thedrifter
05-22-07, 07:16 PM
Marines looking at up-armoring AAVs
By Kris Osborn - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday May 22, 2007 19:42:07 EDT
The Marine Corps is considering adding armor upgrades across the entire fleet of Assault Amphibious Vehicles, service officials said Tuesday. Plans for greater armor protection and survivability on the AAV are being evaluated, in part, due to delays with the Corps’ next-generation Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle.
“We have been putting together possible upgrade packets,” said Brian Prosser, Program Manager, Assault Amphibious Vehicle Systems, Marine Corps Systems Command (SysCom).
Now in its system development and demonstration phase, the EFV fielding date was delayed by five years in March to 2015, according to a stakeholder report obtained by the Marine Corps Times. The report also detailed cost increases for the EFV, indicating the acquisition unit costs per vehicle had risen from $12.3 million estimated last August, to $22.3 million each.
The Corps is evaluating add-on armor packages for the 1,057 AAVs now in service, Prosser said. The upgrades could continue irrespective of developments with the EFV, said SysCom officials. With a current weight of 44,000 pounds, the AAV would be able to add some more weight and strengthen its defenses against known threats such as rocket-propelled grenades, said Prosser.
“If an RPG hits your vehicle, a lot of what causes the damage is spall [shrapnel and fragments]. With armor upgrades you can reduce that stuff,” said Prosser.
Armed with a .50 caliber M2HB machine gun and Mk-19 40mm grenade launcher, the AAV has been in service sine 1984. After the Gulf War in 1991, AAVs were configured with Enhanced Applique Armor Kits (EAAK) giving the vehicle modular, bolt-on armor capability, said Prosser. The EAAKs give the Marines the ability to add more protective armor to the AAV.
Current armor on the AAV covers only the upper sides and the top of the hull. An upgrade packet would add armor lower down on the vehicle, allowing for additional protection against mines and IEDs, said Prosser. At the same time, adding armor on the lower portions of the AAV could prove difficult given the amphibious nature of the vehicle. Essential cooling systems are placed on the lower portion of the AAV to keep the engine from overheating while in water, Prosser said.
“One of the challenges of going to 360 armor protection is that we have to swim in water,” said Prosser.
The Corps is also looking at composites which reduce the corrosive effect of the ocean upon the AAV, SysCom officials said.
...........
Staff writer Kimberley Johnson contributed to this report
Ellie
By Kris Osborn - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday May 22, 2007 19:42:07 EDT
The Marine Corps is considering adding armor upgrades across the entire fleet of Assault Amphibious Vehicles, service officials said Tuesday. Plans for greater armor protection and survivability on the AAV are being evaluated, in part, due to delays with the Corps’ next-generation Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle.
“We have been putting together possible upgrade packets,” said Brian Prosser, Program Manager, Assault Amphibious Vehicle Systems, Marine Corps Systems Command (SysCom).
Now in its system development and demonstration phase, the EFV fielding date was delayed by five years in March to 2015, according to a stakeholder report obtained by the Marine Corps Times. The report also detailed cost increases for the EFV, indicating the acquisition unit costs per vehicle had risen from $12.3 million estimated last August, to $22.3 million each.
The Corps is evaluating add-on armor packages for the 1,057 AAVs now in service, Prosser said. The upgrades could continue irrespective of developments with the EFV, said SysCom officials. With a current weight of 44,000 pounds, the AAV would be able to add some more weight and strengthen its defenses against known threats such as rocket-propelled grenades, said Prosser.
“If an RPG hits your vehicle, a lot of what causes the damage is spall [shrapnel and fragments]. With armor upgrades you can reduce that stuff,” said Prosser.
Armed with a .50 caliber M2HB machine gun and Mk-19 40mm grenade launcher, the AAV has been in service sine 1984. After the Gulf War in 1991, AAVs were configured with Enhanced Applique Armor Kits (EAAK) giving the vehicle modular, bolt-on armor capability, said Prosser. The EAAKs give the Marines the ability to add more protective armor to the AAV.
Current armor on the AAV covers only the upper sides and the top of the hull. An upgrade packet would add armor lower down on the vehicle, allowing for additional protection against mines and IEDs, said Prosser. At the same time, adding armor on the lower portions of the AAV could prove difficult given the amphibious nature of the vehicle. Essential cooling systems are placed on the lower portion of the AAV to keep the engine from overheating while in water, Prosser said.
“One of the challenges of going to 360 armor protection is that we have to swim in water,” said Prosser.
The Corps is also looking at composites which reduce the corrosive effect of the ocean upon the AAV, SysCom officials said.
...........
Staff writer Kimberley Johnson contributed to this report
Ellie