Details
General specificationsThe vehicle most commonly sports a remote .50 caliber machine gun, a single 7.62mm x 51mm NATO machine gun, two javelin missile launchers and two Stinger anti-air missile launchers. It incorporates the boomerang sniper detection system and utilizes equipment that allows it to be incorporated into the land warrior system.
The vehicle is longer than the M117 or Stryker vehicles, while the inside room is substantially more spacious, more or less gutting most of the furnishing present on the previous vehicles, and provides middle seats as well as side seats, to increase occupancy to it's maximum limit for the size. While around at the same weight, as it carries more troops than either vehicle, up to 15 and 3 crew. The vehicle also has a back exit, where troops can exit from the back of the vehicle, such as in a stryker, or out the sides. In addition to the improved seat belts, soldiers within the vehicle have specialized energy absorbance impact materials in their helmets, that allow them to withstand shocks that typical tank crew helmets can withstand, helping protect the soldiers against I.E.D.'s or roll overs, or other sudden shocks. In addition, the improved ceramics, armor, and general sloped shape of the vehicle helps to deflect rockets and land mines without much issue, compared to the stryker series of vehicles.
EngineThe engine is a heavily modified Ford 4.4-liter twin turbocharged V8 diesel engine, that shares commonality with the Mk. 32 Mod 1 RIPSAW. Despite being slower and carrying a substantially higher payload, the engine performs well with the vehicle, although it is slower than in the RIPSAW or FED Bravo design. The engine utilizes a 180 gallon fuel tank, and with the hybrid engine design, has roughly a 900 mile range at 40mph, or a 400 mile operational range.
The front axle is powered by an electric motor, while the rear-wheel-drive is linked to a hybrid fuel-powered and electric system, for a road-coupled parallel hybrid drive system.
Hybrid The Engine essentially powers an electric hybrid unit, which then goes on to power the vehicle, making the vehicle technically electrically powered, but uses a gasoline powered engine. These designs often result in higher fuel efficiency, due to the ability to maximize engine designs and adjust for acceleration without directly or immediately altering the engine or it's RPM.
The vehicle also sports a fuel injector, and a number of improvements, including turbochargers, over the original engines.
The Hybrid design is fairly similar to the
FED BRAVO. The design allows the vehicle to consume 70% less fuel, and as a result reduces the logistical supply and range of the vehicle. This translates to roughly 3 times the range the vehicle would have without. With this design, the vehicle gets around 4.1 mpg city and 7.1 mpg highway, and some 3-4 MPG off-road.
Armor The vehicle utilizes the
Advaced Modular Armor Protection stuff, which is a successor to the
MEXAS.
The armor is similar in strength to the MRAP, with the MEXAS, and should theoretically be stronger at the same weight or lighter weight with the Advanced Modular Armor Protection armor.
The armor is similar to the M117, in that it is sloped on both sides; it is additionally, sloped underneath the vehicle, as to deflect the blast of land mines away from the vehicle, as similar to the
RG-33, or MRAP "cougar", and is a monocoque v-hullI design. In addition to this, the armor uses the "
FRAG-KIT 6" and caged "
Slat" armor in order to better help protect from RPG rounds/
As a result of the design, shape, and material, it should provide substantial protection against RPG's, light arms, heavy arms, and mines. As a last resort, high explosive reactive armor, similiar to that in the
Bradley, is utilized to help deflect the armor piercing explosive rounds, although this armor exists beneath the armor, instead of on top of it, rarely being set off unless the outside armor is pierced, including the ceramics.
ALON (Aluminium oxynitride)Aluminium oxynitride (
AlON) is a transparent ceramic composed of aluminium, oxygen and nitrogen. It is marketed under the name ALON and described in U.S. Patent 4,520,116. It is 4 times harder than fused silica glass, and 85% as hard as sapphire. The material remains solid up to 1,200 °C (2,190 °F).
When formed and polished as a window, the material currently (2005) costs about US$10 to US$15 per square inch (~ US$20,000/m²).
The material is composed of three parts, an outer layer that's exposed to gunfire and made of baked aluminum oxynitride, a middle layer of glass, and a rear layer of polymer backing.
The aluminum armor can deflect rounds from small-caliber weapons and still be more clearly transparent than bullet-resistant glass that's been shot, it also passes a much more important test -- it resists .50-caliber armor-piercing bullets and anti-aircraft weapons that typically use .30-caliber rounds, and is roughly half the weight and thickness of traditional ballistics glass.
ElectronicsThe System is operable with the
Land warrior operating systems. In addition, it carries a GPS. The radio system is also compatible with the
MARS system, and as well include a microwave and radar communications disk and radios.
The vehicle also sports 3 2 terabyte Microsoft hard drive computers, for all the potential electronic needs.
The weapon systems of the vehicles are electronically controlled, generally by the
CROWS II or Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station program.
As an intelligence counter measure, the vehicle sports a
Boomerang Anti Sniper acoustic orientation device, intended on finding the location of incoming shots, using an array of speakers.
ArmamentThe vehicle is capable of using a wide array of weaponry, as can be fit on the CROWS II, Defender, and ARROWS automated firing systems, and can utilize a multitude of other automated weapons systems. However, the vehicle predominately uses the following.
1 x Automated Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun or 40mm automatic Mk 47 Striker grenade launcher
1 x M240 7.62mm x 51mm machine gun or M249 machine gun
2 x
FGM-148 Javelin Anti-Tank missile
2 x
FIM-92 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles
16 x
M224 60mm Mortar
2 x 120mm
M120 Koltam 6 120mm mortar
Medical VariantThe vehicle is virtually the same, except for the interior, of which it is outfitted with standard medical equipment and does not allow for 14 soldiers per unit. The unit can carry approximately 8 individuals to be medvacced and an additional four paramedic rescue crew. The oil transport variant can carry approximately 10,000 pounds, or 5 tons of fuel, enough to fuel 3 M1 Abrams tanks; these are typically delivered by unmanned vehicles, although they can be delivered by the MRAP themselves.
