Army-News Einstellungen

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Cockerill hat aus ihrer 90mm Hochdruckkanone Mk8 eine 105mm Kanone für den Einsatz in leichten Fahrzeugen entwickelt. Zusammen mit ihrem neuen Turm CT-CV wurde das System auf der Eurosatory 2004 vorgestellt. Seitdem wurde das System auf einem Truppenübungsplatz in GB getestet. Dafür ist es auf einem Piranha III H montiert. Der Turm beherbergt Kommandant (links der Kanone) und Richtschütze (rechts der Kanone). Beide verfügen über ein Zielperiskop mit Nachtkanal (WBG) und LEM, der vom Kommandanten ist ein Panoramapersikop (also drehbar). Beide verfügen über ein LCD-Display.

Die Kanone verfügt über einen Autolader. Das Magazin am Heck des Turmes kann schnell ausgetauscht werden und fasst 16 Schuß. Dieser kann auch händisch von innen oder außen nachgeladen werden. Die APFSDS-Granate wurde speziell für diese Kanone entwickelt, kann aber auch auf anderen L7 Kanonen verwendet werden. Sie hat eine Vo von 1.620 m/s und einen Durchschlag von 560mm bei 0°. Der Penetrator hat ein l:d Verhältnis von 29:1. Die Leistung entspricht der ersten Generation von 120mm-Geschoßen.

Der Turm wiegt 4t ohne und 5t mit Zusatzpanzerung. Das System entspricht dem Technology Readiness Level 7, ist somit also Serienfertig.  (IDR 1/05)

Infos vom Hersteller

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Rollovers plague vehicle
LAV III tips over in collision with taxi
Mar. 3, 2006. 05:13 AM
SCOTT SIMMIE
STAFF REPORTER
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...d=1141339814415

The accident that killed one Canadian soldier and injured six others in Afghanistan yesterday was the 12th time that a specific model of light armoured vehicle has rolled over since Canada began purchasing them in 1999.

Though full details were not yet available, the army says the accident occurred when the London, Ont.-built LAV III collided with a taxi, then swerved and rolled in a ditch outside Kandahar.

Cpl. Paul Davis, 28, of Bridgewater, N.S., died and Sgt. Darren Haggerty of London, Ont., was among those hurt (two of whom were seriously injured and required surgery). Davis became the fourth fatality — two in Afghanistan and two in Canada — from a LAV III rollover.

"I think right now, every single soldier would be worried about a rollover, given the frequency that these have been happening," said Scott Taylor, editor-in-chief of Esprit de Corps, Canada's military magazine. "But what's the option? Driving slow or making less radical turns may not be an option in every case."

Davis, a member of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, was married with two young daughters.

Jim Davis said his son's deep sense of duty prompted him to turn down a promotion that would have kept him out of Afghanistan.

"When he decided to go to Afghanistan, that really impressed me because he loved his family and his two children but he had the sense of duty, and comradeship with the other people he had been training with," he said yesterday.

Capt. Jay Adair, the second-in-command of PPCLI's Bravo Company, said the loss was being felt through the camp.

"Bravo Company, and I mean this sincerely, is very much a band of brothers," he said. "We've lost a brother, and it's going to affect us all."

With a gross weight of some 19 tonnes, the LAV III is by no means a sports car. But it's not a tank, either. With eight wheels instead of tracks and a top speed of 100 km/h, it's a relatively manoeuvrable vehicle that offers very good protection from standard armour-piercing shells and a wide variety of explosives and mines. Its V-shaped undercarriage, similar to a boat hull, is designed to deflect much of the energy from a blast.

Driving in Afghanistan is unpredictable. There's a constant risk of roadside bombs or cars packed with explosives being rammed into army vehicles — and the LAV III isn't made for hugging the roads during high-speed cornering.

In fact, its design gives it a higher centre of gravity (but far better protection) than the personnel carrier it replaced.

"The roads are the battlefields now," Taylor said. "These suicide attackers can come fast and furious. If you drive slow you're putting yourself at risk, and if you drive fast you're putting yourself at risk for the roads and the weight of the vehicle."

And the roads in Afghanistan, says retired Maj.-Gen. Lewis MacKenzie are a force to be reckoned with. Not only is the traffic chaotic, he says, but the ditches are so steep he says even "My Volvo would roll over." MacKenzie also says Canadian forces on other foreign deployments have also had to contend with locals who deliberately drive cars into army vehicles in the hope of suing for a cash settlement. "As a result, there's that fine balance between speed and making sure you can avoid some idiot that's turning in front of you or jumping out of a side road or whatever," says MacKenzie. On standard patrols, the driver and crew commander both have their heads exposed through hatches at the front and mid-deck of the LAV III. In the rear, two armed sentries are generally standing and watching for any roadside hazards or suspicious activity. But those positions can put those individuals at greater risk in the event of a rollover — they can be ejected from the vehicle. It's not yet known if that's what occurred yesterday.

"It's a possibility," said army spokesman Maj. Daryl Morrell from Ottawa. "We don't know what happened in this particular incident. But clearly, remaining inside the vehicle is what people try to do when the vehicle rolls."

The army has examined the issue of LAV III rollovers in the past. A 2004 memo that looked at nine incidents concluded that four were related to driver experience and speed, while the others were caused by driving too close to the edge of the road. Rollovers have also been a problem with the Stryker, a very similar armoured vehicle used by the U.S. army in Iraq.

But Ottawa says the overall track record of the LAV III is a good one.

"The LAV III has collectively travelled approximately 6 million kilometres with a great service record. ... We've had twelve rollovers total," said Maj. Morrell. Canada has committed to purchasing 651 of the vehicles and currently has taken delivery of 541 of them. In Afghanistan, there are 51 LAV IIIs. Which means roughly one in 25 of these vehicles in Afghanistan has rolled and caused a fatality.

"That's a fairly high rate of operational casualties, given the size of our forces," Taylor said. "No doubt military investigators are going to look at every single possibility they can find, every commonality in those accidents."

The Canadian military, prompted by the rollover death last November of Pte. Braun Scott Woodfield in Afghanistan, says it is already taking steps to improve safety on the LAV.

"We've had discussions with the industry looking at technologies that would alert the crew if they were approaching rollover conditions," said Morrell. "We're examining the investigation results of earlier rollovers to see what we could do to avoid similar accidents in the future. ... This is not a case of us doing nothing. We take all of these incidents very seriously."

WITH FILES FROM CANADIAN PRESS

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