 The vehicle was to provide for a flexible strategic response to conflicts around the vestiges of the Empire.Despite the low intensity of such conflicts, it was assumed that the increasing supply of Soviet T-54 tanks to satellite states would require an anti-tank capability greater than previous light tanks.This was "not" seen as a substitute for a main battle tank, which would have to be heavily armed to deal with the massed and thickly armoured Soviet tanks of the Cold War.