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combat

Volume 2 Issue 3

une/July 2011


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3 EDITORIAL COMMENT

Budget cuts and combat lessons

4 NEWS

Testingof GeneralDynamicsUK Scout turret begins

UK to field 7.62mm Minimi LMG

MASV order boosts Afghan AFV fleet

Australia buys more Bushmasters for Afghanistan

USSOCOM relaunches sniper rifle project

Azerbaijan extends Paramount AFV production

7 POWERFUL DISPLAY

The tenth International Defence Industry Fair, held

in Istanbul from 10-13 May, highlighted both the

growing capabilities of the Turkish Armed Forces and

the sophistication of the countrys defence industry.

Claire Apthorp and Tony Skinner report on new

products in the ground forces sector.

10 THE INFANTRYS GO-TO WEAPON

Recent months have seen the US Army and USMC

enhance the combat capabilities of their 120mm

towed mortars. Ian Kemp reports on developments.

13 AN UNBREAKABLE BOND

As well as radically reshaping armoured vehicles,

the asymmetric threats faced over the last decade

have concentrated minds on the technology of

armour itself. Peter Donaldson discusses

recent trends.

19 THE GENERATION GAME

Combat body armour has saved lives and prevented

injury to countless US Army and USMC personnel

in Afghanistan and Iraq, but manufacturers are still

working on improvements in effectiveness and

usability. Scott R Gourley examines the state

of the art.

22 A HAPPY MEDIUM

The latest generation of one- and two-person

turrets have introduced new and exciting possibilities

to the world of AFVs. Christopher F Foss surveys

the market.

25 EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED

The Israel Defense Forces have to face the constantchallenge of being prepared for a full spectrum of

operations on home soil. William F Owen

discusses equipment and doctrine.

29 A FISTFUL OF IMPROVEMENTS

The British Army has begun receiving the first

elements of the Future Integrated Soldier Technology

that are designed to improve the effectiveness of

the dismounted fire team, Ian Kemp reports.

PARTING SHOT

32 EXPEDITIONARY FORCE

Maj Gen Agner Rokos, Chief of Army Operational

Command, discusses the ongoing transformation of

the Danish Army with Ian Kemp.

1Volume 2 Issue 3 |June/July 2011 | LAND WARFARE INTERNATIONAL

CONTENTS


19

Front cover:At IDEF 2011, Otokar

unveiled the 8x8 Arma equipped

with the companys new Mizrak-30

remote-controlled turret armed

with a Mauser 30mm MK30-2

ABM cannon. (Photo: Otokar)Editor

Ian Kemp. [email protected]

North America Editor

Scott R Gourley. [email protected]: +1 (707) 822 7204

Editorial Assistant

Beth Stevenson. [email protected]

Contributors

Gordon Arthur, Peter Donaldson,Christopher F Foss, Helmoed RmerHeitman, William F Owen, Rod Rayward

Production Manager

David Hurst. [email protected]: +44 (0)1753 727029

Sub-editor

Adam Wakeling. [email protected]

Advertising Sales Executive

Brian Millan. [email protected]: +44 (0)1753 727005

Publishing DirectorDarren Lake

CEO

Alexander Giles

Chairman

Nick Prest

Subscriptions

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times per year in February/March,April/May, June/July, August/September,October/November and December/January by The Shephard Press Ltd,268 Bath Road, Slough, Berks, SL1 4DX,UK. The 2011 US Institutional subscriptionprice is 65. Airfreight and mailing in the USAby agent named Air Business, c/o PriorityAirfreight NY Ltd, 147-29 182nd Street,Jamaica, NY 11413. Periodical postage paidat Jamaica, NY 11431. US Postmaster: sendaddress changes to Air Business Ltd/PriorityAirfreight NY Ltd, 147-29 182nd Street,Jamaica, NY11413. Subscription records aremaintained at CDS Global, Tower House,Lathkill Street, Sovereign Park, MarketHarborough, Leicestershire, LE16 9EF, UK.Air Business Ltd is acting as mailing agent.Articles and information contained in thispublication are the copyright of the Shephard

Press Ltd and may not be reproduced in anyform without the written permission of thepublishers. No responsibility can be acceptedfor loss of or damage to uncommissionedphotographs or manuscripts.

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NEWS

LAND WARFARE INTERNATIONAL |June/July 2011 |Volume 2 Issue 3 www.landwarfareintl.com

weapon will be easier for

troops to carry on dismounted

operations in Afghanistan than the7.62mm L7A2 General Purpose

MG (the British designation

for the FN Herstal MAG 58). The

empty weight of the Minimi

7.62mm is 8.4kg compared to 11.79kg

for the L7A2, and it measures 1,000mm

with the stock extended (865mm with the

stock collapsed), while the L7A2 is 1,263mm

in length.

FN Herstal developed the 7.62mm Minimi in

the mid-1970s, but when NATO approved

the 5.56x45mm round, the company scaled

down the LMG design to fire the smaller

cartridge. The Belgian company revived the

7.62mm Minimi in 2001 in order to meet a US

Special Operations Command requirement

for a 7.62mm LMG a modified variant,

designated the MK48 Mod 0, has been fielded

with US special operations forces.

By Ian Kemp, London

The UK MoD has awarded FN Herstal a

contract to provide up to 176 7.62mm Minimi

light machine guns (LMGs) by the end of 2011.The agreement includes options for a further

250 weapons to be delivered annually over a

three-year period from 2012-2014.

The 7.62mm Minimi offers similar ergonomics

to the 5.56mm version that has been in service

with UK forces since 2003. Each four-man fire

team within the infantry, Royal Marines and RAF

Regiment is equipped with a 5.56mm Minimi.

The latest model chosen by the UK features

a sliding buttstock for easier carriage and

incorporates a hydraulic buffer for stabilised

rate of fire and reduced recoil. The new

UK TO FIELD 7.62MMMINIMI LMG

The MoDs standardacquisition process forarmoured vehicles hasnot been working.

The UK MoD has ordered the FN Herstal

7.62mm Minimi LMG to equip British

forces in Afghanistan. (Photo: FN Herstal)

General Dynamics (GD) UKs Scout Specialist

Vehicle (SV) has conducted live-fire tests of the

new cased telescoped CT40 cannon system,

integrated into the first Scout SV turret, five

months ahead of schedule.

The UK MoD signed a 500 million ($820million) contract with GD UK on 1 July 2010,

activating the SV demonstration phase. This

covers the development of seven prototypes

for the Scout reconnaissance vehicle and

supporting variants built on the ASCOD SV

Common Base Platform, as well as associated

training equipment. The reconnaissance and SV

variants, including protected mobility, repair and

recovery vehicles, are all based upon this

platform. The design has a growth potential of

up to 42t.

The first firing of the integrated CT40 cannontook place on 18 May at the Rheinmetall

Landsysteme facility in Gersthofen, Germany.

The company is responsible for the design,

development and production of the Scout SV

turret structure for Lockheed Martin UK, which

is the turret system design authority. This month,

the turret will be shipped to Lockheed Martin

UKs Ampthill, Bedfordshire facility for further

system integration and testing.

Only four days after the live fire tests, the

National Audit Office (NAO) published a reportthat stated: Given the expenditure of over 1.1

billion since 1998, without the delivery of its

principal armoured vehicles, the [MoDs]

standard acquisition process for armoured

vehicles has not been working. The NAO

concluded: The delays which have arisen from

cancelled or suspended armoured vehicle

projects will result in the armed forces not being

fully equipped with the vehicles identified as top

priorities in the 2010 Strategic Defence and

Security Review, until at least 2024-25. Since

2003, the MoD has spent 2.7 billion buyingand upgrading vehicles using the UOR process

for current operations.

The Scout vehicle is scheduled to replace the

Scimitar Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance

(Tracked) (CVR(T)) that has been in service

since 1971 and has long struggled to carry

additional armour and other equipment fitted

for operations, notably in the Balkans during

the 1990s, and more recently in Iraq and

Afghanistan. As far back as 1992, the army

promulgated Staff Target (Land) 4061 for aTactical Reconnaissance Armoured Combat

Equipment Requirement to replace the CVR(T),

with the first vehicle expected to be produced

in 2004.

The project, which evolved to become a joint

effort with the US Army, was cancelled in

October 2001 after the Americans withdrew

and the MoD decided that it was not cost-

effective to continue on its own. The ministry

is now evaluating a Scimitar 2 prototype

developed by BAE Systems under a UOR,

which mounts an extensively enhanced Scimitarturret on a new-build modified Spartan hull from

the CVR(T) series. The larger hull is able to carry

more weight and includes improved protection

against mines and IEDs.

By Ian Kemp, London

TESTING OF GENERAL DYNAMICSUK SCOUT TURRET BEGINS


7/36

Textron will produce

nine configurations of

the MASV for the Afghan

National Army, including

vehicles equipped with

an ASV turret armed

with a 40mm MK19

grenade machine gun

and a .50cal M2 heavy

machine gun.

(Photo: Textron)


NEWS


Textron Marine & Land Systems has received a

contract from the US Army to produce up to

440 Medium Armored Security Vehicles

(MASVs) for the Afghan National Army (ANA).

An initial batch of 23 MASVs was ordered in

January and, according to a Textron spokes-person, deliveries are now under way. The

MASV is derived from the US Armys M1117

ASV and the ASV Armored Personnel Carrier

(APC). The MASVs will be supplied in nine

configurations designed specifically for ANA

roles and missions: engineer; mortar carrier;

maintenance; ambulance; reconnaissance;

C2 MASV; MASV with Objective Gunners

Protection Kit; MASV with enclosed turret;

and turreted C2 MASV. All vehicles will

be built to the companys new enhanced

survivability standard, which improves blastprotection to MRAP levels, according

to Textron.

A one-year baseline contract, with a potential

value of $257 million, is expected to be

completed by June 2012. It covers 240 MASVs,

associated support equipment, spare parts, field

service representatives, training and training aids.

The contract includes options for up to 200

additional vehicles, plus two option years for

training and logistics support, with a total

potential value of $286 million. Production of the

additional vehicles is expected to be finished by

December 2012, while the support packagewould continue until 2014. The US FMS

contract was funded through the Afghan

Security Forces Fund.

The agreement represents a significant

boost to the ANAs AFV fleet. The army has a

stock of Cold War-era BRDM-2 reconnaissance

vehicles and BMP-1/-2 IFVs, many of which

were captured during the Soviet occupation

of Afghanistan, but the readiness of these

vehicles is problematic. For protected mobility,

the Afghan security forces rely primarily on

approximately 7,550 up-armoured M1151 andM1152 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled

Vehicles, including 2,526 M1152A1s with B2

armour kits ordered in August 2010, with

deliveries to be completed by December 2013.

Washington has also supplied 63 ex-US Army

M113 APCs.

By Ian Kemp, London

MASV ORDER BOOSTSAFGHAN AFV FLEET

Australia is to buy an additional 101 Thales

Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles to

support Australian Defence Force (ADF)

operations in Afghanistan. On 12 May, Defence

Minister Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence

Material Jason Clare jointly announced the

purchase, stating that the employment of the

Bushmaster had unquestionably saved lives in

Afghanistan. Despite numerous IED and small

arms attacks, no fatalities have been suffered by

personnel riding in the vehicles.

The purchase includes 31 vehicles to replace

ones damaged beyond repair in recent years.

AnotherBushmasterwas loston25May when it

struck an IED while on a joint Australian-Afghan

patrol in southern Afghanistan. Two soldiers from

Australias Special Operations Task Group were

injured in the blast. Because of the increasingly

dangerous situation on the ground, it was de-

cided that the Bushmaster would be destroyed.

The original acquisition of 299 Bushmasters

had previously been boosted to 737 via three

follow-on orders, with deliveries scheduled to

continue until 2012. The Defence Material

Organisation is considering options to improve

the vehicles protection levels, and these may

be included in the new order.

By Ian Kemp, London

AUSTRALIA BUYS MORE

BUSHMASTERS FOR AFGHANISTAN

NEWS ON THE WEB

BAE Systems-FNSS joint

venture wins $559m award

6 June 2011

BAE Systems announces

strategic teaming agreements

for TAPV

3 June 2011

Allen-Vanguard introduces

latest IED protection solutions

1 June 2011

Canada Land Forces choose

Revision for eye protection

31 May 2011

Force Protection unveils

Team Timberwolf

31 May 2011

US Army showcasesQuantum Hybrid

27 May 2011

BAE Systems submits RfI to

US Army for HMMWV recap

27 May 2011

Force Protection adds key

partners for Canadian

TAPV project

24 May 2011

Goodrich wins anti-tank

weapon system contract23 May 2011

Lockheed Martin receives

$45.3m contract from Finland

18 May 2011

CSI, RSD launch new line of

tactical combat vehicles

17 May 2011

All these stories can be found

atwww.landwarfareintl.com


8/366

NEWS


Representatives for US Special Operations

Command (USSOCOM) have signalled that

they will conduct a re-solicitation for the comm-

ands Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR) programme.

As described in the earlier programme

iteration of late 2009/early 2010, the PSRwould be designed to address the operational

effectiveness and special forces sniper

survivability over the current inventory of sniper

weapons. The major components of the PSR

system include: the rifle; ten magazines; sound

suppressor, including a mirage mitigating device;

operator manual; sling; cleaning kit; bipod; drag

bag; and hard carrying case.

In the second quarter of 2010, product

samples were submitted by a range of suppliers,

and following downselection to a small number

of finalists, USSOCOM conducted additionalprecision firing tests. However, according to a

number of industry participants who have

subsequently exhibited their PSR candidate

designs at various small arms venues, the

weapons failed to achieve the accuracy goals

that had been sought for the programme.

In early May, USSOCOM formally announced

the cancellation of the earlier PSR RfP in its

entirety, noting: The government has re-

assessed the evaluation criteria that wouldrender best value awards for the PSR. The

current criteria fall short in accurately assessing

the quality and capability of the proposed

weapons, and therefore it is in the governments

best interest to cancel the RfP.

Command representatives unveiled a new

PSR approach later in the month. The new

acquisition outline maintains a system focus on

a rifle (no calibre is specified), ammunition and

suppressor, within a full and open competition

and best value acquisition strategy, and includes

creating multiple indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity firm fixed-price contract awards

for a ten-year term. In addition, assessment of

product samples will be part of the source

selection process.

Changes to the previous solicitation will

include an increased product-focused approach,

incorporating go/no-go criteria regarding

weapon and ammunition performance. Inter-

ested industry parties have been told that these

will include ammunition velocity and energy-on-target measurements at 900m, with calculations

of extended performance at 1,500m. Industry

representatives will also conduct precision

weapon firing at 1,000m.

The new PSR schedule anticipates the

release of a formal solicitation in June, with

interested industry parties indicating their intent

to participate in July and providing samples

(including three PSRs of the same configuration

and calibre) in August (60 days from issue of

solicitation). Go/no-go, suitability/effectiveness

and operational assessments will be conductedduring September, with source selection

beginning in October/November. Initial contract

awards are projected for April 2012.

By Scott R Gourley, California

Initial firing tests reportedlyfailed to achieve the accuracygoals that had been soughtfor the PSR programme.

USSOCOM RELAUNCHESSNIPER RIFLE PROJECT

kinetic attack up to STANAG 4569 Level I II.

The 4x4 Matador was developed for long-range

operations across difficult terrain, and the 14

occupants are protected against up to a 14kgTNT charge that is detonated directly beneath

the hull or a 21kg blast under any wheel.

Ivor Ichikowitz, executive chairman of the

Paramount Group, said that the companys

success in Azerbaijan gives it a firm foothold to

explore joint production partnerships with other

eastern European countries. In 2010, the

organisation signed a joint venture agreement

with Indias Ashok Leyland, and earlier this year

with the UAEs International Golden Group and

Griffon Aerospace Middle East.

By Ian Kemp, London

The Azerbaijan Ministry of Defence Industries

(MDI) has extended a joint production agree-

ment (JPA) with Paramount Group of South

Africa to produce 60 new mine-protectedvehicles (MPVs) in Baku. Initial batches of 15

Matador and Marauder MPVs have already

been assembled under the 2009 agreement.

The extension to the JPA covers the production

of 30 of each vehicle, with deliveries running to

late 2012.

The 4x4 Marauder is designed to carry a

crew of ten personnel in built-up and confined

urban settings, and can be configured as either

a troop carrier or combat vehicle. A double-

skinned hull throughout the cabin and crew

compartment protects the occupants against

AZERBAIJAN EXTENDSPARAMOUNT AFV PRODUCTION

Paramount Group will produce another 30

Marauder (top) and 30 Matador (above)

mine-protected vehicles for Azerbaijans

armed forces. (Photos: Paramount)


9/36

POWERFULDISPLAY

The Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC)

has an initial requirement for 250 tanks, with a

stated overall need for 1,000 in four batches.

South Koreas Hyundi Rotem, manufacturer of

the Republic of Korea Armys K1, K1A1 and

K2 MBTs, is technology enabler for the project,

which shares a number of features with the K2

The tenth International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF), held in Istanbul from 10-13 May, highlighted both

the growing capabilities of the Turkish Armed Forces and the sophistication of the countrys defence

industry. Claire Apthorp and Tony Skinner report on new products in the ground forces sector.

but is nevertheless a new design. So far the

Turkish Armed Forces are very interested in the

prototype, and the capabilities it will bring them,

Ali Eren Topu, system requirement manage-

ment section manager at Otokar, told Land

Warfare International.

The Altay is armed with a 120mm L55

smoothbore gun, a 7.62mm co-axial machine

gun (MG) and a remote weapon station

(RWS), armed with a .50cal heavy MG,

mounted on the turret roof. MTU will supply the

1,500hp EuroPowerPack. Following the

preliminary design review, Otokar will build three

prototypes, a mobile test rig and fighting test

rig ahead of a critical design review.

LEOPARD UPGRADE

The TLFC also has a requirement to modernise

its fleet of almost 300 Leopard 2A4 MBTs.

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann is offering its Leopard

2A7+ upgrade, while Rheinmetall is proposing

its MBT Revolution package. The two German

companies will be in competition with Aselsans

locally developed Leopard 2 Next Generation

upgrade unveiled at IDEF. Now in the final

Otokar, prime contractor for Turkeys

National Tank Production Project,

unveiled a full-size mock-up of the Altay, which

is projected to enter service around 2016. As

well as being Turkeys first MBT design, the

Altay is the only new tank being developed by

a NATO country.


SHOW REPORT


Otokar unveiled a full-scalemock-up of the Altay MBT,

which it is developing for

the Turkish Land Forces

Command. If the National

Tank Production Project

continues as planned, the

Altay should enter service in

2016. (Photo: Claire Apthorp)

Aselsan has developed the Leopard 2

Next Generation as an upgrade for

Turkeys Leopard 2A4 fleet. The

programme will enable the company

to refine the technology that it is

developing for the Altay. (Photo: Aselsan)


10/368

SHOW REPORT


stages of testing, Aselsan expects the system

to be fully qualified by the end of 2011.

The Next Generation features a complete

replacement of the existing EO, electro-

mechanical and electro-hydraulic systems of

the Leopard 2A4 in order to increase

performance and reduce life-cycle costs. A

company spokesperson told LWIthat the

Periscope Electronic Units (PEU) for the

commander and gunner are key components

of the upgrade, enabling thermal imaging, sight

stabilisation, gun/turret stabilisation, automatic

target tracking and ballistic computation to be

run on a standard processor card. As well as

keeping the logistical footprint for the system

as low as possible, these common cards

provide a high level of system redundancy in

the event of PEU failure or damage.

Real-time situational awareness, operations

planning and execution functions have been

added via a new battlefield management

system, allowing greater coordination and

synchronisation of all units from battalion down

to single-platform level. Aselsan is a major sub-

contractor on the Altay, and many of the

armour protection is fitted. In addition to the

commander and driver, the 6x6 Arma carries

ten soldiers seated five either side on individual

seats within the troop compartment.

Shown for the first time at IDEF was the 8x8

Arma, which has greater internal volume and

payload, with a maximum GVW of about 24t.

The development of the family enables Otokar

to market a range of 8x8, 6x6 and 4x4 vehicles.

The companys 4x4 Cobra has been produced

in large quantities for the domestic and export

markets in an expanding range of variants for

specialist roles.

The 8x8 Arma displayed at the exhibition was

configured as an IFV equipped with Otokars

new Mizrak-30 remote-controlled turret (RCT),

which was also launched at IDEF. This is armed

with a stabilised Mauser 30mm MK30-2

air bursting munition cannon and 7.62mm

co-axial MG. The weapons can be laid

onto the target by the gunner or commander

as both are provided with identical flat panel

displays and controls. In addition to the

stabilised sighting system mounted co-axially

with the weapons, there is an additional

systems developed for the Leopard upgrade

will be leveraged for the new tank as well.

The upgrade also includes a stabilised RWS,

which can be armed with a 40mm automatic

grenade launcher, .50cal heavy or 7.62mm

medium MG. The RWS is fully integrated with

the fire control system, and the optical sight unit

includes thermal, visible and laser rangefinders.

IBD Deisenroth Engineering has developed

a protection package for Aselsan based on

its Advanced Modular Armour Protection

technology which includes: add-on armour for

the turret and hull to boost protection against

attacks from kinetic weapons, anti-tank guided

munitions and RPGs; additional roof protection;

track skirts; slat armour; and spall liners.

Protection against IEDs is improved by the

addition of underbelly mine protection modules

and suspending the drivers seat.

EIGHT-WHEEL ARMA

At IDEF 2010, Otokar displayed its new Arma

wheeled armoured vehicle in its baseline 6x6

configuration, which has already been ordered

by at least one unidentified export customer

with first deliveries expected late in 2011.

The 6x6 Arma has a gross vehicle weight

(GVW) of about 18.5t depending on the

weapon system installed and whether additional

An FNSS Amphibious Assault

Bridge in travelling configuration,

showing the fully protected crew

compartment. (Photo: FNSS)

FNSS displayed its new Claw remote-

controlled turret, armed with a 25mm KBA

cannon and 7.62mm MG3 co-axial machine

gun, integrated on the companys Armoured

Combat Vehicle Stretched. (Photo: FNSS)


11/369Volume 2 Issue 3 |June/July 2011 | LAND WARFARE INTERNATIONAL

SHOW REPORT


Another turretlaunched at IDEF was

the Claw, developed asa private venture byFNSS and Aselsan.

commanders panoramic independent stabilised

sight mounted on the turret roof, which

allows for hunter/killer target engage-ments to

take place.

FNSS SHOWS ITS CLAW

Another RCT launched at IDEF was the Claw,

developed as a private venture by FNSS (a joint

venture between Nurol Holding and BAE

Systems) and Aselsan. This was mounted on

an FNSS tracked Armoured Combat Vehicle

(ACV) Stretched. This first version of the

Claw is armed with a stabilised 25mm KBA

dual-feed cannon and a 7.62mm co-axial

MG. Once the 160 rounds of ready-

use 25mm ammunition have been

expended, the weapon can be

loaded from within the vehicle

through a hatch in the lower part of

the RCT that does not protrude into

the hull.

A computerised fire control system

is fitted to ensure a high first round hit

probability against moving targets, and the

Aselsan optronics package includes day and

thermal cameras as well as an automatic target

tracker and laser rangefinder.

The Claw RCT will be marketed alongside

the FNSS Sharpshooter one-person turret,

which is armed with a stabilised 25mm cannon

and 7.62mm co-axial MG. The Sharpshooter is

installed on some of the baseline ACVs already

delivered by FNSS to Malaysia, and will also

be fitted to one variant of the 257 Pars 8x8

vehicles which the company is building for the

same customer.

ASSAULT BRIDGE UNVEILED

FNSS also displayed the first of 40 Amphibious

Assault Bridges (AAB) scheduled to be

delivered to the TLFC by early 2013. Units of

the AAB can be coupled together to form a

ferry or a bridge, with each unit featuring a

three-person cab at the front that is provided

with an NBC system as well as ballistic pro-

tection from small arms fire and shell splinters.

Based on the Pars chassis, each unit not

only has 8x8 drive but also 8x8 steering

and adjustable suspension to suit the terrain

being crossed. When afloat, all wheels are

retracted into the hull to reduce drag. Two water

pump jets, which can be traversed through

360, propel the AAB at a maximum speed

of 10km/h.

The armys assault bridging capability will also

be boosted by the impending delivery of 36

KMW Leguan armoured vehicle launch bridge

systems based on a modified Leopard 1

chassis. These were ordered late in 2009, with

the chassis being supplied by the TLFC. Major

parts of the system will be manufactured in

cooperation with KMW at the Turkish Land

Forces Logistics Command facilities at Kayseri

and Arifiye.

Each Leguan can transport and launch a

Military Load Class 80 bridge, which is 26m

long and can be used to span gaps of up to

24m, in less than five minutes

FNSS also has a contract to supply the

TLFC with 12 Armoured Engineer Vehicles

(AEV) plus one hull for ballistic trials the first

unit is now undergoing company testing. The

AEV will be very similar to the BAE Systems

US Combat Systems M9 Armored Combat

Earthmover (ACE) that was built in large

quantities for the US Army as well as some

export customers. The AEV will have a crew of

two and is not required to be amphibious.

It will feature a number of more recent

sub-systems as the original ACE components

are no longer manufactured.

NEW COMBAT SHOTGUN

Turkish firearms manufacturer UTAS unveiled

its new UTS-15 combat shotgun, which it

claims addresses all the shortcomings of

current products on the market. UTAS director

of manufacturing and product development Ted

Hatfield said the company had originally been

approached by Smith & Wesson to develop

a high-capacity, short, robust and simple-

to-operate pump-action 12-gauge shotgun.

However, following the development of a

prototype, the American firearms company

pulled out of the project and UTAS decided to

take it forward itself.

Designed for use by police and military forces

during urban engagements, the shotgun

features automatic alternating or selectable

feed dual magazines, with quick loading ports,

compressible magazine springs

and shell counters. The UTS-15 is

chambered for 12-gauge 70mm and

76mm magnum shells and the dual-

feed magazine can hold 15 70mm

shells. The company claims that

the UTS-15 is the fastest loading

shotgun ever designed.

We have done hours of tests and

fired thousands of rounds, and we are extremely

happy with the design the shotgun is capable,

robust and simple to operate and maintain,

said Hatfield. He highlighted several design

aspects including: a selector that allows each

magazine to be selected; a collapsible follower

that removes any pressure on the last round;

and an action that loads the shell at the same

speed regardless of how fast or slow the

pumping action.

The weapon is 80% carbon fibre, with a

100% polymer lower receiver, and thus weighs

only 3kg. The UTS-15 is 71cm long and

features a point-and-shoot spotlight and laser

night sight as well as an integrated top-mounted

MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rail.

Hatfield said that the company was hoping

to move to full production of the UTS-15 by

June and is currently looking at tooling and

manufacturing options in the US. LWI

The new lightweight UTS-15 combat

shotgun has a capacity of 15 12-gauge

70mm magnum shells. (Photo: UTAS)

Otokars Arma family has

been expanded to include 8x8

(left) and 6x6 vehicles (right),

which share many common

components. (Photo: Otokar)


12/360

HEAVY MORTARS


(WP) rounds to suppress or destroy enemy

forces; obscuration, or smoke, rounds, used to

conceal friendly forces as they manoeuvre and

blind enemy forces; and illumination rounds,

including traditional visible white light and the

recently developed IR round that is used to

illuminate enemy forces.

Illumination rounds, fired by 81mm and

120mm mortars, are extensively employed

by US and other coalition forces in both

Afghanistan and Iraq to deter insurgents from

planting IEDs, establishing mortar or rocket

positions or approaching with small arms

within range of coalition positions. As unguided

120mm mortar rounds have a circular error

probable of 136m, the use of HE and WP is

carefully considered to avoid the risk of collateral

Recent months have seen the US Army and USMC enhance the combat capabilities

of their 120mm towed mortars. Ian Kemp reports on developments.damage. While it may be premature to describe

the introduction of the 120mm PGMM as a

revolution, it is certainly a leap ahead.

GUIDANCE KIT

The XM395 is the armys designation for rounds

that are fitted with ATKs Mortar Guidance Kit

developed for the Accelerated Precision Mortar

Initiative (APMI). Our precision mortar provides

a quick, reliable and lethal response for the

commander on the ground who is now able to

quickly call for precision fire from his organic

mortar assets, Bruce DeWitt, VP and general

manager at ATK Advanced Weapons, told Land

Warfare International. This is an especially

important capability to have available when

engaging targets that are inaccessible to artillery

Commanders can engagemore targets with a greaterprobability of success andwith confidence that collateraldamage is being mitigated.

US Army mortarmen from Company C, 1st

Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th

Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division

fired a 120mm Precision Guided Mortar

Munition (PGMM) in Afghanistan for the first

time at a range near FOB Kushamond in

Paktika Province on 4 March. According to the

army, the round impacted within 4m of its target.

Although the brigades BAE Systems

M777A2 155mm Lightweight Howitzers are

able to fire the Excalibur precision-guided

munition (PGM), these are brigade assets. ATKs

new XM395 mortar round provides infantry

battalion commanders with their own integral

indirect PGM capability for the first time. The

120mm precision-guided munitions will allow

Task Force Red Currahee to provide even more

effective fires with increased lethality, explained

Lt Col David Womack, battalion commander.

The accuracy of the 120mm PGMM also

reduces the potential risk of any collateral

damage, [and], as a commander, I have another

tool available to fight the enemy.

Brig Gen Bryan Owens, Chief of Infantry in

the US Army, characterised mortars in an

editorial in Infantry Bugler, Winter 2010, as

lethal, reliable and responsive, and noted that

recent improvements in guidance systems have

greatly enhanced the precision of mortar fires to

the extent that the mortar need not only be

considered an area weapon. Such improve-

ments have re-established the mortar as the

infantrymans go-to indirect fire weapon.

There are three primary types of mortar fires:

high explosive (HE) rounds, sometimes

combined with bursting white phosphorous

THE INFANTRYSGO-TO WEAPON

The BAE Systems M326 Quick Stow Mortar Stowage Kit, now being fielded to IBCTs,

provides the M120 with a shoot and scoot capability for the first time. (Photo: BAE Systems)



HEAVY MORTARS


and direct fire, such as those in mountainous

or certain urban terrain. Additionally, with its 10m

accuracy, commanders can engage more

targets with a greater probability of success

and with confidence that collateral damage

is being mitigated through the weapons

precision capability.

The XM395 PGMM project was originally

conceived in the early 1990s to field a long-

range 12km threshold, 15km objective

precision strike capability, which could be

directed to the target by laser designation and/or

autonomous fire-and-forget. In early 2004, ATK

was selected following a competitive evaluation

to develop the XM395 the company expected

the programme would eventually be worth

$500 million.

However, following operational experience in

Afghanistan, the army shifted the requirement

from a laser- to GPS-guided munition, and

re-launched the project as the competitive APMI.

An operational needs statement for such a

capability from commanders in Afghanistan

was approved by the army in January 2009.

Following a competitive evaluation in early 2010

of designs submitted by ATK, General Dynamics

and Raytheon, the PM GPM2S (Product

Manager for Guided Precision Munitions and

Mortar Systems, responsible for improvements

in mortars, mortar fire control systems and

guided munitions for tube-launched weapons)

selected ATKs solution.

The company received an initial firm fixed-

priced contract in June 2010 for 1,310 XM395s

for use in Afghanistan. On 24 March, the

company announced receipt of a $50 million

(IBCT), including light, air assault and airborne

infantry, consist of a platoon HQ, a mortar

section with fire direction centre and four mortar

squads. Under the arms room concept, each

squad is equipped with an M120 120mm

smoothbore heavy mortar and an M252 81mm

smoothbore medium mortar, but only has

enough personnel to operate one of the two

systems at any time. The capabilities of the

M120 are being significantly enhanced with the

fielding of the M150/M151 and the M326

Quick Stow Mortar Stowage Kit.

Elbit Systems was awarded a systems

integration contract in April 2009 to take the

innovative US Army designed fire control

system for the 120mm towed mortar and

manufacture, procure and integrate all of the

components into a complete kit. These consist

of ruggedised computers, battery power

supplies, displays, navigation and pointing

hardware and associated mounting hardware

and cabling that are installed on the M326. The

M150/M151 system enhances accuracy,

enables digital coordination of multiple systems

and the fire support network, and reduces the

time required to emplace, fire and displace the

weapon. The first unit equipped was the 3rd

IBCT, 25th Infantry Division in April 2010.

The M120, developed by Soltam Systems,

has been in US Army service since 1991. The

weapon consists of four major components: the

M298 cannon assembly weighing 50kg; the

M190 bipod assembly (32kg); the M9 base

plate (62kg); and the M67 sight unit (1.1kg).

These components are carried in a trailer towed

by a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled

follow-on contract modification for an unspecified

number of the mortar rounds, although the army

has separately stated that it will acquire a total

of 5,480 munitions over a two-year period.

The term kit is somewhat misleading, as

ATK equips a modified, existing M933/M934

mortar body with a new tail subsystem and

fuse subsystem, which together provide the

necessary precision guidance capabilities.

The company supplies the munition to the

army as a complete ready-to-use system. The

fuse has three operating modes proximity,

point detonation and delay which can be

programmed by the mortar team using either

the M95 Mortar Fire Control System, M150

Mortar Fire Control System-Dismounted

or M32 Lightweight Handheld Mortar

Ballistic Computer.

General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical

Systems (GD-OTS) announced on 2 May that

it had successfully demonstrated a tactical

versionof its120mmRoll ControlGuidedMortar

(RCGM) bomb at Yuma Proving Grounds,

Arizona. All of the rounds were successfully

guided to within 10m of their target at ranges of

1,000-5,000m, according to the company. The

test demonstrated the RCGM capability in

height-of-burst, point detonation and delay fuse

modes, and demonstrated the rounds ability to

perform at hot, ambient and cold temperatures.

The RCGM is being proposed by GD-OTS as

a competitor for future APMI requirements.

BOOST TO IBCT

The mortar platoons within the two infantry

battalions of an infantry brigade combat team

A US Army crew fire their M120 120mm mortar at Observation Post Mustang in Kunar Province,

Afghanistan. The mortar is well suited for operations in such difficult terrain. (Photo: US Army)

Inset:ATKs Mortar

Guidance Kit

integrates new tail

and fuse subsystems

with an existing

M933/M934 120mm

mortar round body to

produce the XM395,

which has a CEP of

less than 10m.

(Photo: US Army)


14/362

HEAVY MORTARS


Vehicle (HMMWV) and assembled by the crew

when they arrive at a fire position.

Due to its weight, the 120mm mortar tube

takes considerable physical effort to put in place,

fire and quickly move to avoid enemy counterfire,

said Lt Col John Lewis in 2007, when he was

product manager for mortar systems at the US

Armys Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. The

M326 uses a support strut to hold the mortar

tube, base plate and bipod solidly together. The

complete weapon is emplaced or recovered by

a hydraulic winch in less than 20 seconds. A

manual lift winch and strap are also available for

use as a backup. Once the 120mm mortar is

deployed, the support strut is disengaged

and the hauling platform driven away before

firing begins.

The M326 offers several advantages to

the end user, including: quick deployment of

the M120 mortar section; shoot and scoot

capability to the 120mm mortar system and the

crew; improved emplacement and displacement

times; and the ability to lift a fully assembled

M120 into an M1101 trailer or prime mover

(PM) (M998 HMMWV), Dick Theis, M326

programme manager at BAE Systems, told LWI.

The M326 also eliminates the need for mortar

disassembly before deployment and retrieval,

and minimises equipment damage due to

hazards and wear associated with assembly,

disassembly, storage and transport.

With the combination of the M150 and the

M326, the IBCT mortar platoon now has shoot

and scoot capabilities, allowing them to set up

and fire accurately within 90 seconds of receipt

of a fire mission while on the move, according

to an army statement. After firing, the mortar can

be displaced, stowed and ready for road march

within two minutes.

In September 2007, the US Army awarded

BAE Systems a contract for 52 low-rate initial

production M326 units and 536 full-rate prod-

uction units. A follow-on contract was sub-

sequently awarded for a further 100 systems.

EFSS IN ACTION

Marines of F Battery, Battalion Landing Team

3/8, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Regimental

Combat Team 2 fired the first rounds from

the M327 120mm Expeditionary Fire Support

System (EFSS) in combat on 29 January at

CombatOutpost Ouellette in Helmand Province,

Afghanistan. The first round was an M1105

illumination projectile, which was used to light

an area occupied by marine snipers positioned

to deter insurgents from placing IEDs.

F Battery achieved another first with the

EFSS on 6 March when it conducted a mission

using the new Advanced Field Artillery Tactical

Data Systems Ballistic Computer-11 software,

which computes all required artillery data for a

fire mission.

Within the USMC, unlike the army, 120mm

mortars are assigned to artillery battalions rather

than infantry battalions. GD-OTSs EFSS is one

leg of the USMCs fire support triad, along with

Lockheed Martins High-Mobility Artillery Rocket

System and BAE Systems M777 155mm

Lightweight Howitzer. The EFSS represents the

primary indirect fire support system for the

vertical assault element of the ship-to-objective

manoeuvre force, so the complete system was

designed to be carried inside the MV-22B

Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.

The EFSS comprises: the M327 rifled towed

mortar that is based on the RT 120 rifled mortar

produced by TDA Armaments (a member of the

Thales Group); a PM vehicle; an ammunition

supply vehicle (ASV); an ammunition trailer (AT);

and a four-round family of munitions, consisting

of HE, smoke, illumination and practice rounds.

The PM/ASV is a short wheelbase version of

the Internally Transportable Vehicle. One MV-22

carries the PM, mortar and half the crew

members, while a second lifts the ASV, AT and

remaining crew members.

However, in Afghanistan EFSS batteries are

using the Oshkosh MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle to

tow the M327 and its ammunition trailer, instead

of the EFSS PM that provides no protection

against IED blasts.

In May 2010, Marine Corps Systems

Command (MARCORSYSCOM) awarded

GD-OTS a $9.7 million contract for Phase I II

development of the 120mm Precision Extended

Range Munition (PERM), which will extend the

range of the EFSS to 17km. The contract

covers completion of development of the

PERM, USMC-compliant packaging and ten

guided flight tests.

MARCORSYSCOM awarded GD-OTS a

$198.7 million firm fixed-price, indefinite-

delivery/indefinite-quantity contract in March

for EFSS ammunitions. Half of the work will

be done at TDAs facilities in Saint-Aubin,

France, as it is the only company in the world

that produces ammunition for 120mm rifled

mortars. LWI

USMC artillery batteries equipped with the EFSS are using the MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle

to tow the 120mm M327 mortar and its ammunition trailer. (Photo: USMC)

A USMC gunner fires the 120mm M327

at Combat Outpost Ouellette, Helmand

Province, Afghanistan on 6 March.

(Photo: USMC)


15/36

ANUNBREAKABLE

BOND

vehicle in contrast to explosive reactive

armour (ERA). Non-explosive reactive armour

is now available, while some companies,

including Switzerlands RUAG, offer ERA

that confines its explosive reaction to a

very limited area, reducing the potential for

collateral damage.

A LIGHTER SOLUTION

However, an all-round bar armour installation in

steel is heavy. Seeking a quick way to provide

RPG protection for High Mobility Multipurpose

Wheeled Vehicles within a strict weight limit,

DARPA asked industry for solutions. BAE

As well as radically reshaping armoured vehicles, the asymmetric threats

faced over the last decade have concentrated minds on the technology

of armour itself. Peter Donaldson discusses recent trends.

Systems responded with the L-Rod, a bar

armour that is made from an aluminium alloy.

The product, according to the company, weighs

less than half of what a comparable steel

design would, and bolts onto the vehicle

without welding or cutting. Its modular design

also allows it to be repaired easily in the field.

L-Rod now protects a wide range of vehicles,

and the US Army continues to buy kits, which

are built on an automated production line in

Austin, Texas. Commenting on last Octobers

$11 million order from the army for 390 kits and

field service support, Neil Piscitelli, a director at

BAE Systems Austin facility, said: Weve

Threats such as RPGs and IEDs,

combined with ubiquitous small arms,

heavy machine guns, mortars and the occ-

asional autocannon that are coming from all

directions in claustrophobic urban canyons,

have taxed conventional protection technology

for just about any AFV less well protected than

a MBT to the limit and beyond. IEDs that use

explosively formed projectiles (EFPs) have

proven particularly hard to counter. A new

challenge has been the need to provide

protection for every kind of support vehicle,

which traditionally have been soft-skinned,

deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The military and industry have responded

by questioning established assumptions,

giving new life to long-forgotten concepts and

nurturing new ideas. Arguably the most

important of these efforts is the application of

new materials that have the potential to protect

vehicles and crews from multiple threats without

adding unacceptable weight and bulk. Some

solutions involve fundamental breakthroughs in

materials science, while others involve innovative

applications of very simple low tech.

One that falls into the latter category is bar

armour. Also known as cage or slat armour, this

is an old concept that dates back to World War

II. The idea is that the bars of the cage are too

closely spaced to allow an RPGs shaped-

charge warhead to pass through, and either

trigger it prematurely or distort it so that it

initiates improperly.

Bar armour thus offers protection, while

presenting no hazard to anyone near the


TECHNOLOGY FOCUS


One promisingtechnology fundedunder this programmeis metal matrixcomposite armour.

US Army soldiersof the 8th Engineer

Battalion connect

BAE Systems

L-Rod bar armour

to an RG-31

MRAP vehicle at

Kandahar Airfield.

(Photo: USAF)


16/364

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS


delivered more than 2,500 total kits to date, and

now more are on the way.

A lightweight alternative to bar armour is

RUAGs Light Armour System against Shaped

Ordnance (LASSO) a product that looks like

a section of chain-link fencing bolted to the side

of an armoured vehicle at a stand-off distance

of around 40cm. The company claims that

LASSOs thin, high-tensile steel netting weighs

less than 20kg per square metre, and offers

multi-hit capability and easy replacement in the

field without special tooling. Company literature

shows the results of a test against an RPG

warhead, which made a hole in the netting, but

caused negligible damage to the armour

behind it.

Seeking a quick way to repair damaged

bar armour in the field, the UK MoD turned

to the Defence Science and Technology

Laboratory (DSTL) and AmSafe, which

developed QuickShield netting. Resembling a

string vest, it can be stored in any vehicle and

fitted immediately without special tools,

according to DSTL. QuickShield may look like

a simple net, but it is far from that, said Maj

Gareth East, a member of the specialist and

logistic vehicles project team at the UK Defence

Equipment & Support organisation. This kit is

capable of stopping a potentially lethal RPG in

its tracks. British forces in Afghanistan are to

receive QuickShield kits under a 2.6 million

($4.3 million) contract announced in March.

QuickShield employs the new Tarian textile-

based technology that has been developed as

an alternative to bar armour. It is half the weight

of aluminium bar armour, yet equally effective,

and can be used to provide RPG protection

for those vehicles unable to carry the weight of

bar armour, according to the developers.

Created under the Parsifal accelerated armour

development effort, the product has undergone

hundreds of trials in which it was fired upon by

what DSTL describes as a highly accurate

tube-mounted launch system for RPGs.

Tarian has been tested to the highest

standards using a variety of grenades, rockets

and small arms fire at different angles, the

organisation states. It has also passed flame

Q-Flos carbonnano-tubes havethe potential torevolutionise thedefence industry.



TECHNOLOGY FOCUS


retardant tests to prove its resistance to petrol

bombs, along with cutting and abrasion

experiments to evaluate its ability to withstand

general battlefield wear and tear. In its initial

configuration, the armour has been fitted to

British Heavy Equipment Transporter trucks in

Afghanistan since 2009.

RISING TO THE

ARMOUR CHALLENGE

DSTL is also pursuing innovations in more

traditional armour materials such as steel. In

March 2010, the organisation announced that

it was working with steel manufacturer Corus

to commercialise a new material known as

Super Bainite, which it describes as an ultra-

hard steel with holes in.

It sounds like a crazy idea, but introducing

holes doubles the ballistic performance of

Super Bainite, as well as halving its weight,

said Peter Brown, who led the DSTL research

team that developed the material. This is

because when a bullet hits, its always near to

the edge of a hole. This causes the bullet to

topple over, turning it from a sharp projectile

into a blunt fragment, which is easier to stop.

The holes are, of course, too small to enable a

bullet to pass through.

DARPA continues to champion the develop-

ment of new armour technologies through its

Vehicle Armor Challenge (VAC) programme,

one key goal of which is to find armour that

weighs less than 18lb per square foot, while

still being able to stop two designated

projectiles the 7.62mm APM2 armour-

piercing bullet and 20mm fragment-simulating

projectile (FSP). The VAC is intended to attract

innovative solutions from small companies,

and help them produce workable solutions

rapidly. Companies that have taken up the

challenge include: CPS Technologies; Deep

Springs Technology (DST); Mav6; a team

consisting of Riley Solutions and NanoRidge;

and Modumetal.

AmSafe is

producing

QuickShield

kits, made of

Tarian, for use

by British forces

in Afghanistan

to replace

damaged or

missing bar

armour.

(Photo: AmSafe)


18/366

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS


One promising technology funded under this

programme is metal matrix composite (MMC)

armour. MMCs are analogous to more familiar

polymer matrix composites, such as carbon-

fibre reinforced plastic, but with metal instead

of polymer as the bulk material that contains the

reinforcement. Those that combine at least

three materials are known as hybrid composites.

For a given weight or thickness, for example,

MMCs can be stiffer, tougher, stronger or

harder (or exhibit combinations of these

properties) than any metal alone. The rein-

forcement can be in the form of continuous

fibres, whiskers, grains, spheres, etc, with

the final properties of the composite depending

on the materials themselves and how they

are combined.

One example is CPS Technologies

HybridTech MMC armour. Modules of this

protection are made of multiple materials

completely enveloped within, and mechanically

and chemically bonded to, lightweight and stiff

aluminium MMCs, according to the company.

CPS HybridTech Armor modules offer a

lightweight, multi-hit-capable and cost-

competitive alternative to conventional steel,

aluminium and ceramic-based armour systems,

states CPS.

The company is also being funded by the US

Army Research Laboratory to continue

developing manufacturing technologies for large

HybridTech modules, receiving just over $1.9

million in January 2011 as part of a four-year

plan funded by the US DoDs Manufacturing

Technology Program.

WEIGHT CONTROL

MMC materials also feature in DSTs Light-

weight Syntactic Armour Material, which

consists of small hollow silicon carbide spheres

encapsulated in metal. This composite material

is up to 39% lighter than traditional light-

weight aluminium alloy armour plate, and

has novel energy-absorbing properties that

solid materials do not exhibit, says the company.

This composite may be used to supplement

existing armour systems and increase its

effectiveness by reducing system weight,

while simultaneously increasing the blast

mitigation properties.

Mav6 (formerly Ares Systems Group) has

developed the EXO Scale-LA armour that

consists of a proprietary composite structure

designed to deform and redirect incoming

projectiles. The material is also designed to

withstand multiple hits, partly by ensuring that

damage from a ballistic impact does not extend

over a distance greater than two or three times

the projectiles calibre, according to Jerome

Holton, speaking in 2008 as the companys

chief technology officer when it entered the

VAC programme.

The protection has two additional strengths,

according to the company: its low density

allows for up to 38mm of armour to be used,

while still being lighter than conventional rolled

homogenous armour; and the components are

low in cost and readily available.

Some VAC contenders are using nano-

materials, which are defined by particle sizes of

less than one tenth of a micron in at least one

dimension. Such tiny sizes can have profound

effects on a wide variety of properties, including

the mechanical strength and impact resistance

of materials such as metals, ceramics and

carbon in the form of carbon nano-tubes

for example.

One of these contenders is Modumetal, a

small company that is developing a material of

the same name, produced by growing 3D,

nano-laminated metal alloys said to be much

lighter than steel, while outperforming it in

energy absorption and ballistic protection. The

company also expects the material to resolve

issues that are commonly associated with in-

service ceramic armours, such as high cost and

poor multi-hit performance.

Riley Solutions, which teamed up with

NanoRidge for the VAC in July 2010, is offering

composites that incorporate nanomaterials for

mechanical reinforcement. Specialised and

patented processes adapt the highly versatile

chemistry of carbon nano-tubes, altering its

natural bundles to create stronger dispersed

linkages that can then be incorporated into

armour composites, says the company. Riley

also states that it will be possible to incorporate

health and status monitoring functions into

armour panels, along with heat signature

management and other advanced functions,

and that the material is available in curved and

complex shapes.

FOURTH GENERATION ARMOUR

Germanys IBD Deisenroth Engineering,

which has been developing advanced materials

for 30 years, has announced big improve-

ments in armour performance through the use

of nanometric ceramics and steel, and has

developed modular protection systems based

on this technology. It is very painful and costly

and it moves slowly, but in 2008 and 2009, we

definitely had breakthroughs in the area of

ceramic and steel nanomaterials, Ulf Deisenroth,

president of the company, said at International

Armoured Vehicles 2010 in London.

We are generating materials which are

absolutely superior to the existing materials

RUAG developed the SidePRO-LASSO, shown here mounted on a Danish Army M113 APC

in Afghanistan, as a lightweight system to protect against RPG attacks. (Photo: Danish HOK)

CPS has developed a technology for

improving the toughness of ceramic tiles in

composite armour systems by selectively

reinforcing them with metal and metal

matrix composites. (Photo: CPS)


19/36


20/368

TECHNOLOGY FOCUS


on the market. There is a big difference in the

microstructures between the normal and the

nano-ceramics the grain size is very, very small

[and] we get much higher bonding strength

between the grains.

These materials form the basis of what

the company describes as its fourth gener-

ation armour, marketed under the Advanced

Modular Armour Protection brand kits

incorporating this technology are already inservice. Compared with high-performance

standard ceramic armour, the nano-ceramic

material exhibits much greater ductility and

crack resistance.

In a 100x100 tile, we can place three hits,

which is completely impossible with todays

state-of-the-art ceramics, said Deisenroth.

Referring to tests using 14.5mm projectiles, he

said that when you shoot at a nano-ceramic

tile, you have very minor shattering, but no

cracks this solves the multi-hit problem. Nano-

ceramics also offer significant weight savings.

We are talking here about weight reductions

of between about 20 and 25% against the best

solutions that we have available today, he said.

Turning to very fine grained nanometric steels,

Deisenroth said that the company has achieved

fantastic multi-hit capabilities, but, more

importantly, has also achieved protection levels

previously only available from high-performance

ceramic face armour. Compared with con-

ventional armoured steels, their nanometric

equivalents are claimed to weigh around 30%

less. Perhaps more importantly, these materials

can also be incorporated into the primary

structure of new vehicles at the design stage,

while offering cost-effective add-on solutions

for upgrades, according to the company.

The armour also provides effective protection

against EFP weapons, which are some of the

most deadly threats faced by armoured vehicle

crews. Deisenroth showed a film of an EFP test

against a standard thin-walled vehicle, where

thousands of fragments penetrated the hull,

giving any occupants no chance of survival,

even with a spall liner, and also generated very

high overpressures. In contrast, a comparable

vehicle with a fourth-generation armour kit

managed to protect the test dummy inside. We

can protect vehicles quite well with five or six

millimetres of armour against this very heavy

threat, he said.

In February of this year, the company

announced further improvements in nano-

ceramics technology, reducing weight by more

than 40% compared to standard armour. For

example, a kit providing protection up to

STANAG 4569 Level 3 with the new tech-

nology would weigh 32kg per square metre,

compared with a typical weight of 60kg per

square metre with standard technologies,

according to Deisenroth. This kit also provides

protection against the 20mm FSP, previously

only possible with Level 4 protection.

RUAG also claims EFP protection capability

for armoured vehicle floors using a light armour

plate combined with intermediate flooring and

reorganisation of interior equipment. This, says

the company, will protect against TNT blast

mines of up to 10kg along with EFP and CE

mines such as the TMRP-7.

TUBULAR REVOLUTION

Leading Israeli armour house Plasan is also

exploiting the potential of nanotechnology, and

in November 2010, the company announced

a joint venture with Q-Flo, a commercial spin-

out from the University of Cambridge. The joint

venture is known as TorTech Nano Fibres, and

it will produce carbon nano-tube fibre in Israel

for use in both vehicle and body armour. The

new material is stronger than Kevlar and other

ballistic fabrics, but still flexible and lightweight,

says the company.

We are delighted to partner with Plasan to

further develop the world leading research by

Prof Alan Windle and Dr Martin Pick, said

Dai Hayward, CEO of Q-Flo. Through TorTech,

we intend to produce a carbon nano-tube-

based yarn, which can be woven into the

strongest ever man-made material. Plasans

expertise will then enable the design and

production of a revolutionary new range of body

and vehicle armour.

Carbon nano-tube fibres could lead to a

breakthrough in structural composite and

lightweight armour applications, said Dan Ziv,

CEO of Plasan. This is an exciting venture,

since we believe Q-Flos carbon nano-tubes

have the potential to revolutionise the defence

industry with a new range of lightweight, flexible

and incredibly strong armoured material.

The announcement of this partnership closely

followed that of another between Plasan and

TPI Composites, a US company known for its

innovations in manufacturing techniques for

composite materials. The two companies

formed a joint venture known as Armored

Chariots, in order to develop the next generation

of crew compartments for military vehicles.

Innovative, tailored combinations of new

materials such as these seem to be tipping the

balance of power in the eternal struggle

between sword and shield in favour of the

defence, at least as far as the main asymmetric

threats are concerned. However, history shows

that all such advantages are temporary. LWI

An example of the

combined application of

IDBs nano-ceramics and

nanometric steel armour,

which provides ballistic

and IED protection for

the Iveco 4x4 Medium

Protected Vehicle.

(Photo: IBD)

IBD has focused its development activities on opaque andtransparent nano-ceramics and nanometric steel. (Photo: IBD)


21/36

THEGENERATION

GAME

Interceptor Body Armor and Advanced

Combat Helmets sit on the floor of the

passenger terminal at Sather Air Base,

Iraq, as soldiers wait for a flight home to

Fort Benning, Georgia, after a year-long

deployment. (Photo: USAF)

single quick release that allows the soldier to

rapidly doff the vest and its attachments in

emergency situations. The IOTV is manufact-

ured by Point Blank Body Armor, BAE Systems,

KDH and Protective Products Enterprise.

Lt Col Jon Rickey, product manager for

soldier protective equipment in the US Army,

has responsibilities for everything from ballistic

eyewear and goggles to the Advanced Bomb

Suit worn by EOD personnel. He told Land

Warfare Internationalthat the armys planned

FY2012 purchase of 56,885 units would

complete the army acquisition objective (AAO)

of 966,000 items.

SECOND GENERATION

Currently, the IOTV is what we call the

generation II , he said. Our goal is for that last

buy, in FY2012, to be the generation III IOTV.

That would be the version we ultimately

transition over to Defense Logistics Agency

Troop Support for sustainment.

Combat body armour has

saved lives and prevented

injury to countless US Army and

USMC personnel in Afghanistan

and Iraq, but manufacturers are

still working on improvements in

effectiveness and usability.Scott R Gourley examines

the state of the art.

Rickey highlighted several key improvements

in the third-generation design. One involves the

emergency quick release, he said. Currently,

on the generation II IOTV, the quick release

cable channels throughout the vest, so you

have two cords that kind of hold everything

together. It is a bit of a challenge, and it takes

some training to understand how to route the

cables through correctly so that the vest will

come apart when needed in an emergency. The

quick release in the generation III uses a newer

type of technology, with the cables already

internally routed, and just four buckles that you

need to snap together to put your vest back

together. And you can do that in probably 15

seconds, as compared to two or three minutes

that it takes now to route the cables.

Other major improvement areas include

adjustability of the side plate carriers and

expanded locations for the pouch attachment

locking strips that allow soldiers to fasten

additional gear to their vests.

Few items of ground combat equip-

ment have been the subject of as

much scrutiny and activity over the past few

years as body armour, where the latest

generation of vest designs reflects a desire for

the optimal mix between personal protection

and tactical capabilities.

Most US military forces currently field

some version of the Interceptor Body Armour,

a modular protective system consisting

of an outer tactical vest of soft armour,

removable ballistic plates and attachable

components to increase specific areas of

coverage. Each of these reflects a number of

improvements that have been fielded over the

past decade in response to changing threats

and warfighter needs.

The second-generation Improved Outer

Tactical Vest (IOTV) that is currently used, for

example, is more than 1.36kg lighter than its

predecessor, the OTV. The side-opening IOTV

also has an increased area of coverage and a


BODY ARMOUR



22/360

BODY ARMOUR


While users in recent human factors assess-

ments have rated the new design as excellent

in terms of range of motion and simplicity to don

and doff, Rickey said that the remaining issue

is weapons compatibility.

When you put a buckle up on the shoulder,

that could cause you to lose some lethality, he

noted. We are going to do an excursion when

we go into another field evaluation that we

are conducting called Soldier Protection

Demonstration 9. Thats going to happen 8-22

June at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The goal is to

look at the IOTV and the Soldier Plate Carrier

System, and look at weight distribution being

able to transmit the weight from the shoulders

down to the hips much like you would find on

commercial backpacks.

As part of that demonstration, we are going

to do an excursion and measure the soldiers on

their weapons compatibility to see if we actually

do have a difference in marksmanship. One

thing we dont want to do is improve the vest,

but reduce the soldiers lethality.

increased level of protection, and a set of

XSAPI weighs 12lb.

The AAO for ESAPI plates is 966,000, while

the requirement for XSAPI is 160,000 sets

(320,000 plates), in case they are justified

by specific threats. Rickey added that the army

has started procuring XSAPI side inserts a

set of these weighs 2.72kg, opposed to 2.31kg

for the ESAPI plates.

WEIGHT REDUCTION

He acknowledged that weight discussions

were a complicated issue, since they could

involve a soft-armour base vest, its modular

deltoid or other area protectors, and then

additional plate inserts. The IOTV, with all of its

components and the deltoid protectors, weighs

15.87lb, he explained. When the plates are

added to that vest, a medium IOTV with ESAPI

plates is approximately 31lb thats 31lb of

soldier protection. But our goal obviously is to

reduce that weight.

Weight reduction efforts are under way

with several universities and industry, and

Rickey offered evidence of the latter in a

recent contract with BAE Systems to do some

work to reduce the weight of XSAPI plates.

We have other contracts out there that we

are looking at to help us look at new sizing

and parts that would make the vest a little

more ergonomic and fit soldiers better,

he added.

There is a lot of work we are doing to try to

reduce the weight of the plates and the vest

themselves, Rickey summarised. We have

taken a small step forward with the vest.

Typically, we talk about the weight in terms of

areal density pounds per square foot.

Historically, that has been right at 1.1lb/ft

[5.37kg/m] for the materials we use. They are

[usually] para-aramid fibres that provide

protection against fragmentation and similar

threats. I think we have crossed the barrier line

in that we have got a qualified soft-armour

package today that is at .98 areal density.

So we are making a little progress. And each

time you lower that areal density, you are able

While the soft-armour vest provides pro-

tection against some small arms and frag-

mentation threats, it also accommodates

removable ballistic plates that increase its

protection levels. Todays Enhanced Small Arms

Protective Insert (ESAPI) plates, manufactured

by Ceradyne, BAE Systems and Armacel,

provide greater protection than the earlier SAPI

designs. Near-term enhancements include the

new X-Threat SAPI (XSAPI) that is manu-

factured by Ceradyne, BAE Systems and The

Protective Group.

While declining to speak about threats,

Rickey offered a weight comparison. For a

medium ESAPI plate, which is the standard

plate we have to defeat most of the prevalent

threats on the battlefield, a set [front and back

protection] weighs 10.9lb [4.94kg], he said.

The XSAPI is really a plate that is designed to

meet potential emerging threats we might see.

Were trying to stay ahead of what we think the

enemy may come up with. But there is a weight

penalty that you have to pay in order to get that

The USMC has evolved its Interceptor system along a different pathway to the US Army over

the past few years. Recognising that the Outer Tactical Vest, created in the late 1990s, was

not designed to carry personal equipment, its development initially focused on integration of

state-of-the-art load-bearing capabilities to help carry an assault load of magazines, water,

grenades and other items.

In response to an urgent need statement submitted in January 2006, Marine Corps System

Command (MARCORSYSCOM) fielded the Modular Tactical Vest (MTV), which optimisedballistic protection of ESAPI plates and soft-armour ballistic panels, while facilitating the carrying

of individual combat loads. While approximately the same weight as OTV, the MTV felt lighter

due to improved load distribution and other design features.

In December 2010, MARCORSYSCOM representatives outlined a notional concept for

an Improved Armor Carrier Suite (IACS) that may be incorporated within the full spectrum

battle equipment. As described in the sources sought announcement, the IACS would allow

the individual marine to configure and tailor mission-specific armour and load carriage

components based on operational requirements.

The suite would consist of a releasable tactical vest, releasable plate carrier, low-visibility

tactical vest and low-visibility plate carrier that supports/integrates the respective armour cuts,

identified hard armour inserts/ancillary armour additions and load carriage systems.

THE USMC APPROACH

The second-generation Improved Outer Tactical Vest, shown here in the multicam pattern foruse in Afghanistan, includes adjustable holders for the side protective plates. (Photo: US DoD)



BODY ARMOUR


to reduce the weight on the soldier. In terms of

ceramic technologies, we are not seeing

anything right there on the horizon that would

allow us to make any sort of leap ahead in

lowering that weight. But we think we can

gradually lower it unless a new material

pops up.

At the same time, industry is always out there

trying to advance new technologies, and they

are not shy at all about coming to us with

their ideas.

LIGHTER OPTION

Another recent body armour development is

the KDH Defense Systems Soldier Plate

Carrier System (SPCS), which Rickey charact-

erised as a scaled-down version of the IOTV.

When you look at the Interceptor Body

Armor System, the area of soft ballistic

coverage is 1,085in [0.699m], he said.

Depending on the mission and the

commanders call on the battlefield, you can

take off your groin protector, lower-back

protector, those deltoid protectors for your

shoulders, reducing the weight by 5.31lb. And

when you take that off the base vest for the

IOTV, it is 885in of soft ballistic protection

thats one way to reduce the weight based on

the mission.

Observing that even 885in of soft armour

amounts to a lot of weight, Rickey highlighted

a directed requirement received in September

2009 to go with a plate carrier system for

soldiers operating in Afghanistan at altitude. So

the SPCS just carries the plates with some soft

armour behind them to help reduce back face

deformation or blunt injury as a result of the

round impacting the plate, he explained.

This system has 418in of soft armour

coverage, essentially directly behind the plate

with some edging around [it] to mitigate spall

that you might get from an edge shot on the

plate. When you go with SPCS, depending on

whether you use side plates or not, you can

reduce almost another 5lb. The medium-sized

plate carrier with the ESAPIs is 21.85lb, so

thats a tool in the commanders kit bag in

Afghanistan. Based on the mission, they can

direct what armour protection level they need

the soldiers to operate in.

NEXT GENERATION

Looking towards the future, Rickey highlighted

the ongoing cooperation with the user

community on a new Soldier Protection System

Capability Development Document. Were

developing the requirements document right

now, he said. It just went out to worldwide

staffing for comment last December.

The requirements we currently have were

originally derived back in 1990, so we want

to update them. Our team was recently at

the National Ground Intelligence Center in

Charlottesville, looking at: handgun threats; IED

and frag threats; grenades; artillery; mortars;

and the 7.62mm rounds out there that we

might face in the future. The goal here is to

holistically document soldier protection for the

head, torso, vital organ and extremities, [but] I

dont want to say that we will have a monolithic

plate solution. Maybe we will be able to achieve

a more flexible plate solution that gives us the

same capabilities.

Once staffing is completed, the require-

ment document is projected for the Joint

Requirements Oversight Council milestone in

the fourth quarter of FY2012.

In the near term, were looking at setting

a goal in this programme to reduce the weight

and maintain at least current capabilities, and

see if we could even improve capabilities by

reducing the weight. If the programme is

approved, we would potentially see an initial

operational capability of a new type of body

armour system in FY2015. Again, its just in

concept development now, and its going to

require a lot of support from the community and

HQ Department of the Army for that pro-

gramme but its a goal, he concluded. LWI

Personnel from the 3rd Marine Regiment wear Modular Tactical

Vests during counter-IED training in Hawaii. (Photo: USAF)

Above left:According to the US Army, the KDH Soldier Plate Carrier System provides ballistic

protection equal to or greater than that of the IOTV in a standalone capacity, while reducing

the soldiers load, enhancing comfort and optimising mobility. (Photo: PEO Soldier)Above right: The US Army plans to acquire 966,000 Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert

Plates from BAE Systems and other manufacturers. (Photo: BAE Systems)


24/362

ARMOUREDVEHICLES


director of business development for the heavy

brigade combat team at BAE Systems,

explained to Land Warfare International.

While it maintains a two-man crew, the turret

is upgraded from an analogue to digital

architecture, and provides two second-

generation FLIR targeting systems. The gunner

station continues targeting using the Improved

Bradley Acquisition System that was developed

and fielded after Operation Desert Storm.

The commander station now has a separat

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