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Iveco Defense Vehicles at IAV 2011 |
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Tuesday,
February 8, 2011, 03:30 PM |
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SUPERAV
8X8 and MPV 4x4 Iveco Defence Vehicles at International
Armoured Vehicles 2011.
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London
February 8, 2011 - 03H30 PM - After another year of intensive
development of its extensive product range, Iveco Defence
Vehicles is exhibiting at the IAV 2011 show at Excel, with
a focus this year on the innovations which have been implemented
both on existing platforms and on newly released vehicles,
such as the 8 x8 Amphibious SUPERAV, and the 4 x 4 MPV.
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The
Pressing Need for Multi-role Vehicles
The deployment of increasing numbers of mine protected
vehicles to operations in Afghanistan highlights a pressing
problem for those nations which are trying to optimise
the equipment used by their forces. As became evident
first in Iraq and subsequently in Afghanistan, vehicles
designed to operate in a conventional war in North West
Europe have serious limitations when operating in asymmetric
warfare against an agile enemy whose weapon of choice
is the IED. This is not to say that the use of IEDs and
booby trap devices is anything new; rather, it is a recognition
that, in conventional warfare, such tactics tended to
be used as an adjunct to combat operations rather than
a substitute for them. Thus, when a vehicle was likely
to meet such threats only occasionally during its service
life, relatively little design effort was committed to
protect against attacks of this sort. The focus for vehicles
designed for conventional war-fighting was far more on
ballistic protection, with mine and lateral blast attacks
tending to receive less attention.
As the threat spectrum changes, so the design imperatives
alter, and there is little doubt that, in the case of
Afghanistan, the attacker has proved able to adapt faster
than vehicle designers. By operating inside the vehicle
design cycle, he is able to keep on the front foot, leaving
the designer to react, rather than being able to take
the initiative. This in turn leads to the development
of bespoke vehicle designs, driven by the demands of a
particular operational environment. Such designs may be
highly effective in their designed operational envelope,
but they will tend to be procured in relatively small
numbers, with a consequently high unit cost. Critically,
such theatre specific designs are likely to be of only
limited use in an operational role other than that for
which they were designed. By way of example, the majority
of MRAP type vehicles tend to be large, heavy and with
a high ground clearance in order to maximise their blast
protection. When deployed on operations where mobility
and terrain accessibility are at a premium, a vehicle
with such characteristics is very unlikely to perform
well, with its compromised mobility tending to channel
it onto routes where it is vulnerable to ballistic attack.
In consequence, much of the investment in theatre specific
equipment will bear little fruit when the aim is to equip
an agile and versatile army capable of a wide range of
operations.
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In
order to address this problem, Iveco Defence Vehicles has
focused on the development of families of multi role vehicles
which are capable of being adapted to meet the needs both
of conventional warfare, and of asymmetric operations. The
optimum design compromise can only be achieved by having,
from the outset, a good idea of the overall mission spectrum
which a platform may be required to undertake, and then
to design a base vehicle which can be readily adapted to
meet those roles, whilst reducing as far as possible the
effects of design compromise on the platform’s discreet
performance in each role.
In order
to do this, the design team identifies from the outset the
payload, survivability, mobility, capacity and, where relevant,
firepower characteristics of each potential role. This then
allows the identification of trade space between each role
to enable the base vehicle design to be optimised. Much
depends on accurate predictions of likely role requirements,
and here the designer is, to a degree, at the mercy of the
customer, as each will have their own idea of what is required.
It is at this point that the likely gross vehicle weight
will be identified, as well as key drivers such as the protection
scheme and the required mobility level. |
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An
outstanding example of this concept in action is Iveco’s
Light Multirole Vehicle. Here, the design team were given
the brief to develop a vehicle which would be capable of
providing differing levels of protection depending on the
tactical situation. Thus, if the vehicle was required to
operate in a low risk area with a maximum payload, integral
composite armour panels in the doors and body panels could
be substituted with lighter panels better tuned to the threat.
By contrast, in high threat areas, the highest levels of
ballistic and mine protection could be provided. On the
original short wheel base version, this modular approach
has been extended to such other areas as the rear load pod
and the crew cell roof. It has now been extended further
by the development of the vehicle design to encompass a
long wheel base model, with both short (two man) and extended
cabs, providing greater capacity. At the same time, the
vehicle’s ballistic protection levels have been maintained,
whilst its GVW has increased and its kerb weight has been
driven down, increasing payload. Anti-mine protection has
undergone a significant uplift, reflecting its increasing
use as a patrol vehicle in theatre, and many theatre specific
modifications have been undertaken. As a result, a vehicle
originally designed primarily for a command and liaison
role on a conventional battlefield has become a highly capable
patrol vehicle in a very different operational environment.
This is the strength of the multi-role vehicle concept in
action. |
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A
similar approach has been adopted for the second family
of multirole vehicles developed by Iveco – the 4 x
4 and 6 x 6 Medium Protected Vehicle. Developed in conjunction
with KMW, MPV is based on the proven commercial heavy duty
Trakker truck chassis and, at a GVW of between 18-25 tonnes,
fills the capability gap between the 8x8 Centauro family
and LMV. It was quickly established during feasibility work
that the Trakker chassis offered an optimum combination
of durability, mobility, payload and performance to accommodate
the needs of each of the foreseen roles. KMW’s innovative
top hamper design comprises an integrated protected driver’s
compartment and mission module together with an unprotected
stowage area to the rear of the vehicle. The large stand-off
achieved by using a truck chassis, together with a robust
mission module design, ensures that the vehicle provides
outstanding anti-mine protection, whilst the top hamper
can be readily configured to a variety of specialist roles,
including route reconnaissance, IED disposal, ambulance,
EW, command post, communications vehicle or personnel carrier.
Although
different in design concept to the LMV, MPV is underpinned
by the same multi-role philosophy, with its emphasis on
designing vehicles with utility across a large spectrum
of operational environments. With defence budgets under
pressure and commitments increasing, the use of such multi-purpose
vehicles is key to the maintenance of an effective military
capability across the spectrum of conflict.
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