Place of origin Australia/Canada Designed 1992–1994 | Used by Australian Army | |
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Type Eight-wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier Wars Iraq War, Afghanistan, East Timor Designer MOWAG
General Motors Diesel Division Canada
General Dynamics Land Systems - Australia | ||
The Australian Light Armoured Vehicle (ASLAV) is an Australian light armoured vehicle designed and manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems Canada. The vehicle is based on the MOWAG Piranha 8x8 design. It is a highly mobile, eight wheeled amphibious armoured vehicle used for reconnaissance and surveillance operations.
Contents
History
In 1990, a year-long evaluation was conducted by A Squadron 2nd Cavalry Regt on 15 light armoured vehicles leased from the United States Marine Corps. This was to see how wheeled vehicles would handle Australian conditions and what modifications would need to be made.
In 1992, under Phase 2 of the ASLAV Program, the Australian Defence Materiel Organisation acquired 113 of the Australian version of the Canadian manufactured LAV for the Australian Army. By 1997, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment was fully equipped with the ASLAV.
Phase 3 of the ASLAV acquisition was approved with the follow-on purchase of 144 vehicles with increased levels of local content, including the fabrication and assembly of turrets by General Dynamics Land Systems - Australia. The Wheeled Manoeuvre Systems Program Office of the Defence Materiel Organisation manages the ASLAV Phase 3 project, as well as the through-life support of in-service ASLAV assets.
These vehicles have been issued to training units, and the 2nd Cavalry Regiment. The Phase 2 vehicles have been upgraded and the bulk issued to the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment (Queensland Mounted Infantry) in Brisbane. This equips the Army's two armoured reconnaissance units with ASLAVs.
As of February 2015, Australia has 253 ASLAVs in service. The Department of Defence officially opened a tender for replacement of the ASLAV that same month. The tender is valued at US$8 billion and calls for applicants to produce 225 armoured vehicles, capable of carrying up to 35 tonnes and with better blast protection by the time that the ASLAVs reach the end of their service lives in 2021. The replacement will occur under project LAND 400.
Design
The ASLAV has an eight-wheeled configuration (capable of either four or eight wheel drive), is amphibious and has a range of 600 km with a top road speed of 120 km/h. The vehicle has excellent battlefield mobility, as all wheels are equipped with a solid-core secondary run-flat tyre next to the hub, allowing the vehicle to function even with eight flat tyres.
Phase 3 improvements include a laser range finder, the latest generation thermal imager, 24 V DC electric drive for the turret and improved suspension for the hull.
The heat of northern Australia poses special problems for armoured vehicle crews with interior temperatures reaching 55 °C (131 °F). The ASLAV Type II is fitted with air-conditioning that reduces temperatures to outside levels. Increasing the versatility of the ASLAV even more is the use of non-permanent Mission Role Installation Kits (MRIKs) to generate several variants from a single hull design. This is a unique Australian modification and much of the design and development work was done in Australia.
Operational service
ASLAVs have seen operational service with the Australian Army in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Variants
By using the above mentioned MRIKs and the three different hull types of the ASLAV, the Australian Army has at its disposal the following variants: