By Neil Baumgardner
As the Army is looking for lighter, more-deployable Medium Armored Vehicles (MAV) to equip its new brigades at Ft. Lewis, Wash., several companies are already lining up as the main competitors.
According to a draft copy of the draft Operational Requirements Document (ORD) obtained by Defense Daily, the Army is looking for several MAV variants. Missions include:
* anti-tank assault vehicle;
* anti-tank guided missile carrier;
* troop carrier;
* 120mm mortar-equipped fire support vehicle; and
* reconnaissance vehicle equipped with the Long-Range Advanced Scout Surveillance System now fielded, Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) reconnaissance, command and control vehicle, ambulance, and smoke carrier.
The main competitors for the new MAV requirements at this point appear to be General Dynamics [GD], which is teamed with General Motors of Canada [GM] and Austria's Steyr-Daimler-Puch; as well as United Defense, L.P.; and Textron [TXT].
GD, which currently produces the M1 tank for the Army, is offering two main solutions for the Army's needs, one the 8x8 LAV in cooperation with GMC, and the other the 6x6 Pandur in cooperation with Steyr-Daimler-Puch.
GMC's wheeled LAV is a widely popular vehicle, with more than 3,000 sold to the Canadian and Australian armies, Saudi National Guard and the U.S. Marine Corps since the late 1970s. It was originally a licensed production of the Piranha by Switzerland's MOWAG. However, GMC has ended up selling more of its LAV than MOWAG did of the original Piranha. GMC bought MOWAG in August (Defense Daily, Aug. 16).
The U.S. Army originally planned to buy the LAV in cooperation with the Marine Corps in the early 1980s, but withdrew from the program in 1984. Nevertheless, the LAV program office has remained under the administration of the Army's Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command.
GD is currently working with GMC on the assault gun variant of the LAV, mounting GD's Low Profile Turret (LPT), which has an autoloaded M68 105mm gun. The LAV assault gun would meet the Army's antitank vehicle requirement.
GD first developed the LPT for its Expeditionary Tank competitor for the Army's Armored Gun System (AGS) program in the 1980s, but continued development of the turret after United Defense's vehicle was chosen. The LPT was first integrated onto a LAV chassis in January.
At least one analyst was positive about the LAV's chances for the Army.
"GMC [General Motors Canada] seems to win all the contracts. They are looked upon as a good company," Greg Fetter, an analyst with Forecast International/DMS, told Defense Daily recently, noting the LAV's track record of sales.
Fetter also noted that the LAV family offers solutions for almost all of the Army's requirements, which would meet the service's goal for a common chassis.
Variants for the LAV include anti-tank, such as the 105mm-armed assault gun or with launchers for Raytheon's [RTNA/RTNB] Tube-launched Optically-tracked Wire-guided (TOW) anti-tank missile; Armored Personnel Carrier (APC); mortar carrier; air defense, with Raytheon's Stinger surface-to-air missiles and a 25mm gattling cannon; command and control; electronic warfare; maintenance and recovery; and logistics support.
The other solution GD is offering for the Army is the smaller Pandur, which is somewhat lesser known than the LAV. The Pandur has only been ordered by Austria, Belgium, Kuwait and Slovenia.
GD's cooperation with Steyr-Daimler-Puch on the Pandur dates from the majority stake owned by then-Lockheed Martin Defense Systems in AV Technology, which developed the Dragoon family of light armored vehicles in the 1970s. In 1994, AV Technology formed a joint venture with Steyr-Daimler-Puch known as AV Technology International. GD bought Lockheed Martin Defense Systems in 1996 and eventually acquired all of AV Technology in 1998. As a result, GD owns a 50 percent share of the AV Technology International joint venture, as well as 25 percent of Steyr-Daimler-Puch.
The Pandur is similarly a versatile vehicle and comes in several variants, including a 90mm gun armed fire support vehicle, reconnaissance, APC, mortar carrier, command, armored ambulance, and armored recovery variants.
The U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) recently ordered up to 50 Pandur APC variants to meet its armored ground mobility system requirement.
Fetter said that SOCOM's recent acquisition of the vehicles could prove a valuable marketing asset, as well as Steyr-Daimler-Puch's reputation for good after-market support.
On the other hand, United Defense is offering a range of tracked vehicles for the Army.
These armored vehicles include the M8 Armored Gun System (AGS), which the Army has shown considerable interest in, as well as its M113 family of vehicles. United Defense currently makes the Bradley Fighting Vehicle line for the Army.
The AGS was originally designed in the 1980s to provide a light armor capability for the Army's light forces, but it was canceled in 1996 so the service could devote more funding to other modernization programs, such as the digitization of M1 tanks.
United Defense would now offer the AGS to meet the Army's antitank vehicle requirement for the new brigades at Ft. Lewis.
The AGS is armed with an auto-loaded M35 105mm gun. It weighs about 19 tons with the most basic level of protection or around 25 tons with the highest level of modular armor protection.
Another option that exists for the AGS would be a turret for Lockheed Martin's [LMT] Line-Of-Sight Anti-Tank (LOSAT) kinetic energy missile developed during the original AGS program.
United Defense would offer its M113 family of vehicles for the Army's new brigades in a variety of roles that could include APC, reconnaissance, support, and a carrier for the TOW missile or Lockheed Martin's Hellfire anti-tank missiles, as well as others. Such vehicles would be based on the company's newest M113A3, Mobile Tactical Vehicle Light and Universal Carrier lines.
Richard McClelland, the executive director for research at the Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, recently said that the M113, as well as United Defense's AGS, offered the best capabilities for the Army in terms of mobility and survivability (Defense Daily, Oct. 8).
Textron, meanwhile, seeks to build on the sale of its XM1117 Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) to the Army by offering other vehicles in its light wheeled and tracked vehicle lines. Vehicles that Textron could offer include its Stingray II light tank, 6x6 LAV-600 assault gun, 6x6 LAV-300 family of vehicles, and 4x4 LAV-150 family of vehicles, which includes the ASV.
The Stingray II light tank is armed with a L7 105mm cannon by British Aerospace's Royal Ordnance. The wheeled LAV-600 mounts the same turret. Both could compete for the anti-tank vehicle requirement.
The LAV-300 and LAV-150/ASV families of vehicles could fill the assault gun, TOW missile carrier, APC, command, air defense, support, ambulance, and recovery roles for the Army's new brigades.
Fetter said that while Textron's light armored vehicles were originally developed in the 1970s, they are now essentially as good as the latest versions of GMC's LAV.
However, to sell those vehicles, Textron must overcome an apparent lack of interest from the Army in its vehicles. While Textron sold many of the predecessors of its current LAV-150s and -300s to the Army before during the Vietnam War, since then it has had little success until being selected for the ASV program earlier this decade.
All three companies, GD, United Defense and Textron, said that they have registered their intent to take part demonstrations of their vehicles at Ft. Knox in January. The registrations of intent were due from all interested parties on Saturday.