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United States Military Vehicle General: Guns, G*vins, and Gas Turbines


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https://www.armytimes.com/news/2018/07/05/abrams-tanks-get-new-round-of-israeli-made-shields-to-fend-off-anti-tank-weapons/

 

Not really sure if they're revealing anything new here. You guys be the judges.

But they have a mistake there that recently repeated itself. There are no 1000 APS systems on Israeli AFVs.

There is a contract, til 2027 (i.e no less than 9 years from now) for the supply of 1000 systems. It's unknown whether these include the systems that have been mounted since 2009.

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Cloudy future for Iron Curtain APS on US Army Strykers

Spoiler

The fate of Artis' Iron Curtain active protection system (APS) continues to hang in the balance while the US Army  decides if it wants to move forward with equipping its Strykers with the capability.

 

Army leaders recently wrapped up testing the company's APS on Stryker vehicles under the Expedited Active Protection Systems (ExAPS) phase of the initiative. What happens next, though, is a big question mark. 

 

'We are currently awaiting an army decision on the next phase of activity for Iron Curtain,' Ashley John, the director of public affairs for the service's Program Executive Office Ground Combat Systems, wrote in a email to Shephard. 

 

Artis did not respond to comment. 

 

The service has been testing three systems to shoot down incoming rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank guided weapons — Iron Curtain on its Strykers, IMI Systems’ Iron Fist system on the M2 Bradley and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems' Trophy on Abrams.

 

Service plans for the Iron Fist system are also not clear. As of 28 June, the system was still undergoing live fire characterisation under Phase I ExAPS, according to the service. 

 

Contributing to the confusion is a push by lawmakers to evaluate additional APS systems. In the FY2018 omnibus spending bill, Congress allocated $25 million in additional APS funds. 

The move could circumvent what's known as an earmark ban by not specifying a specific company, instead it forces the service to consider a range of options such as a solution from German company ADS, part of the Rheinmetall Group.

 

Adhering to lawmakers, in April the service posted a Request for Information (RFI) calling for new, non-developmental APS before holding an industry day on 17 May at the Army Tank Automotive Command (TACOM) in Warren, Michigan.

 

John said the 'process is ongoing' but 'specific vendors have not yet been selected'.

 

'We have opened the participation opportunities up to multiple vendors who will be asked to provide a preliminary demonstration of their system, after which one or more will be asked to conduct the full Phase I installation and characterisation that we have performed or are performing on the Rafael, Artis, and IMI solutions,' John wrote.

 

While question marks over Stryker and Bradley APS plans persist, the army strategy for its family of Abrams tanks is solidifying. Under a $193 million deal, Leonardo will begin integrating Trophy onto the platform.

 

When asked if the service was considering Trophy for either Stryker or Bradley vehicles, the service dodged a direct answer.

 

'At this time we are committed to Trophy for Abrams,' John wrote. 'Urgent solution options for Stryker or Bradley will be determined once army decisions are made on the current solutions under evaluation.'

 

Bradley gets stereo vision system

Spoiler

The US Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), working with Honeywell Aerospace, has installed a prototype helmet‐mounted stereo vision system into a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, the US Army announced on 2 July.

The prototype system was originally developed under DARPA’s Ground X Vehicle Technologies (GXV‐T) programme.

In its current configuration, the Bradley vehicle can only be driven closed‐hatched with the driver looking through mirrored sights with a limited field of view, in order to protect the crew.

TARDEC’s Mission Enabling Technologies‐Demonstrator team added the Honeywell Aerospace technology to the Bradley's existing suite of 360° situational awareness sensors. The system includes a wide range of forward facing stereo camera pairs whose imagery is projected into the left and right eye of the user through a pair of holographic optical elements. This allows the user to perceive depth while showing a wide field of regard without causing nausea or eye strain.

 

Additional standard and fish‐eye lens cameras provide complimentary views of the vehicle’s perimeter position and mid‐range detection.

The installation is intended to demonstrate a proof‐of‐concept for closed‐hatch driving using high resolution stereo vision combined with advanced head tracking technology integrated into a helmet mounted display.

 

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I really don't know why HSU (Hydro Pneumatic Suspension) isn't a bigger hit than it is now.

I believe every tank design bureau in the world has at least toyed with the idea.

 

Gun depression is something we mostly hear about in games, but in real life it's still a very important aspect of the tank's firepower. Shame it took until now with the Abrams, and the absence of announced plans for the Merkava and Leopard are worrying.

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47 minutes ago, Mighty_Zuk said:

I really don't know why HSU (Hydro Pneumatic Suspension) isn't a bigger hit than it is now.

I believe every tank design bureau in the world has at least toyed with the idea.

 

Gun depression is something we mostly hear about in games, but in real life it's still a very important aspect of the tank's firepower. Shame it took until now with the Abrams, and the absence of announced plans for the Merkava and Leopard are worrying.

 

It's been on the market forever.  Back in the 19790's, Teledyne Continental had a hydro suspension unit they tried marketing as part of the "Super M60" program.  I think this system is still available from L-3 Combat Propulsions, the current owner of the old Teledyne tank engine plant.  General Dynamics owned it for a while, so I was wondering if they were marketing the old system now owned by L-3 or something from someone else.  https://www2.l3t.com/cps/cps/Suspensions.htm

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Horstman InArm:
https://horstmangroup.com/horstman-products/horstman-inarm/

Used on Puma and many in-development/prototype AFVs.
 

On 7/10/2018 at 8:38 PM, Walter_Sobchak said:

 

It's been on the market forever.  Back in the 19790's, Teledyne Continental had a hydro suspension unit they tried marketing as part of the "Super M60" program.  I think this system is still available from L-3 Combat Propulsions, the current owner of the old Teledyne tank engine plant.  General Dynamics owned it for a while, so I was wondering if they were marketing the old system now owned by L-3 or something from someone else.  https://www2.l3t.com/cps/cps/Suspensions.htm


Related?
http://www.horstmaninc.com/news/horstman-acquires-l-3-communications-electronic-systems-suspension-unit

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