Monday, May 26, 2014

BTR-60 Fire Rescue HEMUS 2014

BTR-60 SUV??

Bulgarian IVAILO Company's
BTR60 from HEMUS 2014

Many thanks to Tony Norrish for the images.


This vehicle is being exhibited in HEMUS 2014, Bulgarian Defense Show in Plovdiv today.

The company creating this cool vehicle is IAVILO.

Look like the SUV version of the BTR60, the old Cold War Warrior...



This strange offspring of the BTR60's purpose remains to be seen, but we will get more details soon. My initial understanding is a fire rescue vehicle.

For now here are some more images:











Friday, May 23, 2014

RG35MIV BAE

RG35 MIV
Motorised Infantry Vehicle
 RG35 MIV
BAE Systems South Africa, formerly Land Systems OMC, South Africa has unveiled a new variant of their RG35 4x4 vehicle. This new vehicle is called RG35 MIV - Motorised Infantry Vehicle- which is a strange description for a 4x4 armored vehicle.
The former RG35 RPU (Reconnaissance, Patrol, Utility) -shown below- was unveiled in 2009 and was a contester in the Canadian Army's 4x4 TAPV programme that was won by Textron. The RG35 RPU is an 18 ton 4x4.

RG35 RPU


 RG35 MIV has a Gross Weight of 21tons, which is quite high for  a 4x4 vehicle. This weight is supported by the large 16R20 tires which are mainly used for vehicles in the 8x8 class.
The dimensions are given below:

RG35MIV is powered by a Cummins diesel engine with either 450HP or 600HP output. I would go with the 600HP option for the maximum weight of 21tons to provide best HP/ton ratio.

The vehicle in the APC configuration can carry a 10 men crew including driver and commander.

The thing that got me most is the large windscreen instead of periscopes. It will certainly provide a very good situational awereness for the driver and the commander sitting side-by-side. The amazing thing is the windscreen having ballistic protection against 14.5mm heavy machine gun rounds satisfying STANAG 4569 LvL4.

Speaking of protection, RG35MIV is protected against blasts of 10kg TNT under tires and 8kg TNT under the belly.



Monday, May 12, 2014

World War I and Tanks

Birth of the Tank



It was called the War to end all wars

The Great War was a struggle between Europe's great powers, which were grouped into two hostile alliances.

The number of men mobilized by both sides: the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey), and the Allied Powers (Britain and Empire, France, Belgium, Russia, Italy, USA), totaled over 65 million.

When the fighting was finally over, no-one could tell exactly how many had been killed but historians estimate that up to 10 million men lost their lives on the battlefield - and another 20 million were wounded.



As well as all the great powers of Europe being involved, the war also extended into Asia and Africa.



The Battle of Marne that took place between 5 and 14th of September, 1914 is generally accepted as the beginning of the Trench Warfare.



Another outcome of the Trench Warfare is the area between the opposing forces' trenches called the No Man's Land.

"Hideous Landscapes, vile noises... Everything unnatural, broken, blasted; the distortion of the dead, whose unburiable bodies sit outside the dug-outs all day, all night, the most execrable sights on earth..." 
British Poet Wifred Owen, February, 1917


End of 1914 sees the trench line stretching from the North Sea on the western end to the borders of Switzerland on to the east with a length of larger than 750km's.

The trench war soon converts to a deadlock situation with neither side offering superiority to break the lines of the other side.

Studies start on both sides for a solution to dissolve the dread lock. The Landships Committee that was formed by the War Cabinet in February 1915 was one of the workgroups who tried to come up with a vehicle to overcome the trenches and endure the deadly machinegun fire while doing that. The committee was named the Landships because it was formed by the Admiralty!

Many ideas were evaluated by the committee.

Hetherington Big Wheel

Tracks spread the weight of the vehicle over a much greater area, enabling them to have better mobility on soft soil conditions. The only available solution with better soft soil traction than the wheels in UK at the time was the Pedrail. The Landships Comittee authorizes the design of a pedrail vehicle. However, the prototype built was so complex that vehicle started falling apart on its first trial run.

  
Pedrail Vehicle and Pedrail Wheel.

The caterpillar tracks were widely used in agriculture in United States at the time. There were even some vehicles that are used as artillery tractors in British Army from Holt tractor company. 

Holt Artillery Tractor

The Landships committee sends an engineer to States and also procures some sets of caterpillar tracks and other equipment. The development effort starts with some initial test beds.

One of the first designs was created by combining the track set and chassis from US Killian-Strait company and the armored body of a Delaunay-Belleville armored car. 


Killen-Strait Tank

However the trench crossing capability was not deemed satisfactory.

The studies showed the most suitable track design for the aim was being offered by Bullock Tractor Company of Chicago called Bullock Creeping Grip.

These tracks were integrated on an armored chassis and the vehicle is called No.1 Lincoln Machine. The testing that began on September 1915 resulted in not so favorable results. 


No 1 Lincoln Machine

The development work proceeds and December 1915 saw another new vehicle called Little Willie. But the trench crossing capability was not still at the desired level.



Little Willie

Walter Wilson who is a member of the LandShips Committie and a  Royal Naval Air Service Engineer comes up with an idea of the tracks circling the hull in a rhomboidal shape to maximize the trench crossing.

The first vehicle was completed in January, 1916 and named "His Majesty's Land Ship Centipede". The tests this time were successful.


His Majesty's Land Ship Centipede

After the completion of the testing and evaluation phase, the War Department orders a batch of 100 tanks that are now type classified as Mk 1 Tanks.




©2014 Warfare Technology




























































































Monday, May 5, 2014

SuperAv 8x8 BAE Systems & Iveco

The Most Exciting/Breath Taking Swimming
I've seen for an 8x8


Watch the video and don't forget to let your breath go at the end...

The SuperAV is a joint project between BAE Systems (US Side) and Italian Iveco.



It is offered for the USMC's MPC programme now called Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) Phase 1.

"Phase 1 ACV, which would enter service around 2020 (its “Initial Operational Capability” date or IOC). These will be modified versions of an existing US or foreign design, not an all-new vehicle. They’ll also have only limited amphibious capability: enough to cross a river or coastal inlet, but not necessarily enough to move from a ship at sea to the beach on their own power. They will probably have to be carried on some kind of landing craft, at least to within a few miles of a beach. ACV 1 is essentially a re-envisioned and resurrected Marine Personnel Carrier (MPC), a program which was effectively canceled just last year.."









Sunday, May 4, 2014

One Man Turrets

One-Man Turrets
Condensed Fire Power



French Tarask Turret on VBCI 8x8

One-Man Turrets (1MT), although not as common as the two-men turrets and remote weapon stations (RWS), offer a significant boost in fire power for Infantry Fighting Vehicles- IFVs.




The advantage of the 1MT comes from its compact dimensions, small ring diameter and light weight compared with the 2-Men Turrets.

As a comparison, a one-man turret has approximately 1m ring diameter and a combat weight of 1.8 tons; whereas a two-men turret (2MT) with same weapon and more or less equal protection level comes with a ring diameter of 1.5m and combat weight of more than 2.5tons.

IFV Turret selection depends on many parameters, however the choice between 1MT and 2MT usually comes to the doctrine of the mechanised infantry. If the commander of the IFV is also the commander of the squad and if he is expected to dismount with the squad, a one-man turret is usually the preferred choice.

The sweep volume turret basket takes up inside the vehicle is also another point to be considered along with the weight on top of the vehicle and its effect on the vehicle stability.


FNSS Sharpshooter Turret on ACV300 Malaysia


However when we look at today's IFVs, the preferred solution is mostly 2 men turrets. There are also many reasons for this. Locating the commander in the turret up above the vehicle thus providing him the best situational awareness and better means of coordinating and commanding the gunner being among the primary reasons.

One-Man Turrets, on the other hand provide a feasible upgrade solution to existing armored vehicles to provide them IFV capabilities, especially the turrets armed with medium caliber cannons.




FNSS Sharpshooter Turret on AV8 8x8 Malaysia

Some modern IFVs with their turrets:

  • M2 Bradley - 2 Men Turet
  • CV90 - 2 Men Turret
  • Spz Puma - Unmanned Turret
  • Polish Rosomak (Patria AMV) - 2 Men Turret
  • BMP 3 - Two Men Turret
  • Warrior - 2 Men Turret
  • Freccia 8x8 - 2 Men Turret
  • Dardo IFV - 2 Men Turret
  • FRES SV - 2 Men Turret
  • LAV 25 - 2 Men Turret
  • Canadian LAV III - 2 Men Turret
  • Bionix IFV - 2 Men Turret
  • K21 IFV - 2 Men Turret
  • Mitsubishi Type 89 IFV - 2 Men Turret
  • VBCI 8x8 - 1 Man Turret
  • Malaysian AV8 8x8 - 1 Man Turret
  • Malaysian Adnan IFV - 1 Man Turret
  • YPR-765 - 1 Man Turret
  • AAV7 - 1 Man Turret
  • VBCI 8x8 - 1 Man Turret
  • M1117 ASV - 1 Man Turret
  • Turkish ACV - 1 Man Turret


UGWS 40/50 Turret on M1117 ASV



Tarask Turret on VBCI


Dragar Turret on Turkish IFV



1 Man  Turret on USMC AAV7


©2014 Warfare Technology







Friday, May 2, 2014

Nemo Mortar Turret

Patria's Nemo Mortar Turret
goes naval



I've been looking at mortar turrets for ground applications for a while and I think they offer better capabilities than the rear-bed mounted mortars.

Patria seems to move the concept one more step and integrated their Nemo 120mm mortar turret on a patrol boat.

Interesting application for a mortar system. I can think of two scenarios where these patrol boats with Nemo turrets might be desirable:


  • Supporting SEAL or any Naval Commando force during their infil and exfil phase
  • On Rivering Boats providing fire support to forces fighting next to water ways, rivers, etc.

Riverine Patrol Boat