AAV7A1 (formerly LVTP-7A1)
The US Marine Corps AAV7A1 is a full-tracked, amphibian vehicle, providing an over-the-beach capability for landing troops and material through surf up to 10 feet high. The Marine Corps has often employed the AAV7A1 as an armored personnel carrier, although the vehicle has a high silhouette for this role and was not originally intended to move far inland from its assault beach.
Its mission dictates the AAV’s bulk and unusual shape; the vehicle is taller and
AAV7A1
FMC CORPORATION
wider than any other APC. The bow is an upturned snout extending well forward of the tracks. Below the nose, die hull flares out in sponsons. This forward section of the hull houses the transmission and engine. The driver and commander are located to the left of the engine compartment, the gunner to the right in a slightly elevated weapons station. Farther aft, the crew compartment can hold 25 troops in three rows; the compartment’s upper sides are sloped toward the cen-terline.
Propulsion is by tracks on land, twin water jets in the water. Afloat, the AAV is steered by a deflector’s stream at the rear of each waterjet. Secondary track propulsion can be reverted to if necessary.
VARIANTS •
90 AAVC7A1 command, 61 AAVR7A1 recovery with crane.
DEVELOPMENT •
The LVTP-7 was built by FMC Corp. (Ordnance Division) of San Jose, California, and achieved its initial operational capability in 1972. Production of the LVTP-7 ended in 1974 after 942 had been built. Conversion of LVTP-7s to LVTP-7Als
(AAV7A1) came under a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) with an initial operational capability for the LVTP-7A1 in 1982. The SLEP saw the Detroit Diesel powerplant replaced by the Cummins engine, a suspension upgrade, fully electric drive for the weapons station, new ventilation system, built-in test equipment, better night vision devices, secure voice radio equipment. The program was completed in 1986 after a total of984 vehicles were modified. The production line was later reopened to produce an additional 333 new AAV7Als for the Maritime Prep-positioning Ships (MPS); first deliveries were made in October 1983.
Under a late-1980s Product Improvement Program (PIP), most AAWs have been refitted with an “upgunned” weapons station carrying a 40-mm automatic grenade launcher and a 12.7-mm in new, all-electric turret. Another improvement is the Applique Armor Kit (AAK), consisting of two layers of corrosion-treated steel fastened to the hull sides. In addition, a bow plane has been added to improve water speed and safety, an Automatic Fire Sensing and Suppression System (AFSSS), and an improved transmission with double the reliability of the current transmission assembly.
Eight other countries operate the
LVTP7 or AAV7. Many have been upgraded.
COMBAT EXPERIENCE •
AAVVs landed Marines on Grenada in October 1983.
The AAVVs were among the first armored vehicles to be landed in Saudi Arabia after Iraq’s August 1990 invasion and annexation of Kuwait. By the beginning of the Operation Desert Storm ground war in February 1991, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) had 225 AAV7s ashore. Another 115 were embarked in 31 landing ships in the northern Persian Gulf. The shore-based AAV7s served as one of two principal
types of Marine Corps APCs (the LAV-25
being the other) during the drive to Kuwait City.
SPECIFICATIONS •
CREW 3 (commander, gunner, driver)
+ 25 troops COMBAT WEIGHT 52,770 lb (23,936 kg)
ground pressure
7.82 Ib/in* (0.55 kg/
cm2)
DIMENSIONS
hull length 26 ft (7.94 m)
width 10 ft 9 in (3.27 m)
height 10 ft 8 in (3.26 m)
ground clearance
16 in (410mm) freeboard to driver’s hatch
2 ft 3 in (0.85 m) length of track on ground
12 ft 11 in (3.94m) track width 21 in (530 mm) MAIN ARMAMENT 40-mm grenade launcher with 100 ready rounds, 12.7mm machine gun with 200 rounds elevation -8°/+45°, 360° traverse SENSORS AND FIRE CONTROL infrared driving lights, passive night driving system, passive night firing system ARMOR 30-45-mm hull armor, 6.7212.7 mm on rear ramps POWERPLANT Cummins VT-400 400-hp water-cooled turbocharged 4-stroke
V-8 diesel, FMC Corp. HS-400-3A1 hydraulic lock-up torque converter with 4 forward/2 reverse ratios power-to-weight ratio
17.31 hp/metric ton
SUSPENSION (EACH SIDE) tube-over-torsion bar, 6 road wheels, front drive, rear idler, 2 shock absorbers, no return rollers
SPEED road 45 mph (72.5 km/h), cruising speed 20-30 mph (12.5-18.6 km/h), 8 mph (13 km/h) with 2 hy-drojets, 4.5 mph (7.2 km/h) track-driven, road range 300 miles (482 km) at 25 mph (40 km/h), water range 7 hr
OBSTACLE CLEARANCE vertical 3 ft (0.91 m), gradient 60%, side slope 40%, trench 8 ft (2.44 m)
LAV-25 Bison (in Canadian service)
Based on the Swiss MOWAG Piranha, the 8 X 8-wheeled LAV-25 was developed specifically for US Marine Corps use as an air-portable APC and reconnaissance vehicle. It has been built in several versions.
The LAV-25 has sloping hull sides and a severely sloped glacis; the four wheels on
each side have no skirts or fenders. The driver sits at the front left of the hull with the engine to his right. The troop compartment is at the rear of the hull, with entry and exit through two rear doors that open outward. Two outward-opening roof hatches are located in the rear hull. The two-man, fully stabilized turret has an M242 25-mm Chain Gun.
VARIANTS •
Canadian LAV-APC Bison, 96 LAV-AT Antitank with TOW, 50 LAV-M Mortar Carrier, LAV-AD Air Defense Vehicle with FIM-92 Stingers and GAU/12
5-barrel 25-mm Catling cannon, LAV-AG Assault Gun Vehicle/LAV-105 with Benet EX-35 105-mm gun, 50 LAV-CC Command and Control, 94 LAV-L Logistics vehicles, 46 LAV-R Maintenance and Recovery Vehicle, 20 USAF MARV Mobile Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle, LAV-MEWSS (Mobile Electronic Warfare Support System).
DEVELOPMENT •
After a competition, contract awarded to General Motors of Canada, Ltd., in London, Ontario, in September 1982. The vehicle achieved initial operational capability in 1984. A total of 758 were delivered to the USMC.
Other services using variants of the LAV-25 are the Australian Army, the Canadian Force’s Ground Command, and Saudi Arabia’s Army and National Guard.
COMBAT EXPERIENCE •
The LAVwas deployed on European exercises for the first time during “Teamwork 88″ in northern Norway.
In operations in Panama beginning in May 1989, the wheeled LAVs proved versatile enough to travel on roads when tracked vehicles would do too much damage to the pavement or in water, often swimming across the canal to evade Panama Defense Force (PDF) surveillance. They also proved useful in breaking up barricades, often by using the LAV-Ls to pull them apart.
During the December 1989 Operation
Just Cause—the actual military ouster of General Noriega—Marine Corps LAVs were used to take several positions, including the headquarters of the PDF. After the military operation, the LAVs were used to back up the successor government, often serving as a focal point for “nation-building” activities in small towns.
Marine Corps LAVs began landing in Saudi Arabia from Maritime Preposition-ing Ships (MPS) within days after the US decision to begin Operation Desert Shield in August 1990. By the start of Desert Storm’s ground war in February 1991, 372 were in the theater (193
LAV-25,54 LAV-AT, 30 LAV-CC, 47 LAV-L, 26 LAV-M, and 22 LAV-R).
The LAV’s strengths proved to be its dependability and speed. (The DoD’s April 1992 summary was “flexible, responsive, and adaptable.”) The vehicle’s speed allowed units to flank fixed positions and evade superior forces. Although several LAV crews did score TOW missile hits on Iraqi tanks, the LAV did not seek out enemy armor.
The LAV-25′s inherent weakness is its light armor. Ironically, the worst LAV casualties came three weeks before the ground war, when an Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt accidentally fired an AGM-65 Maverick at an LAV, killing seven of the eight men inside.
When the ground offensive began, the LAV’s passive day/night sight proved inadequate. It required too much ambient light to be useful at night and was unable to penetrate the sand and oil-smoke fog that shrouded much of the battlefield.
After Desert Storm, one LAV commander contended that light armored infantry units often were not fully exploited because of a lack of understanding of the unit’s reconnaissance capabilities. He also suggested upgrades to the LAV-25 including (among others) a thermal imaging sight for the 25-mm gun, redesign of the machine gun mount, and a redesign of the internal communications system in the basic vehicle to keep the scouts in the picture and in the C2 vehicle to permit staff-only conferences (to avoid confusing the driver).
SPECIFICATIONS •
CREW 3 (commander, gunner, driver)
+ 6 troops COMBAT WEIGHT 28,200 lb (12,791 kg)
DIMENSIONS
hull length 21 ft (6.39 m)
width 8 ft 2 in (2.5 m)
height 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
distance between axles
1st to 2nd 3 ft 7 in (1.1 m), 2nd to 3rd 4 ft 5 in (1.35m), 3rd to 4th 3
ft 5 in (1.04m)
ground clearance
20 in (508 mm) MAIN ARMAMENT 25-mm M242 Chain Gun with 210 ready rounds, 420 stowed
elevation -10°/ + 60° at 25%ec,
traverse 360° at 25%ec SECONDARY WEAPONS 7.62-mm M240 coaxial machine gun, pintle mount for 7.62-mm machine gun, 4,050 stowed rounds of 5.56-mm rifle ammunition SENSORS AND FIRE CONTROL M36E1 day/passive night vision sight for commander and gunner ARMOR ballistic protection against
small arms and shell fragments POWERPLANT GM Detroit Diesel 6V-53T 275-hp liquid-cooled 2-stroke V-6 turbocharged diesel engine, Allison MT-653 DR automatic transmission with 5 for ward/1 reverse gears power-to-weight ratio
21.5 hp/metric ton SUSPENSION (EACH SIDE)
8X8 (8-wheel drive, front 4 steering) ; 4-wheel drive may be selected fully independent coil springs, twin shock absorbers on front 2 axles, trailing arm torsion bar on rear 2 axles
SPEED 62 mph (100 km/h), 6.2 mph
(10 km/h) in the water with 2 propellers, range 410 mi (660 km) OBSTACLE CLEARANCE vertical 1 ft 8 in (0.5 m), gradient 70%, trench 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
V-300 Commando
The Commando V-300 6 X 6-wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) is a development of the earlier Commando V-150 4×4 armored reconnaissance vehicle, but is a larger vehicle similar to several models produced in Europe. A full glacis plate, second rear axle, and a wider range of turret options (from 7.62mm machine guns to 90-mm cannon) are the principal changes. Despite its much greater gun power, the V-300 is still only lightly armored and has less crosscountry mobility than tracked APCs.
The V-300 has a sloping frontal glacis plate and sloping sides. The turret is mounted toward the rear of the vehicle. The troop compartment is also in the rear; access is through two rear doors and two roof hatches.
Turret armaments range from 7.62- or 12.7-mm machine guns, through 20- or 25-mm automatic cannon, to the 76- or 90-mm gun. A retractable TOW antitank missile launcher with two missiles can also be fitted. The 90-mm Cockerill gun has a triple-baffle muzzle brake. A V-600, which featured a Cadillac Gage turret mounting the L7A1 105-mm/51-cal Low Recoil Force rifled tank gun ran trials but was not procured.
VARIANTS •
APC, 81-mm mortar vehicle, recovery vehicle, ambulance.
DEVELOPMENT •
Manufactured by Cadillac Gage, Warren, Michigan, achieving initial operational capability in 1983. Production has been limited, with Kuwait and Panama being the only buyers until early 1993, when the Philippines contracted for 24 through Foreign Military Sales. The Panamanian V-300 roster in-eludes vehicles fitted with the Belgian Cockerill Mk 3 90-mm gun, APCs with two 7.62-mm machine guns, and armored recovery vehicles.
COMBAT EXPERIENCE •
When Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, very few of Kuwait’s V-300s appear to have escaped.
SPECIFICATIONS •
CREW 3 (commander, gunner, driver)
+ 9-10 troops COMBAT WEIGHT 32,000 lb (14,515 kg) DIMENSIONS
hull length 21 ft (6.4 m) width 8 ft 4 in (2.54 m)
height 6 ft 6 in (1.98m) distance between axles
1st to 2nd 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m), 2nd to 3rd 5 ft (1.52m) ground clearance
14 in (356 mm) MAIN ARMAMENT Cockerill Mk 3 90-mm/36-cal rifled gun with 39 rounds of ammunition
elevation – 8°/ + 28°, traverse 360° SECONDARY WEAPONS 7.62-mm coaxial machine gun with 400 rounds, 7.62mm antiaircraft machine gun with 200 rounds
SENSORS AND FIRE CONTROL 8-pOWCr
monocular sight and 1-power periscope for gunner, 3 vision blocks for commander
ARMOR CADLOY ballistic steel plate, proof against 7.62-mm ball ammunition (vision blocks and periscopes hardened to same level)
POWERPLANT Cummins VT-504 270-hp liquid-cooled turbocharged V-8 diesel engine, Allison MT-643 automatic transmission with 4 forward/1 reverse gears
power-to-weight ratio
18.60 hp/metric ton
SUSPENSION
6×6(6 wheels driving, 2 wheels steering)
front axle has solid beam on trailing arms; coil springs, 2 telescoping shock absorbers, and antisway bars on each wheel
rear axles have independent trailing arm with coil springs and 1 shock absorber
SPEED 92 mph (57 km/h), water 3 mph (5 km/h) driven by wheels, range 435 mi (700 km)
OBSTACLE CLEARANCE vertical 2 ft
(0.61 m), gradient 60%, side slope 30%, amphibious
M113
The US Ml 13 Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) is the most widely used of all non-Soviet APCs. Its hull and powertrain have been the basis for a great variety of battlefield vehicles, some modifications representing functional changes and others differences in locally available weapons, powerplants, or sensors.
In configuration, the Ml 13 is a slimmed-down version of the earlier M59. The boxy hull is welded aluminum with a steeply sloped glacis and flat top. Although there is a roof hatch, troops enter the compartment on a lowered rear ramp. There are no firing ports or vision blocks.
In February 1987, the General Accounting Office contended that an Ml 13A3 would be as mobile as the newer M2 Bradley and would be less likely to explode because of the less volatile ammunition it carries. Rebuttals to the report noted that the Ml 13 was not as well armed or as easy for infantry to dismount from as the Bradley. US experience in Operation Desert Storm suggests that the Bradley’s thermal sights and 25-mm Chain Gun, which the M113A3 does not have, were critical elements in the M2′s success.
VARIANTS •
Ml 13 gasoline-powered APC derived from T113E1, M113A1
diesel-powered production model
(25,459 produced), M113A2 (1978),
M113A3 (1987).
M106 (107-mm), M125 (81-mm), M1064 (120-mm) mortar carriers.
Canadian M113A2s fitted with the Air Defense, Antitank System (ADATS) missile launcher.
M548 cargo carrier, M577 series command post, Ml068 Standard Integrated
Command Post Systems (SICPS). M901 Improved TOW Vehicle (ITV)
with two TOW antitank missiles.
M981 Fire Support Vehicle (FSV) with
laser designator in erectable “hammerhead” mount.
Ml 015 Electronic Warfare (EW) systems carrier.
Ml 059 Smoke Generator Carrier.
DEVELOPMENT •
Production began in
1959, with the Ml 13 achieving initial operational capability in 1959, M113A1 in 1965. More than 78,000 were produced
for over 50 countries by FMC Corp. of San Jose, California, with license production by OTO Melara of Italy and Thyssen-Henschel of Germany, with Pakistan assembly of 775 M113A2s beginning in
1990.
Known as the Zelda in Israeli service.
COMBAT EXPERIENCE •
Ml 13s were widely deployed in several versions, including the basic APC, with US, Vietnamese, Australian, and South Korean units in Vietnam. Experiments with camouflage and firing ports (to allow firing under cover) were short-lived and unsuccessful. A bridgelayer conversion, on the other hand, improved unit mobility in the marshes and defiles. Ml 13s have also seen extensive service in several Israeli-Arab conflicts.
M901 ITVs, M981 FIST-Vs, and M577 command vehicles were deployed in US Army units in Saudi Arabia during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
The M577s and the M981 FSVs were slowed down by the sand and proved to be the vehicles that most limited the tracked artillery’s speed of maneuver and prevented greater use of Copperhead laser-guided projectiles. (The most effective laser platform was the OH-58D Kiowa AHIP helicopter.)
In fact, the M981 was the most severely criticized of all US military systems for its sluggishness in the sand, the need to be stationary to operate its “hammerhead,” and its inferior optics, which often didn’t see targets being engaged by M1A1 Abrams tank and M2/ M3 Bradley fighting vehicles. In addition, having to orient the FIST-V’s NSG added eight to 10 minutes to the time needed to provide targeting information, which was far too long in a fluid battlefield.
Saudi Arabian, Kuwaiti, and Egyptian Ml 13s also participated in the ground war. None of the 50 M901 ITVs captured
in Kuwait by the Iraqi Army took any part in the ground war.
A US M577 was accidentally struck by an AGM-114 Hellfire missile a week before the ground war began; several soldiers were wounded.
SPECIFICATIONS •
CREW 2 (commander, driver) + 11 troops
WEIGHT
M113A2: 24,986 Ib (11,334 kg)
M113A3: 27,180 Ib (12,339 kg)
ground pressure
M113A2:7.961b/in2
(0.56 kg/cm2) M113A3:8.571b/in2
(0.60 kg/cm2)
DIMENSIONS
hull length M113A2: 15 ft 11 in (4.86 m)
M113A3: 17 ft 5 in (5.30 m)
width 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)
height with air defense machine gun 8 ft 3 in (2.52 m)
M113A3
FMC CORPORATION
length of track on ground
8 ft 9 in (2.67 m) ground clearance
17 in (430 mm) track width 15 in (380 mm) MAIN ARMAMENT 12.7-mm M2 HB machine gun with 2,000 rounds pintle-mounted at commander’s hatch (M113A3 has armored gun shield)
elevation -217+53°, traverse 360° ARMOR 5083 aluminum hull (12-38 mm), antimine applique armor on the bottom
POWERPLANT Detroit Diesel model 6V53 215-hp (M113A2) or 6V53T 275-hp (M113A3) water-cooled 2-stroke V-6 diesel engine; M113A2 Allison TX-100-1 crossdrive transmission with 3 forward/1 reverse gears; M113A3
TX-200-4 hydrokinetic crossdrive transmission with 4 forward/1 reverse gears
power-to-weight ratio at combat weight
M113A2 18.51 hp/metric ton; Ml 13A3 22.45 hp/
metric ton
SUSPENSION (EACH SIDE) torsion bar, 5 road wheels, front drive, rear idler, 2 shock absorbers, no return rollers
SPEED road M113A2 38 mph (61 km/ h), M113A3 41 mph (65 km/h), cross-country (at 26,500 lb/12,020
kg), M113A1/A2 16.8 mph (27 km/ h), M113A3 22 mph (35.4 km/h);
3.6 mph (5.8 km/h) in water, acceleration 0-20 mph (0-32 km/h) at 26,500 lb (12,020 kg) M113A1/A2 11
sec, M113A3 9 sec
RANGE Ml 13A2 300 mi (483 km); M113A3309mi (497km)
OBSTACLE CLEARANCE vertical 2 ft (0.61 m), gradient 60%, side slope 30%, trench 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m), amphibious Mil 3A2
M2Bradley
The Bradley Mechanized Infantry Fighting Vehicle (MICV) supplements and will eventually replace the Ml 13 Armored Personnel Carrier (APC). The Bradley reflects the 1970s worldwide move away from a troop “battle taxi” to a more flexible vehicle with better self-defense capabilities. The M3 Cavalry Fighting Vehicle (CFV) variant is virtually identical, except for the lack of firing ports and vision blocks in the hull and more stowed TOW antitank missile rounds.
The Bradley has been a controversial design, criticized at first for being vulner-
able to small-arms fire and liable to catch fire. It was also said to be less mobile than the Ml 13. In Operation Desert Storm, however, Bradleys proved very reliable and were far better at keeping up with and actively supporting the Ml Abrams tank during the ground war of 1991 ‘s Operation Desert Storm than were vehicles based on the M113.
Viewed from above, the Bradley reveals its asymmetrical hull layout; the left side of the hull has a continuous in-sloping upper section while the right is broken by the engine compartment and ventilator grille. Before the M2A2 variant, the hull was shielded by spaced laminate armor; the M2A2 has steel armor. The engine is located in the front of the vehicle. The driver’s position is to the engine’s left and is covered by a low domed hatch with vision ports.
Behind the engine and driver is the TOW-Bushmaster Armored Turret (TBAT-II), which mounts a 25-mm M242
M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle
FMC CORPORATION
Chain Gun and a twin TOW antitank missile launcher. The gunner (on the left) has an integrated day/night sight with 4- and 12-power magnification and a thermal Imaging Infrared (IIR) device; the station also has a 5-power auxiliary sight with a 10° field of view. The commander (on the right) has a direct optical relay from the gunner’s sight. Six troops ride in the rear compartment.
Some M2s are fitted with Stinger short-range SAMs to replace the elderly Ml63 Vulcan Catling gun vehicles.
VARIANTS • M2 (2,300 produced), M2A1 (1,400 vehicles) with TOW 2 missiles, M2A2 with improved protection, suspension, more powerful engine. FM2 was ad hoc fire support vehicle created during Operation Desert Storm. M2A3 projected for 1990s but not produced.
Ml070 Electronic Fighting Vehicle System (EFVS).
DEVELOPMENT •
An operational requirement (OR) for an Ml 13 replacement was issued in 1964, but trials were unsatisfactory. 1970 OR led to 1973 selection of FMC, trials in 1975. Produced by FMC Ground Systems Division (later United Defense) in San Jose, California, the M2 achieving initial operational capability in 1983.
In April 1990, the Army reduced its requirement for 8,811 Bradleys to 6,882, with last delivery in December 1994.
COMBAT EXPERIENCE •
Approximately 2,200 Bradleys were deployed to Saudi Arabia in the vehicle’s first combat test. By the beginning of the ground war in February 1991, 33% of the force were
Als, 48%wereA2s.
When the ground war began, the Bradleys proved reliable, effective, and highly mobile, according to Army reports. Vehicle commanders were pleased with the effect of the 600-hp engine on performance and welcomed the steel applique armor. Crewmen felt that the Bradley needed a faster reverse gear to stay with the Abrams in all-azimuth fire-fights. In addition, the 25-mm Chain Gun, TOW launcher, and thermal sights were invaluable to the success of the Bradley/MlAl Abrams armored sweeps.
The Bushmaster cannon was very effective against many types of soft and light armored targets. Nevertheless, some Army analysts suggested that the main gun be upgraded to 30- or 35-mm. The gunner’s thermal sighting system was effective in near-zero visibility and permitted TOW missile firings at targets only the Bradley gunner could see. Only three Bradleys were reported destroyed by hostile fire; 17 more were destroyed by “friendly fire.” According to the Army, the antispall liners and applique armor limited secondary damage and injury even when the vehicle was hit by a tank gun round. A Bradley was stopped when a 12.7-mm machine-gun round penetrated the hull and damaged the front transmission.
SPECIFICATIONS (M2A2) •
CREW 3 (commander, gunner, driver)
+ 6 (2 in M3 CFV) troops WEIGHT M2A2 with armor kit 66,000 Ib
(29,937 kg)
ground pressure
10.20 lb/in2 (0.72 kg/ cm2)
DIMENSIONS
hull length 21 ft 6 in (6.55 m) width ‘ lift 10 in (3.61 m)
height 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)
length of track on ground
12 ft 10 in (3.91 m)
ground clearance
18 in (457 mm)
track width 21 in (533 mm) MAIN ARMAMENT 25-mm/81.3-cal M242
Chain Gun with 300 ready rounds,
600 (1,200 in M3 CFV) reserve
rounds
elevation -10°/+60°, traverse 360° antitank missile
2 X TOW antitank
missile launchers, 5 missiles in reserve (10 in M3 CFV) elevation -20°/+30°, traverses with turret
SECONDARY WEAPONS 7.62-mm M240C coaxial machine gun with 800 ready rounds, 1,400 (3,400 in M3 CFV) reserve rounds
SENSORS AND FIRE CONTROL Integrated thermal imaging day/night sight with scan at 4-power, aiming at 12-power, AN/WS-2 driver’s night vision viewer with 38° X 45° field of view
ARMOR 5083 series aluminum covered by homogeneous steel plating to resist 30-mm ammunition, Du Pont Kevlar spall liner, attachment points for reactive armor tiles
POWERPLANT Cummins VTA-903T 600-hp liquid-cooled 4-stroke turbo-charged V-8 diesel engine, General Motors HMPT-500 hydromechanical transmission with 3 forward/1 reverse ranges power-to-weight ratio without armor kit 22.04 hp/metric ton, with armor kit 20.04 hp/ metric ton SUSPENSION (EACH SIDE) torsion bar, 6 road wheels, front drive, rear idler, 4 shock absorbers (14-in/365-mm wheel travel), 3 return rollers SPEED 42 mph (68 km/h), 5 mph (7.2 km/h) in water with tracks, range 300 mi (483 km) OBSTACLE CLEARANCE vertical 3 ft (0.91 m), gradient 60%, side slope 40%, trench 8 ft 4 in (2.54 m), amphibious YPR765 Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle (AIFV)
The Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle (AIFV) is a modified Ml 13 Armored Personnel Carrier (APC). The AIFV is also the basis for the 1,700-vehicle Turkish Armored Combat Vehicle (ACV) program. The design has been praised for its combination of effective gun armament, proven Ml 13 components, and good cross-country mobility.
Principal differences from the Ml 13 are the shape of the after hull, hull construction, and main armament. Spaced laminate steel armor is bolted over the standard aluminum hull sides and rear and forms the collars for the gunner’s hatch and turret.
Main armament varies; several hundred of the Dutch AIFVs (and 75 of the Turkish ACVs) carry an Oerlikon 25-mm KBA automatic cannon in a boxy turret designed by FMC. The KBA 25-mm gun fires High-Explosive Incendiary with Tracer (HEI-T) and Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot with Tracer (APDS-T) projectiles. After a Swiss-imposed embargo on supplying the KBA to Turkey, the remaining 575 ACVs have been fitted with the GIAT DRAGAR turret—60 with the McDonnell Douglas M242 25-mm Chain Gun, 515 with GIAT’s M811 25-mm cannon.
VARIANTS •
Several Dutch YPR765 variants—cargo carriers, command vehicles, mortar carriers, radar carrier, recovery vehicle, TOW antitank missile carrier—are fitted with the standard Ml 13 cupola mounting a 12.7-mm M2 HB machine gun. The ambulance is unarmed. Belgian variants are similar.
Turkish ACV family includes IFV, TOW 2, and mortar carriers.
DEVELOPMENT •
Although failing to meet Army’s 1970 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle (MICV) requirement, other countries procured the AIFV, and over 2,000 have been built. Initial operational capability achieved in the Netherlands in 1978, Belgium in 1985. Dutch and Philippine vehicles manufactured by FMC Corp., San Jose, California; Belgian vehicles (AIFV-B) manufactured under license by Belgium Mechanical Fabrication, Grace-Hollogne, Belgium.
Turkish Defence Industry Development and Support Administration
(DIDA) contracted with FMC/Nurol Insaat to build 1,698 vehicles for the Turkish Army. Nurol’s Golbasi factory began delivering vehicles in 1991. Turret production manufactured in cooperation with Makina ve Kimya Endustrisi Kurunu (MKEK) in Ankara.
SPECIFICATIONS •
CREW 3 (commander, driver, gunner)
4- 7 troops COMBAT WEIGHT 30,174 lb (13,687 kg)
ground pressure
9.53 lb/in2 (0.67 kg/ cm*)
DIMENSIONS
hull length 17 ft 3 in (5.26 m)
extreme width
9 ft 3 in (2.82 m)
overall height
9 ft 2 in (2.79 m)
length of track on ground
8 ft 9 in (2.67 m)
ground clearance
17 in (432mm)
track width 15 in (381 mm)
MAIN ARMAMENT
YPR765/first 75 ACV: 25-mm
Oerlikon KBA-B02 cannon with 180
ready rounds, 144 in reserve
elevation: -10°/+50°,
traverse 360° secondary weapon: 7.62 coaxial machine gun with 230 ready rounds, 1,610 in reserve
Turkish ACV: 25 mm/86-cal GIAT M811 with 220 rounds
elevation: -10°/+45°,
traverse 360° secondary weapon: 7.62mm coaxial machine gun with 400 rounds; 5 firing ports in hull sides and rear
SENSORS AND FIRE CONTROL telescopic sights, optional integral night sight; Turkish IFVs have Cadillac Gage gun control equipment and Marconi Command and Control Systems thermal imager vehicle sight; Texas Instruments thermal sights being supplied to 650 vehicles
ARMOR aluminum alloy with spaced laminate steel bolted to sides and rear
POWERPLANT Detroit Diesel Allison 6V-53T 264-hp water-cooled turbo-charged 2-stroke V-6 diesel engine, Allison TX-100-1A automatic transmission with 3 forward/1 reverse gears power-to-weight ratio
19.29 hp/metric ton SUSPENSION (EACH SIDE) tube-over-
torsion bar, 5 road wheels, front
driver, rear idler, 3 shock absorbers,
no return rollers SPEED 38 mph (61.2km/h),up 10%
grade 17.5 mph (28.2 km/h), 4 mph
(6.5 km/h) in water with tracks,
range 305 mi (490 km)
OBSTACLE CLEARANCE vertical 2 ft 1 in (0.64 m), gradient 60%, side slope 30%, trench 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m), amphibious
