thus, rifling is not conducive to being able to fire this many varied types of munitions. With modern techniques incorporated to stabilize shells in flight, the rifling has become largely redundant. With a smoothbore, the barrel is actually more accurate at long ranges with the ultra high velocity anti-armor shells now used. These things are encased sabots propelled incredibly fast that penetrate the armor in a tank like a big needle. These shells are not overly powered in the explosive department, and rely on the kinetic energy of their velocity to cause mayhem inside. Hope this helped! I am no expert but I love learning about modern projectiles specifically. Like I said I am sure this post will be moved but I figured I would help out with your question!