Title: THE V150 LIVES
Description: In Iraq...
Description: In Iraq...
possible - June 15, 2005 08:50 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE |
| So far, according to Johnson, the ASVs in Iraq are performing well. Two have been attacked by rocket-propelled grenades, one of which was deflected while the other exploded but did not penetrate the hull, he said. The vehicle hull is angled in different directions to help avoid a direct hit but the armor is not designed to withstand a blow from an RPG. Also, two vehicles have had improvised explosive devices blow up beneath them, one of which blew out all four tires, Johnson said. In that incident, the crew inside was still able to drive the vehicle back to its base on the flats. There have been no soldiers killed or wounded while operating the ASVs, he said. Any vehicles that have been damaged in combat have been repaired and put back into service, he said. Under the current contract, Textron is supplying the ASVs at $571,000 a copy. The price for the additional 28 vehicles would likely go up a little, Johnson said. http://www.systems.textron.com Although the ASV was not designed for convoy escort missions, it has been “pressed into duty as convoy escort vehicles because of the mine and improvised explosive device threats in Iraq,” said Moise. The M1117 can handle IEDs better than an armored Humvee. “Usually, when you think of convoys, you think of open road convoys,” Moise said. “Most of the time in Iraq, these convoys are running through small towns and cities, where they’re detonating IEDs. The ASV has been able to withstand these IEDs. In fact, some of our vehicles have been hit multiple times.” One ASV returned 45 kilometers after an IED blew out all four tires, according to Sgt. Marshall Dickinson, with the 527th MP Company. “With that added protection, it was not as bad as it would have been in a Humvee. It shook us a little.” The angled armor also deflected RPG rounds, Dickerson said. “RPGs damaged it, but they didn’t penetrate.” Dickerson, whose company served in the Iraq theater from February 2003 to February 2004, also liked the dual mount on the ASV, compared to the difficulty of mounting multiple weapons on a Humvee. His unit fielded platoons of three ASVs and three Humvees. “If we were in a firefight and just needed the M249 [machine gun], we could use the Hummers. If we needed the .50 caliber and the Mark 19, we could use the ASVs.” The ASV had no problem keeping up with truck convoys. “It’s a large vehicle, but it rides smooth,” Dickerson said. Nor did it encounter difficulties in traversing Iraqi villages. “We went everywhere that a up-armored Humvee went.” Moise conceded that the ASV’s armor, despite a ceramic composite applique, is vulnerable to RPGs. “We have taken a couple of RPG strikes that have glanced off because of the obliquity of the vehicle.” In any event, “if the enemy gets the right angle, no vehicle is going to survive an RPG, unless you have slat, active or reactive armor,” he added. Marines in Iraq borrowed a few ASVs from the Army. Marine crews found the vehicles easy to operate because they use a newer version of the same Textron-built weapons turret found on the LAV-25, Moise said. Another user will be the Iraqi government, which has signed contracts for 63 ASV variants, including four turret-less command vehicles, two rescue-recovery versions and 57 armored personnel carriers that can accommodate 10 passengers. http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org |
still going strong... :pushup:
saver111 - June 15, 2005 11:45 AM (GMT)
http://s3.invisionfree.com/Defense_Philipp...p?showtopic=133
They are also reviving the M113's and some units are switching back to those.
They are also reviving the M113's and some units are switching back to those.
Rapidfire - June 17, 2005 01:16 PM (GMT)
How do this ASV compare with the Simba?
saver111 - June 17, 2005 02:30 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Rapidfire @ Jun 17 2005, 09:16 PM) |
| How do this ASV compare with the Simba? |
I think it swims, the simbas don't.
datu - June 17, 2005 03:33 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (saver111 @ Jun 17 2005, 10:30 PM) | ||
I think it swims, the simbas don't. |
Simba/V-150 like most wheeled armored vehicles can fjord through small lakes and calm rivers, ASV is no exeption. Even the PMC's V-300 is a bad swimmer, needs calm waters to swim. ASV is an improvement on the V-150 design. The Simba and V-100/150 vehicles can stop 7.62bullets all around, and maybe .50caliber up front, depending on what angle. The ASV can stop .50caliber armor piercing bullets all around. It does offer more ballistics protection, but the new design differs from past V-150 because of the new mine protection capability. The Simba has a V-shaped hull which was designed to give it mine protection, but the V-100/150 does not. The ASV can withstand a 12-lbs mine blast underneath, but i dont know what will happen if it blows up on only 1 tire. Also the ASV has an improved weapons system. Its now equipped with .50caliber/Mk.19AGL configuration, but like the USMC turreted .50/Mk.19 configuration, the 40mm ammunition belt is exposed externally from the turret, unlike the PMC's V-300/V-150 floro modification with uses CIS/STkinetics 40mmAGL and the ammunition does not go externally to feed the gun, all components are inside the turret. Notice the bulge there on the turret, thats there to give the ammunition some protection or to hide the ammunition so that someone wont smarted up and wont take a shot at it. Simba's turret is too small and only has standard .50caliber MG, but recently saw a picture of a Simba with a modified mount with a Mk.19 on top of the turret. As i understand it the US defense is buying these for US MP battalions but also for Iraqi government forces.
Had a discussion about this in the Opus forum. Things mentioned was that the PMC is already waiting for PN to order the AAVP7 but might have to settle for the ASV since the PMC and locals already have experience with the type of vehicle -V-300/150 in PMC, V-100/150, Chiamete? in Army- which is a plus if the US wants to see AFP to take care of its equipment and not let it just be mothballed without US assistance-i.e. fighters-.
Cost of the ASV as mentioned by 'possible', is $571,000 a copy. Simba deal cost $46million for 150 units, about $307,000 per Simba, but most of the Simbas were assembled in Subic, and wage of a Pinoy worker in Subic is lower than that of a Textron worker in Louisiana. This vehicle would be great if the AFP could get some locally assembled deal.
Simbawith Mk.19.
click here
click here