Army boosts production of security vehicle.

Responding to the growing insurgency in Iraq, the Army is accelerating production of an armored car that originally was designed for military police patrols.

The Army has increased its purchases of the M1117 Guardian Armored Security Vehicle, with three new contract awards alone issued in 2004. It recently awarded Textron Marine and Land, New Orleans, a $167 million contract for 212 vehicles, to be delivered by April 2006.

"The Army has asked us to ramp up to 36 ASVs a month by the fall of 2005," said Clay Moise, vice-president of Textron. "To put that in context, a year ago we were looking at one ASV every three weeks."

A military police brigade in Iraq already is using 77 of the vehicles for urban security, convoy escort and other missions. More are being flown directly to the war zone as soon they come off the production lines. In parts of Iraq, ASVs are replacing Humvees, as well as easing the wear and tear on heavier armored vehicles, officials said.

The M1117 weighs about 15 tons, compared to 20 tons for the Stryker armored personnel carrier, 25 tons for the Bradley assault vehicle and almost 70 tons for the Abrams tank. Its skin is tough enough to stop .50-caliber rounds, but not a rocket-propelled grenade.

The $700,000 ASV is only 8 feet wide, compared to 11 feet for a Bradley and 12 for an Abrams. This gives it a relatively short wheelbase and turning radius that allows the vehicle to navigate narrow streets. Its tires do not wear out as out as quickly as rubber tracks. The M1117 can travel at 63 miles an hour, compared to 45 mph for a Bradley--giving it enough zoom to keep up with a truck convoy exiting an ambush zone in a hurry.

The crew has 360-degree visibility even while buttoned up. The M1117 can withstand 12-pound mine blasts under its wheels, while its armor is thick enough to provide overhead protection against 155-millimeter fragments. The dual weapons mount, equipped with a .50-caliber machine gun and a Mark 19 grenade launcher, can be fired while the crew is inside the vehicle.

"If you look at a threat spectrum that's anchored at one end by an unarmored Humvee, and the other by a Stryker, we feel that the ASV fills the gap between those two," Moise said.

In addition to urban security and convoy escort, ASVs in Iraq have also been used in reconnaissance and surveillance, quick reaction force missions, cordon and search and urban extraction.

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.

Intended for the civilian government, rather than the Iraqi military, the vehicles lack weapons stations, but do have overpressure protection against chemical and nuclear agents. "These vehicles are for civilian government force protection, so they're going to use them for high-profile escort," Moise said. They are slated for delivery by September. A half-dozen other governments have expressed interest.

Textron already is looking at modifying the ASV based on feedback from users in Iraq, Moise said. While he declined to give details, possible upgrades include the vehicle's mobility, armor and fire-control systems.