GDLS Bison Mortar Fire Support Vehicle
Notes:
This is a Bison armored personnel carrier with a turntable mounting an
81mm mortar in the center of the passenger compartment.
As such, the interior is heavily-modified to accomplish its mission; in
particular, the former rear passenger area is largely taken up by a turntable
and special bipod mounting for the 81mm mortar, ammunition racks, stowage for
associated equipment, and a bit of interior room to carry part of the mortar
crew and some of their equipment.
As the standard Bison is spacious inside, this allows the Bison Mortar FSV to
carry a large supply of ammunition for its mortar as well as a standard
ammunition complement for its roof-mounted machinegun.
The Bison Mortar FSV also carries a standard baseplate and bipod to allow
the mortar to be removed from the vehicle, ground-mounted, and fired away from
the vehicle if it is necessary.
Aiming stakes are also carried for properly aiming the mortar if a mortar fire
control computer is not available (though one is included in the cost below).
Like the
standard Bison, the Bison Mortar FSV is a variant of the LAV II chassis and
therefore a relative of the LAV-25, with the turret removed and the rear area
raised by almost the same amount, forming a large rear space.
The Bison Mortar FSV’s driver and commander occupy their customary
spaces, the same as those on the standard Bison, and the chassis and hull are
largely the same as that of the standard Bison externally.
However, instead of relatively small roof hatches with a large flat space
behind them, the Bison Mortar FSV has larger hatches to allow unimpeded
operation of the mortar. On early
Bison Mortar FSVs, the mortar had to be raised into position partially above the
roofline before a fire mission; later Bison Mortar FSVs have even larger roof
hatches and a periscopic mortar sight extension, allowing fire missions to be
conducted with the crew protected by the vehicle’s armor (except from the top).
Unusually, the mortar fires primarily over the front of the vehicle on
the Bison Mortar FSV, though the turntable has a traverse of up to 15 degrees to
each side. The rear ramp with a
door in it is retained, as are the large stowage bins on the rear sides of the
vehicle. Likewise, the air
conditioner is retained, as is the collective NBC system, the amphibious
capability, and the cluster of four smoke grenade launchers on each side of the
hull near the front.
Power is
provided by a Detroit Diesel 6V53T turbocharged diesel developing 275
horsepower, coupled to an automatic transmission and conventional driver’s
controls. The Bison Mortar FSV is
amphibious with a minimum of preparation (about 2 minutes), and propulsion in
the water is by a pair of waterjets steered by rudders. Drive is 8x8, with the
front four and rear four sets of wheels able to steer independently to tighten
steering radius. The tires are
run-flat. Construction is largely
of steel, with a Kevlar anti-spalling liner.
The Bison Mortar FSV can take a version of QinetiQ’s LAST appliqué armor
kit, which includes additional internal anti-spalling panels.
In the front of the hull is a winch with a capacity of 6.8 tons and 100
meters of cable.
Twilight 2000
Notes: In the Twilight 2000 timeline, the US Marines acquired 12 of these
vehicles in 1995-1996 to help close perceived gaps in the Marines’ mortar
support capabilities. The US Army bought three Bison Mortar Fire Support
Vehicles as test vehicles in the early 1990s for the 9th Motorized
Infantry Division, and they put these into action when hostilities started.
Vehicle |
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
Bison Mortar FSV |
$97,492 |
D, A |
450 kg |
13.3 tons |
4 |
9 |
Passive IR (D) |
Enclosed |
Bison Mortar FSV (LAST) |
$99,080 |
D, A |
340 kg |
14.6 tons |
4 |
11 |
Passive IR (D) |
Enclosed |
Vehicle |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor |
Bison Mortar FSV |
154/49 |
36/17/4 |
300 |
148 |
Stnd |
W(6) |
HF6 HS4
HR3* |
Bison Mortar FSV (LAST) |
140/44 |
33/16/3 |
300 |
163 |
Stnd |
W(6) |
HF10Sp HS6Sp
HR4** |
Vehicle |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
Bison Mortar FSV |
None |
None |
81mm mortar, C-6 (C) |
90x81mm, 1620x7.62mm |
*Hull Floor AV is 3.
**Hull Floor AV is 5; Hull Roof AV is 3.
GDLS LAV-M
Notes: This is a
mortar carrier modification of the LAV-25 designed by GDLS Canada specifically
for use by the US Marines, and designed to be a companion to the LAV-25.
So far, only the US Marines use the LAV-M.
The hull of the LAV-25 has been retained, though the roofline has been
raised a little bit (about 100mm or so).
The turret is removed, and the rear area has large hatches to open and
permit operation of the mortar. In
most other respects (except the interior), the hull is identical to that of the
LAV-25.
The driver is in
his customary position on the front right, with three frontal vision blocks, one
of which can be removed and replaced by a night vision block. The commander has
an adjustable stand with a simple commander’s hatch; the commander has three
vision blocks to his front, one to the right side, and one to the rear.
The center front vision block has an IR channel. Like most Marine
vehicles, the LAV-M did not at first have a machinegun for its commander, but
most had them added by the commander’s request throughout the Marines.
The rear ramp with a door in it is retained, along with the two rear vision
blocks. All firing ports have been
deleted. At the rear of the
vehicle, above the ramp, is a tent extension of the working area, approximately
to double normal size; ammunition is often stored in this tent extension if the
LAV-M is going to be operating in an area for an extended period.
A cluster of six smoke grenades is mounted on each side of the front
hull, as the upper point of the glacis plate.
As a variant
of the Piranha, the LAV-M has the wedge-shaped nose and moderately-sloped sides
of the basic chassis, and an 8x8 suspension with front and rear sets of wheels
with independent steering, giving the LAV-M a surprisingly small turning radius.
For standard road use, the LAV-M normally uses only the four rear wheels
as drive wheels, switching to 8-wheel drive off road.
The LAV-M is amphibious with a minimum of preparation (about 2 minutes),
and is propelled in the water by propellers and steered by rudders.
Power is provided by the standard LAV II engine, the Detroit Diesel 6V53T
275-horsepower turbocharged diesel.
This is coupled to an automatic transmission.
The rear area is
largely taken up by the mortar on its special floor-mounted turntable and
modified bipod, along with an extension allowing the sight to sight targets
outside of the vehicle, and racks for mortar ammunition.
Two seats are installed for the two cremembers that are carried in the
rear, and there is room for a small amount of personal gear and other equipment.
A standard baseplate and bipod is carried externally, being the primary aligning
system; this is being increasing supplanted by mortar fire control computers
(included in the cost below). The
rear area is largely taken up by the mortar and the ammunition for it; crew
space is actually quite small.
The LAV-M was
subjected to a version of the SLEP in the 1990s, becoming The LAV-MA1.
The mortar fire control is included (and is included in the cost of the
basic LAV-M as well), along with a small computer able to generate fire
solutions if no FDC vehicle is present.
The chassis has been given a general overhaul under the SLEP program.
An air conditioner has been added.
Currently, LAV-MA1s are scheduled to receive part of the A2 upgrades,
including the LAST kit as standard, fire suppression equipment, and suspension
upgrades.
The LAV-M is
able to take the LAST kit, though only that able to be fitted to the hull, and
even this is adapted to the LAV-M’s greater height.
As with the
LAV-25, power is provided by the standard LAV II engine, the Detroit Diesel
6V53T 275-horsepower turbocharged diesel.
This is coupled to an automatic transmission and the driver has a
conventional drive control setup.
The driver is located on the front left and has three vision blocks to his
front. An 8x8 suspension with front and rear sets of wheels with independent
steering, giving the LAV-25 a surprisingly small turning radius.
For standard road use, the LAV-25 normally uses only the four rear wheels
as drive wheels, switching to 8-wheel drive off road.
The LAV-25 is amphibious with a minimum of preparation (about 2 minutes),
and is propelled in the water by propellers and steered by rudders.
Vehicle |
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
LAV-M |
$128,676 |
D, A |
525 kg |
14.3 tons |
4 |
9 |
Passive IR (D) |
Enclosed |
LAV-M (LAST) |
$131,614 |
D, A |
335 kg |
15.8 tons |
4 |
10 |
Passive IR (D) |
Enclosed |
LAV-MA1 |
$162,943 |
D, A |
515 kg |
14.3 tons |
4 |
10 |
Passive IR (D) |
Enclosed |
LAV-MA1 (LAST) |
$165,881 |
D, A |
325 kg |
15.8 tons |
4 |
11 |
Passive IR (D) |
Enclosed |
Vehicle |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor |
LAV-M/MA1 |
155/78 |
36/18/5 |
300 |
168 |
Stnd |
W(6) |
TF6 TS4
TR4 |
LAV-M/MA1 (LAST) |
139/70 |
32/15/4 |
300 |
177 |
Stnd |
W(6) |
HF10Sp HS6Sp
HR4* |
Vehicle |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
LAV-M/MA1 |
None |
None |
81mm M-252 mortar, C-6 (C) |
84x81mm, 1620x7.62mm |
*Roof armor
for this version is 3; Floor armor is 5.