In 1980, the Soviet Empire still remained the enemy of the day for America and her allies. As such, World War 3 would most likely focus in Europe and, like World War 2, rely heavily on mass armor formations fighting for control of key positions. Despite the advent of nuclear weapons, it would most likely remain a conventional war fought with conventional equipment utilizing the latest in technologies. One key ingredient in such a conflict would be rapid response and fluid mobility of forward operating forces and, to this end, the US Army sought to field a lightweight tank that was air-transportable and made ready within minutes of disembarking. This gave rise to the Rapid Deployment Force/Light Tank (RDF/LT) specification requirement of 1980.



In response, AAI Corporation began private development of a light tank hopeful of US Army interest. The initial 14.5-ton (Short) pilot vehicle was given a 76mm main gun in a two-man turret with a complete crew of three - a driver in the front hull and commander and gunner in the compact turret assembly. The main gun sported a double-baffled muzzle brake while 76mm shells were housed at the floor at the front-right of the hull. The engine was situated conventionally at the rear of the design. AAI also developed a modular powerpack arrangement in which repair/replacement could be quickly made through use of extendable rails at the engine compartment - providing the needed access. This prototype was the first of several related prototype vehicles intended for the RDF/LT requirement.



A subsequent prototype featured the all-new, in-house-designed, high-velocity 75mm M32 cannon which utilized "caseless" ammunition along with burst firing. The caseless aspect allowed single-piece ammunition to be used and spent casings could be ejected from the hull to avoid build-up. The burst-firing quality was born of the thinking that the gun would ensure proper penetration of all existing Soviet armor by landing (in succession) five 75mm projectiles in a single area. AAI also promoted the M32 as a dual-purpose gun in that, when elevated, the system could be used to counter low-flying aircraft as in a self-propelled Anti-Aircraft (AA) system.



It was this second pilot vehicle that was then evolved to appear in three distinct forms all, centering around the rapid-fire 75mm gun. The first vehicle was crewed by three through a two-man turret while the second broke free of this design initiative and was completed with an unmanned turret, the (now-reduced) crew of two residing in the hull in a side-by-side seating arrangement. Each position was granted an access hatch with accompanying vision blocks. This allowed not only allowed for a lower profile and compact design but also lightened overall weight to an extent. The third proposed firm was similar in most respects to the second with the exception of the twin four-shot Stinger surface-to-air, short-ranged missile systems added to either side of the main gun to further strengthen the tank in the anti-aircraft role.



AAI designed their RDF/LT to compete with the latest light tank offerings and promoted a firing-on-the-move capability, high mobility (with low profile), some amphibious capability and a high velocity main gun firing fin-stabilized projectiles. Additionally, portability was key to the vehicle and two units could be stowed (in tandem) within the fuselage of a single Lockheed C-130H Hercules transport.