The Case for an Airmobile Amphibious Scout Vehicle

the enemy’s gunsights.

The Case for an Airmobile, Amphibious Scout Vehicle by Stanley C. Crist There is only one tracked, armored vehicle available that has extremely good mobility on all types of terrain, can swim well without preparation, has ample room for a crew of four and a full complement of surveillance equipment, and yet is small enough that it can fit inside of a CH-47. That is the Swedish Bv206S, a variant of the M973 SUSV currently in service with some units of the U. S. Army.

In its present form, the Bv206S could undoubtedly be an excellent scout vehicle, having mobility far superior to both the HMMWV and the M3A2. It is not perfect, though. The armor protection is only comparable to that of the M1114 HMMWV (7.62mm AP and 155mm HE airburst), well below what would be desired. As with the HMMWV, crew vision is provided by windows; such large, flat, glass surfaces tend to be highly reflective, and can produce a visual signature that can be easily seen at long distances. The Bv206S, like the M973 SUSV, is an articulated vehicle; in essence, it is two tracked vehicles that are mechanically connected. It seems that articulation is necessary for a vehicle that is narrow enough to fit into a CH-47, yet has the requisite mobility and agility. A vehicle with a width of 6.5 feet can be no more than about 13 feet in length, due to technical limitations of tracked vehicles design. A conventional vehicle of these dimensions would be subject to violent pitching when crossing rough terrain at high speed, making it impossible to keep pace with fast-moving tanks and infantry carriers.

Articulation effectively solves the mobility problem inherent to a narrow vehicle, but it causes complications in providing for armament and crew positioning. The Bv206S has a weapon configuration identical to that of the scout HMMWV: a machine gun mounted on the roof of the front vehicle. Not only are these weapons less capable than most scouts would prefer, but it appears that the weapon must be dismounted from the Bv206S in order for the vehicle to have enough vertical clearance when entering or leaving the CH-47. This means that the scouts would be unable to defend against attack while waiting to board the helicopter, and just after offloading.

It does not seem possible to fix these deficiencies without a complete redesign of the vehicle, in order to incorporate a more potent, turret-mounted weapon system. There are three options: install the turret on the front vehicle, the rear vehicle, or both. None of these choices is entirely satisfactory. Putting a two-man turret on the lead vehicle would make it difficult to create room for the driver, and the field of fire over the rear arc would be obstructed at times by the trailing vehicle. Placing the turret on the rear vehicle would greatly reduce the space available for surveillance equipment, and the field of fire over the front arc would be obstructed at times even by a low-profile front vehicle.

“In its present form, the Bv206S could undoubtedly be an excellent scout vehicle, having mobility far superior to both the HMMWV and the M3A2. It is not perfect, though....”

The third alternative is to put a small, one-man turret on both vehicles, so that targets can be engaged at all times, no matter how the front and rear vehicles are oriented. Self-defense capability of the Bv206S could be substantially upgraded by utilizing the Javelin missile system. Preferably, the Javelin would be on a vehicle mount (similar to what M113 armored personnel carriers in Germany used to have for the Dragon antitank missile), but it could also be fired in hand-held mode by a soldier standing in an open roof hatch. Due to the above-mentioned characteristics, it is rather unlikely that either the Wiesel or the Bv206S will be FSCS candidates. They do, however, have many desirable and outstanding features that should definitely be incorporated into a state-of-the-art scout vehicle. Whatever configuration is eventually selected for the Future Scout and Cavalry System, for maximum mobility it must be able to swim and to fly!

Bighouse, SGT William, “Scout Vehicles: Still No Good Answer,” ARMOR, September-October 1995. Bolte, BG Philip L., “Full Circle: The Armored Cavalry

1994. Lehner, COL Charles, “Light Enough to Get There, Heavy Enough to Win,” ARMOR, July-August 1994. Mettler, LTC Wolfgang, “The German Airborne Antitank Battalion and the Wiesel Armored Weapon Carrier,” INFANTRY, January-February 1995. Sharoni, Dr. Asher H. and Bacon, Lawrence D.,

(FSCS),” ARMOR, January-February 1999. Tien, CPT John K., “The Future Scout Vehicle: A

March-April 1993.

ARMOR, September-October 1995.

Stanley Crist is a former scout section leader, having served with the 3rd Battalion, 185th Armor. He has previously been published in ARMOR and other defense-related publications.

The German Army uses Wiesel armored weapon carriers, which are helicopterdeployable, as the core of alight armored battalion. They can be armed with 20mm autocannons or TOW missile launchers. The limited internal space, however, rules them out as carriers of a four-man scout team with its equipment, and Wiesels are not amphibious. – MAK Photo

General

Bv206S

Length, overall (inches) 190.5 148.8 270.0 258.0 Width, overall (inches) 86.0 71.7 78.8 129.0 Height, overall (inches) 74.0 87.7 74.8 117.0 Ground clearance (inches) 15.3 11.9 13.8 18.0 Weight, combat loaded (lbs) 12,100 7,900 15,400 60,000

Speed (on pavement) 70 mph 45 mph 31 mph 38 mph Speed (in water) ---- ---- 2.9 mph 4.0 mph Cruising range 275 miles 370 miles 230 miles 250 miles Grade 60 % 60 % 100 % 60 % Side slope 40 % 30 % 57 % 40 % Vertical wall climbing inches 24 inches 36 inches Trench crossing Nil 59 inches 67 inches 100 inches Internal transport by CH-47D? No Yes Yes No Swim without preparation? Non-swimmer Non-swimmer Yes No