Light armoured vehicles er, light?

The idea behind the creation of the so-called light armoured vehicle was primarily to enable soldiers to follow the main battle tank on the battlefield. For this reason, they generally tended to be tracked, because as 'followers' they had to operate on fields totally broken up by the Tanks. Hasn't this changed ...

There are two aspects in the recent evolution of the armoured fighting vehicle: the tracks and the wheels. While the latter still have a penalty in terms of footprint (in other words the pressure they impart on the ground in kilograms per square metre) progress made in tyre technology, drive techniques and suspension systems are making them increasingly attractive. The tracked vehicle, on the other hand, still remains more efficient in extreme terrain, such as snow and marsh. Because of their lower footprint, they also offered a preferred solution to carry heavier turrets. Why offered? Because, as we shall see, the wheeled vehicle is now closing the gap, very quickly.

General Technology--Track

The tracked vehicle still has its attraction. Contrary to a widespread belief, its design looks more complicated than its wheeled counterpart, but in fact is not. A tracked vehicle can very much be regarded as a 2 x 10 or a 2 x 12 truck rolling on articulated steel carpet, only that it continuously picks the carpet up at the end of the run and reinserts it under the front wheels. The drive thus consists of a couple of half-shafts running out of the differential to drive two sprockets. The only added subtlety is the differential inverter to enable the sprockets to turn in opposite directions to steer the vehicle (as a matter of fact, and to be more accurate, to allow both sprockets to turn in the same direction when one looks from the side of the vehicle; indeed, when a vehicle moves forward, the left wheels turn counter-clockwise, while the right turn clockwise!).

The main disadvantage of the track could be attributed to its weight and to the wear of its articulations. But there is more. The excessive wear factor seems to belong to the past now, since some manufacturers, like Diehl in Germany for example, have devised systems that can run for several thousand miles before needing readjustment or replacement. The track, however, must run on nice, fat rubber pads not only to avoid totally wrecking the surface they run on, but also to provide increased adherence when on a hard metalled surface, otherwise not only will the vehicle simply glide sideways and off a road at high speeds, but it will also find it very difficult to sharply stop or turn. The rubber pads are the Achilles' heel of the track; they are constantly under shearing forces whenever a turn is taken, which gives them a propensity to part company with the vehicle particularly when the separation forces are their peak, i.e. when they reach the apex of the curve at the rear and get catapulted up in the air. If this happens in an urban environment and hurts someone--and it has happened--even a 'liberator' vehicle can instantly become very unpopular. An alternative exists: rubber. However, this type of track can only be fitted to the lighter types of vehicles, although companies like William Cook will undoubtedly, one day, come up with a solution where the heavy tanks will not crush and chew up its own rubber tracks.

In the armed forces, as anywhere else in today's world, speed has become of prime importance. For an armoured vehicle, this means moving fast on road as well as off. While the track generally has an edge in such terrain, it does have a problem in extreme conditions, because it is not expandable or stretchable. Ideally this facility would be needed to enable all the road wheels to remain in contact with the ground to better distribute the weights over as large as possible a surface. When a vehicle finds itself in a situation whereby only the track portions under the front and rear sprockets are in contact with the ground not only does the track find itself under considerable stress, but its two ends also have to cope with the entire traction duty. An ideal solution, but which still belongs to fiction, would be to find a hydraulic tensioner/loosener that would automatically, and therefore constantly, adjust the track tension according to the travel any given road wheel would require to drop down to maintain contact, or conversely, allow that wheel to move upwards and allow the other ones to remain in contact with the ground. Did we say fiction? Yes, but did say "still", as some constructors are known to work on the problem posed by long-stroke suspensions on tracked vehicles--either heavy or light.

General Technology--Wheel

The wheeled armoured vehicle has always had a tendency to look simpler, like a mere big lorry protected by metal plates, and it certainly lacked the macho image of the tank. But this tendency is now winding down. Under the skin, a wheeled vehicle is a lot subtler than its appearance would suggest. To be truly cross-country capable, it has to be all-wheel driven. This means that power has to be transmitted front, middle and rear through as many differentials as there are axles. Since the idea is to guarantee as much permanent contact to all wheels and the surface as is feasible, an independent suspension is required; because nature has this peculiarity of seldom dispensing the same configuration on both sides of the vehicle. Such a layout in turn requires one pair of universal joints on both sides of the centreline as well as triangulated struts, although torsion bar designs allow the simpler use of trailing arms.

To justify the exploitation of independent suspension to the full, a long stroke, or suspension travel, is required. Here too, phenomenal advances in tyres and shock absorbers have come to the rescue, while hydro-pneumatic systems, a domain pioneered by the French, particularly with the AMX 10RC, are now deemed to offer an ideal answer. Because there is no panacea: a long-stroke suspension tends to be softer, which is quite positive to go over large obstacles and therefore run at lower speeds, but as soon as the surface irons itself out and speed increases, a softly suspended wheel will soon start bouncing about like a pea on a drum and toss the vehicle over its roof. This is hardly a caricature, it has happened--and more often than one might think. Hydro-pneumatic suspensions offer a remarkable flexibility in that they are adjustable to suit the prevailing road conditions. On certain vehicles, like some of the latest Piranhas or the good old AMX 10RC already mentioned, all wheels are independently adjustable, to the extent that when running transversely across a slope, the uphill-side wheels can be retracted and the downhill side extended. Such a feature might be looked upon as an extravagant luxury on ordinary fighting vehicles but certainly a praised one for a driver who feels the rocking movement imparted by a heavy turret up behind his shoulders.

Comes the steering point. As seen above, the tracked vehicle steers by applying a differential torque to the left and right, causing the vehicle to spin around its centre. On a wheeled vehicle, as we all know, the wheels have to be wrenched sideways. This has two drawbacks: they 'bite' inside the cabin, and for proper steering capabilities with a multiple wheeled vehicle, more than one axle will have to be steerable--which takes even more space away from the cabin. The author can testify that on a greasy terrain, the behaviour of a two-axle steered Piranha 6 x 6 versus a single-steered axle Piranha 6 x 6 simply bears no comparison. While the first will gently obey to the slightest inputs on the steering wheel, the second will require a far more determined action to get the front wheels to overcome the in-line resistance of the other two axles. In fact, the vehicle feels like it has a heavy understeer bias.

Returning to the issue of internal cabin space stolen away by the wheels, there are two solutions that allow one to limit the intrusion. One must distribute the steering effort to all corner wheels--in other words, to apply normal steering to the front and opposite steering to the rear. The other is to add differential torque steering to the normal steering when circumstances require a tight turning circle. Giat had applied the technique to its Vextra demonstrator a few years ago. The system simply cuts in when the steering wheel reaches the left or right stops.

The Light Armoured Vehicle Market

Having briefly analysed the pros and cons of wheels versus tracks, let us turn to the success of the 'light' formula, and its evolution. Light, though, may not always be appropriate. Military vehicles, in a way reminiscent with the automobile, have had a tendency to put on weight: a 1970s Golf almost looks Polo-sized compared with the current Golf model and the same could be said of the post-oil crisis American compacts and today's range.

The current range of 20 tonners owe much of their growth to the reduced loss of interest for the main battle tank. However, bigger can also become too big. The three-nation Boxer is a good example of this governmental mismanagement. The official roll-out of the first two prototypes took place in Munich on 12 December 2002, only to see the programme stabbed in its back in July by Britain's decision to pull out on the grounds that, after all, 27 tonnes was way too heavy. The irony is that much of the excess weight was due to the fact that Britain had demanded a serious roof armoured protection to protect the vehicle from top attack (which, given the performance of current top attack weapons,

amounts pretty much to wishful thinking). According to an Alvis Vickers official met at the DSEi exhibition in September 2003, the manufacture of the twelve planned prototypes shall continue since all three nations were committed to the development phase. Under what form, though? Indeed, both the Dutch and the Germans--if they want to save the programme--will have to find ways of seriously cutting down both development and production costs. The Dutch planned to replace all its existing light armoured vehicles (including its ageing M113s) with 384 Boxers, while Germany was expected to acquire up to 1000 units. Britain, on the other hand, wanted 775 to replace its FV430s, Saxons and CVR(T)s.

In a somewhat odd move, the British Ministry of Defence announced during DSEi in September 2003 that part of these will be replaced by a much lighter set of wheels, the Italian Multiple Purposed Light Vehicle. Designed by Iveco, the vehicle will be built under license by Alvis Vickers as part of the 'future Command and Liaison Vehicle programme'. <<The [200 million [pounds sterling]] contract for the 486 vehicles still has to be signed, but production will start next year or so,>> said Alvis Vickers at the time of the DSEi exhibition. In a more size-for-size replacement, though, it is more likely that the big Boxer gap will be filled by the Fres.

There is no doubt that the money saved on the industrialisation and procurement of the Boxer by the United Kingdom will help push ahead the Future Rapid Effect System. Also known as Fres, this project follows yet another defunct project--the Anglo-American Tracer. While it is still a paper project, the Fres was scheduled to enter service in 2007. One can now safely speculate that this will not happen before 2010 at the earliest. The idea is to build, and initially procure, some 1500 vehicles with a service weight of between 17 and 24 tonnes depending on its armament and versions (there could be up to 15 or 16 if one includes engineer and demining versions). At time of writing, important definition discussions were underway, so any description of the Fres can only be speculative. One can safely predict, however, that should the project metamorphose itself into a programme, prime contractorship would be entrusted to Alvis Vickers. Traces of the former alliance with the United States would appear to survive with General Dynamics handling the assessment phase (although the Americans will not acquire the Fres; this appears to be a cross-feeding of information between the British vehicle development and the work being carried out on the Future Combat System in the United States).

Raytheon, for example, is offering an open architecture-based reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition system using a Thales radar and an Alvis-built pylon. Much of the technology would be derived from the know-how acquired by Raytheon in the context of a $ two million Future Combat System study contract awarded by the US Army to continue with the development of this automatic target acquisition system. Raytheon, a company official recently told Armada, has invested $ four million of its own money on top of that.

VBCI: In France, developments in the field of light armoured vehicles are going apace, in total contrast with the tremendous downsizing trouble Giat has to face following the crash of the tank market and the severe procurement cuts in the French Leclerc orders. A complete restructuring of the company is underway with plans to gradually establish a new company under the name of Giat Systemes headquartered in the centre-east city of Roanne, with a subsidiary known as Giat Munitions. In total contrast with both the above and with the troubled Boxer programme (which in total irony included France in its initial stages), the initial phase of the VBCI programme appears to be as steady as a locomotive on rails with the development and the firm order for the production of a first batch of 65 units, including 54 Dragar-equipped infantry fighting vehicles and eleven command posts.

Ultimately, some 700 VBCIs will be produced, including 150 VPC command posts and 550 VCI infantry fighting vehicles. The latter category could eventually include a number of variations, although the prime, basic vehicle will be equipped with a 25 mm Dragar turret developed by Giat. The whole idea behind the VBCI is to replace the tracked AMX 10P (760 units in France) and, up to a certain point, the wheeled VAB. The first VBCIs are scheduled for 2006 and, pending formal receipt of additional orders, deliveries to the French Army would throttle up to a rate of 100 vehicles per year until 2013.

In addition to the Dragar turret, the 25.6-tonne combat weight VCI will be equipped with a laser rangefinder and a thermal sight, a rear Infrared countermeasure system as well as a Sit information system terminal based on the Finders developed for the United Arab Emirates Leclercs. Thus equipped, the VCI will seat eight infantrymen in addition to the driver, the commander (seated behind the driver) and gunner. Interestingly, the commander will have the ability to take over full control of the turret.

A first prototype representative of the VBCI with a Dragar turret is expected to be rolled out in April or May 2004. This will be followed by another two vehicles that will be delivered to the DGA, which will test them for about a year. Giat will also deliver a naked, but armour-equipped, hull for ballistic testing.

The VBCI family was being developed and was to be marketed by Satory MV, a joint venture between Giat and Renault Trucks Defense, the latter being more essentially involved with the entire power chain. The hull is very much in line with Giat's philosophy on modular design, being made of welded aluminium --therefore a relatively light structure which has excellent spall protection properties, tough composite spall lining can be added if needed--to not only allow the emplacement of armour 'a la carte' (titanium-based in this instance), but also to easily enable a user to upgrade (at depot level) the vehicle's protection as new and more effective armour is developed. A perfect example of this progress is now given with the last 92 Leclercs to be delivered to the French Army. The VBCI will, of course, be aero-transportable in a Military Airbus A400M. Giat says that the vehicle could receive additional reactive armour to improve protection against RPG7s.

The overall concept of the VBCI, however, will enable the vehicle to accept a total load of 28 tonnes (some sources mention 32 tonnes, but a Giat official told Armada that this was not likely to happen in the foreseeable future), which leaves a comfortable margin for future expansion, one of which could be the 40 mm telescoped round turret developed by CTA (a Giat and BAE Systems RO joint venture). A 105 TML is certainly in the realm of possibilities, while a 120 mm smooth bore turret would really push the vehicle into its weight limitations--the aforementioned 32 tonnes.

The reason why we use the past tense in the sentence referring to Satory MV stems from the fact that both Giat and Renault announced on 25 September 2003 that this marketing structure had been shut down and the marketing responsibilities for the light armoured vehicles redistributed. Giat now carries prime contractorship for the VBCI as well as for the AMX 10P and the AMX 10 RC, and will be responsible to Renault for the production of the hull and weapons suite of the VAB. Renault's responsibilities are a complete mirror figure of this, and involve the marketing leadership of the VAB and production of the entire powertrain for all vehicles.

AMV: Another new wheeled vehicle to have recently scored a resounding export success is the Patria 8 x 8 AMV. Initially developed to meet the requirement of the Finnish Armed Forces, it was selected and then ordered by the Polish land forces. The order for no less than 690 vehicles was placed on 20 December 2002. Ten per cent of these will be built and delivered by Patria, while the remainder of the vehicles will be licence produced by the Military Mechanical Works in Siemianowice, and 313 of these will carry an Oto Melara 30 mm Hitfist turret.

In Finland, the development of the AMV was very much linked or paired with that of the Amos twin-barrel mortar turret, also developed by Patria (Vammas), but in cooperation with Hagglunds (which subsequently came under the control of Alvis). Finland ordered 24 of these turrets, to the tune of 100 million [euro], which are scheduled for delivery between 2006 and 2009. To wrap up on the subject of the Amos, the turret was also short listed as one of the candidates to equip the mortar version of the American Future Combat System. In this particular case, Patria Hagglunds sold a technology license to AAI in January 2003.

Returning to the vehicle itself, another batch of AMVs--approximately 100 this time, but equipped with a 30 mm canon turret--became the focal point of a memorandum of intent signed by the Finnish Defence Forces in March 2004. The Finnish Army has ordered the first pair of vehicles about two years ago and they were delivered in 2003 for testing purposes.

The AMV perfectly fits in the current trend for wheeled vehicles: 25 tonnes fully loaded, independent hydro-pneumatic suspension (ride height control on option), road speed of 100 km/hour and adaptability to a variety of turrets. A Patria brochure even shows an illustration of an AMV in 'Light Mobile Gun' guise.

Piranha: Born in Mowag's workshops on the peaceful Swiss shores of lake Constance, the Piranha family not only expanded both across the Channel at Alvis' and the Atlantic at General Motors' where it became known as the LAV (and since came under the fold of General Dynamics, of course), but also went through no less than three generations. Strictly speaking, though, the Piranha IV is more than an extra generation, it is a new breed altogether and is much larger than even its similarly wheeled predecessor. This vehicle is in fact pretty much in the league of the Boxer, Terrex and VBCI 25 tonners and the sole prototype, shown at the 2001 DSEi exhibition in London, even looked like a finished, definitive product (a second prototype was in the final stages of assembly at time of writing). The vehicle was designed from the outset to offer a high degree of protection to its occupants (against 14.5 mm all round, 25 mm sabot frontal arc and eight kilo mines underneath) and to be integrated within a battlefield management network.

At the last DSEi exhibition in September 2003, the Mowag IV was displayed with a two-man General Dynamics turret mounting a stabilised 25 mm Bushmaster canon. The vehicle is far from being underpowered with 544 hp (400 kW) on tap from its MTU, which means that it too could see some tank calibre land on its roof if needed. The sevengear ZF-Ecomat auto gearbox dispenses the power to the eight wheels, which are independently linked to the body through a semi-active hydro-pneumatic suspension with independent control on each wheel. Both the front axles steer, but for on-a-penny turns a differential steering system cuts in.

Stryker: Initially known as the IAV for Interim Armoured Vehicle, the Stryker is based on an LAVIII, in other words, a Piranha III 8 x 8. The intention was to provide the Interim Brigade Combat Teams with a family of rapidly deployable vehicles. This was obviously not to the liking of 'certain people' who sparked of a hot campaign against the vehicle's alleged poor protection. The campaign has been going on for virtually two years and even culminated with a circular anonymously distributed at the 2003 DSEi exhibition entitled <<The Stryker RPG 7 Armor Desaster>> (typo included). However, these people are obviously unaware of the fact that RPG 7s have managed to defeat even heavier armour, as the Russian Army can testify. One cannot have ones' cake and eat it; it is as simple as that. If one genuinely wants a C-130 transportable vehicle, there are obvious limitations in weight and size. There is a word for this and it is known as compromise. Furthermore, the vehicle must be taken as an interim measure, as its former designation stipulates. Nevertheless, United Defense was indeed awarded a contract to develop an RPG 7-proof applique ceramic armour which should be tested by February 2004. In the meantime, the US Army has developed a grid array that mounts around the vehicle to set off the warheads before they hit the vehicles.

Some 2131 Strykers are to be produced in a number of variants, from the basic troop transport to the 105 mm Mobile Gun System based on the first cannon that originally equipped the Abrams tank. Particularly aimed at urban warfare, the Stryker has a range of 300 km and a dash speed of about 100 km/h, but still retains the central tyre pressure adjustment system to adapt the vehicle to prevailing driving conditions. The final weight/true C-130 Ro-Ro performance/ dimensions data will only be established once the Strykers are fully equipped with their new armour.

Currently, the basic Infantry Carrier Vehicle has an applique armour produced by IBD Deisenroth protecting its eleven occupants (including crew of two) against 14.5 mm rounds and artillery fragments, weighs in the region of 19 tonnes and mounts a remotely controlled .50 cal Mk 2 machine gun or a 40 mm Mk 19 grenade launcher. A most important feature of the Stryker are the FBCB2 communications which enables all vehicles to receive and provide position and heading text and data as well as terrain mapping and intelligence data (friendly forces and enemy locations).

Terrex: A relative newcomer in the wheeled fighting vehicle arena is the Terrex from Singapore Technologies Kinetics. Unveiled to the public in prototype form during the 20011 DSEi exhibition it belongs to the heavier category of light tanks, rubbing shoulders with the Piranha IV and the VBCI. Weighing 17.5 in its basic configuration (but down to 13 tonnes naked and dry), it could be up-armed with a 120 mm howitzer turret, according to its manufacturers, which would bring it into the region of 25 tonnes. Press releases even show a drawing of a 155 mm howitzer turret. The Terrex is a modular development in that, except for its hull, it makes use of readily developed components. For instance, the entire independent coil spring and double wishbone suspension is from Timoney (Ireland) and offers a generous +150 and -250 mm stroke while power is delivered by a 400 kW Caterpillar C9 diesel through an Allison autoshifter, although an MTU Europack could be fitted on customer's request. Like its counterparts, it has a double floor (the lower slightly V-shaped) to increase protection against mines. Singapore Technologies told Armada that it could withstand a blast from a 12 kg trinitrotoluene charge. Possibly one of the most remarkable features of the Terrex is its modular roof design, which enables it to receive a variety of configurations, one of which being a twin-hatch enabling the vehicle to be converted to a mortar carrier. The hull features sturdy frames to guarantee rigidity.

The Terrex is still under development and testing, but most interestingly the Singaporean company has recently signed a memorandum with Otokar from Turkey to develop another 8 x 8 based on the Terrex.

Pandur: Now under development at Steyr in Austria is the Pandur II. Basically identical to the original Pandur of which 285 6 x 6s have been sold since its introduction in 1996, the Pandur II incorporates a digital engine and gearbox management system to make the vehicle compliant to new environmental regulations. Currently, three vehicles are being submitted for tests in view of customer trial. Steyr is also working on improved floor protection against mines and on a Node digital system which will facilitate the integration of identification friend-or-foe and battlefield management systems. The real novelty in the Pandur H range is the introduction of an 8 x 8, which did not exist in the first generation.

BTR-80: Now the standard 8 x 8 in the Russian army, the BTR-80 is looking at the export market. To this end, its manufacturer Arzamas based in Nizhni Novgorod is offering a model powered by an American Cummins 6CTA-250 diesel driving an eight-gear ZF9S-75 in lieu of the original 191 kW Kamaz. Whatever the set of pistons, the vehicle can travel over a range of between 600 and 800 km/h on a 290-1itre tank of diesel. An innumerable amount of versions are available (command post, recovery, ambulance and so forth) but powerful turrets can be mounted like the KBP Kluiver or the Nona SVK 120 mm mortar. Breech fed, the system includes an autoloader and can even fire western rounds.

CV90: The Hagglunds CV90 has been with us for a number of years now, but probably is the most advanced tracked infantry fighting vehicle readily available in the Western World. Now an Alvis Hagglunds product, the Swedish vehicle was engineered with all the care that usually goes into an aircraft, which is hardly surprising since its main designer had previously been an aeronautical engineer with Saab. It incorporates a number of clever features. For instance, the engine bay was designed in such a way as to allow quick removal of the engine, with only eleven points to be disconnected. The engine itself slides into a fitting very much inspired from ski binders as explained to Armada by the designer himself. Then great care was given to infrared stealthiness: the engine compartment hatch, for instance, also acts as the air intake; in other words it is double-skinned, the intake slats being in the upper portion and the air sucked downwards through the panel to reach the air filter so as too keep the 'lid' as cool as possible. Likewise, the engine radiators are in the rear, but the plumbing is shielded within a duct that is also ventilated.

Although a tracked vehicle, the CV90 drives as easily as a large (right, very large) road vehicle. It can receive all manner of turrets. In the upper range, there is the Patria Hagglunds Amos twin-barrel 120 mm system, which was ordered by the Swedish Army. A prototype also featured a Giat TML 105 gun and even a Ruag 120 mm Compact Tank Gun, complete with battlefield management system, three independent sights and defensive aid suite including laser, radar and missile approach warners as well as a multi-spectral aerosol dispenser. This particular vehicle is known as the CV90120-T. Now being developed is a CV90 Mk III with a more powerful Scania diesel, improved armour (which probably explains the need for the extra horses) and an ATK 35-50 mm gun.

Since the delivery of the first of 509 CV9040s developed in conjunction with Bofors to the Swedish Army in 1 November 1993, the CV90 has done rather well for itself. The last vehicle was delivered to the Swedish Army on 24 September 2002, but the service has since ordered another batch of 40 to carry the Amos turret. Finland has ordered 47, Norway 104 (CV9030--30 mm Hagglunds turret with Bushmaster II) and Switzerland 186 (CV9030, of which 32 are command posts). Currently the CV90 is fighting on two new fronts: Netherlands, where there is a requirement for about 200 and Greece where a contract for 150 vehicles is to be won.

BV206/BvS10: Yet another Swedish product from Ornskoldsvik that has been around for a while, the BV206 has constantly been kept up to date by Alvis Hagglunds to the extent that the latest development, launched in 1998, had to be renamed. Known as the BvS10 the tandem tracked vehicle has been developed on company funds to offer increased power (250 horsepower--186.5 kW), an automatic six-gear cog job, improved protection against 7.62 armour-piercing rounds and a higher road speed. The BvS10 typically tips the scales at 3100 kg (850 front and 2250 kg aft), but this depends of course on the customer's desired configuration. It seats four in front and ten in the rear cabin, and can swim at five kilometres per hour. It already has a customer, the British Royal Marines, which ordered ten on 9 March 2000. Known as the Viking there, the first unit was delivered on 1 July 2003.

The latest version of the BV206, however, remains in production and is still being marketed. So much so, in fact, that the Italian Esercito ordered 112 units to the tune of 40 million [pounds sterling] on 9 October 2003. To be delivered between 2004 and 2007, these add to the approximately 11,000 BV206 series sold to 40 countries worldwide. Italy, which is actually expected to acquire a second batch of 77 is also spending some 5.7 million [pounds sterling] on the upgrade of 40 of its 100 older BV206s (the first 60 have already been modernised under an earlier contract. Other recent exports include Germany which acquired 31 BV206Ss on 7 March 2002 for its medevac and its airborne units (but the final requirement there is said to be for some 200 vehicles), Spain which parted with 2.8 million [pounds sterling] to purchase of ten units on 20 October 2001 and France ordered twelve on 22 June 2000.

Bronco: Now keeping company with the Swedish BV series, but in a much heavier category, is the Singapore Technologies Bronco, which started life as the ATTC when it was unveiled to the public in 2000. With a gross weight of 15 tonnes, it probably needs the extra 100 hp from its turbocharged 350 lap (261 kW) Caterpillar to propel it to 60 km/h on its moulded rubber tracks. It carries 16 troops; slip six in the front car and ten in the rear. Normally, articulated vehicles like the BV206 and the Bronco are totally deprived of any steering capacity if the two cars are separated, since they turn by virtue of powerful actuators that push the cars into a < or > configuration as seen from the top. Singapore Technologies is now working on a differential transmission that would enable the vehicle to steer its way around once unhooked. The Bronco is now in service with the Singapore Armed Forces.

Stalker 2T: Jointly developed by Minotor with a number of other Belarusian and Russian companies, the Stalker is not only new, but also looks futuristic to the extent that it could have been designed somewhere near Maranello had it been finished in signal red. Designed as a light tank, its systems are highly automated and it boasts stealthy features, which probably makes it the most advanced Eastern armoured fighting vehicle on offer. Making its first international appearance at Idex in 2001, the Stalker weapons suite includes a fully stabilised KBP 2A42 30 mm cannon with a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, two retractable launchers each able to fire two KBM Igla air-to-air or two KBP Shturm anti-armour missiles plus a 30 mm automatic grenade launcher. The fire control system can handle simultaneous engagement of two targets with different weapons and, in addition to a laser and infrared warner, it also features a rear-looking television camera. The 27.4 tonne vehicle looks fast and it is: 96 km/h, courtesy of no less than a 620 kW producer. The Belarus army was at a time said to be interested to acquire a first batch of 30 Stalkers, but no announcements have been made public on the subject.