FMC AIFV

     Notes: The AIFV was originally developed by FMC as an improved version of the M-113, to replace the M-113 in the US Army.  The US Army did not accept the AIFV, and FMC went on to develop what became the Bradley, but several of NATO’s countries were quite interested in the AIFV, as it could be a low-cost upgrade for their M-113 fleets or a lower-cost IFV than those available at the time.  The primary mover behind this movement was the Netherlands, who went on to develop the design as the YPR-765; soon other countries were interested, especially Belgium, and other countries such as the Philippines, Pakistan and Egypt also bought into the design; in all, more than 10 countries use the AIFV or some version of it. Several other countries, most notably Turkey and South Korea, went on to develop their own versions of the AIFV.

The AIFV – the YPR-765

     The initial version of the AIFV was the Dutch version, the YPR-765.  This was a greatly-improved version of a rejected design for the US Army, the XM-765.  FMC continued to develop the XM-765 concept, hoping for foreign sales, and the Dutch eventually decided to equip their army with the vehicle – but not after obtaining a building license and a making even more adjustments and modifications.  They eventually bought or built 880; 815 were actually built in the Netherlands. There are 23 variants of the basic vehicle. 

     Like the M-113A1, the basic infantry version, YPR-765 PRI, has a hull with aluminum armor, but incorporates a large amount of spaced armor appliqué, with extra aluminum panels filled by polyurethane foam.  This not only provides extra protection, but allows the AIFV to retain its amphibious characteristics.  The engine is the same as the M-113A1, but power is increased to 267 horsepower by use of a turbocharger, the radiator is larger, and the heavy-duty transmission of the M-548 carrier is used.  The driver is in his customary place on the front left deck, but has a steering yoke and conventional brake and gas pedals.  He has four vision blocks, allowing frontal and left side vision; the center of the frontal vision blocks can be replaced by a night vision block. Directly behind the driver is a commander’s position; the commander has all-around vision blocks and a 1-6xrotating periscope, but no weapon mount. The commander has a searchlight for his use.

     On the right of the front hull, behind the engine, is the one-man turret, armed with a 25mm autocannon and a coaxial machinegun.  Two smoke grenade launchers are found on either side of the turret. The gunner also has night vision, and a hatch atop the turret.  The troops are at the rear of the AIFV, and enter and exit primarily through a large powered ramp at the rear with a door in it.  The troops sit with six of them sitting back to back and facing outwards, towards two firing ports in each side.  There is another firing port in the rear door. The squad leader sits between the turret and the passengers and faces to the rear.

     The YPR-765A1, also called the YPR-2000, is essentially a YPR-765 with additional appliqué armor and an uprated 300-horsepower engine.  It saw its first combat use in Afghanistan.

     The Belgians also use several variants of the AIFV. The basic AIFV is almost identical to the YPR-765. The AIFV-B-C25 has improvements similar to those of the YPR-765A1, has a suspension similar to that of the M-113A2, an NBC overpressure system, and an automatic fire detection and extinguishing system. The AIFV-B-50 has a smaller turret with a heavy machinegun and a mount on the rear deck for a Milan ATGM. (The Milan launcher is also dismountable.) The AIFV-B-50 also has a pair of 71mm Lyran smoke mortars which are reloadable from the turret. As the Filipinos bought their AIFVs from Belgium, their AIFVs are similar, but their counterpart to the AIFC-B-50 has no Milan firing post. (They were initially to have been all armed with 25mm autocannons, but the Filipinos balked at the cost.)

Other APC-Type AIFVs

     Of course, there are several specialist versions of the AIFV, including several APC-type versions.  Chief among these are command and FIST-type vehicles.  The Dutch use one that is essentially identical externally to the YPR-765, but internally has one long, one short, and one medium-range radio, with the medium-range radio able to receive data as well as voice communications.  The vehicle also has a ruggedized laptop computer and a hand-held image intensifier, thermal imager, and laser rangefinder, as well as maps, plotting supplies, and other such supplies. This vehicle is called the YPR-765 PRCO-B.

     Several other command versions are based on the same chassis, but do not have a turret.  Most are similar except for the internal equipment.  Examples of these vehicles are the Dutch YPR-765 PCRO-C and the Belgian AIFV-B-CP; these have two long-range, two medium-range, and one short-range radios, with one of the long-range radios able to receive data as well as fax and voice transmissions. They come with a long-range antenna which may be erected when the vehicle is at a halt, and a tent-like extension at the rear which also may be erected when the vehicle is halted to extend working area.  They also have ruggedized laptops and various mapping, plotting, and other such supplies, as well as a hand-held image intensifier, thermal imager, and laser rangefinder.  Unlike most such command vehicles, the roofline is not raised on these vehicles.  These versions do not have turrets, but instead, the commander’s position has a rotating cupola with a pintle-mounted machinegun; the smoke grenade launchers are shifted to the hull front.  These vehicles have NBC overpressure systems, and carry a 5kW APU.

     The Dutch also operate an ambulance version, the YPR-765 PRGWT.  This version is unarmed, and can carry two stretcher and two seated patients, or five seated patients.  It carries a small refrigerator for perishable medical supplies, a small heater for blankets, a small water heater, the equivalent of 20 personnel medical kits, and the equivalent of four doctor’s medical bags.  It also has a defibrillator and two sets of oxygen-administering equipment.  It has an NBC overpressure system.

Twilight 2000 Notes: The YPR-765A1 does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

*Belly armor is 4.

**See Notes above.

ASCOD IFV

     Notes:  ASCOD (Austrian Spanish Cooperation Development) was an entity put together temporarily from the Austrian Steyr-Daimler-Puch and Spanish Santa Barbara Systemas to develop the AFV family that bears its name. Some half a dozen vehicles are based on this vehicle range, and the ASCOD IFV is one of them.  (It should be noted that most of the versions have never been built.) Though later Santa Barbara Systemas would drop out of production after being bought out by General Dynamics Land Systems, the vehicle continues to be produced, developed, and shopped around; currently, the users are Austria, who use 112 (and call them the Ulan; they have plans to buy an upgraded version called the Ulan 2), and Spain (who currently use 144, and have plans to buy more; they call theirs the Pizarro, with later vehicles being the Pizarro 2 version).  Greece was initially to have also been a customer, but the Greeks decided to go with less expensive refurbished BMP-1s from Germany.  In Austria, they complement the CV-9030 in service.  Production began in 1996, and continues today.  Austrian Ulans have yet to see combat, but Spanish Pizarros have been deployed to Kosovo and Iraq, where they acquitted themselves well.  Ulans and Pizarros differ in some details, most notably the engine.

     The ASCOD was has a driver’s hatch on the front deck behind a well-sloped glacis plate.  The driver has three vision blocks to the front, the middle of which can be replaced with a night vision block.  The driving station is designed to provide reasonable room and has a steering yoke with brake and gas pedals.  The 2-man turret is in the center of the vehicle offset to the right with the commander on the right and gunner on the left; they have a comprehensive night vision suite, though the commander uses the gunner’s thermal imager.  Armament is a 30mm autocannon, a coaxial machinegun, and a commander’s machinegun, with six smoke grenade launchers on each side of the turret.  The main gun and coaxial have an elevation of 50 degrees, which allows it to engage helicopters and slow-moving aircraft as well as ground targets.  The rear deck has a round hatch to the right and a rectangular hatch to the left; the round hatch is surrounded by vision blocks.  The passenger compartment is accessed by a large door in the rear, and has seats for five down the left side and three down the right side.  A passenger seat is under the circular hatch on the deck; this hatch and the seat rotate and it is meant for the squad leader.  The ASCOD’s silhouette is long and low; the silhouette is low primarily due to the low-profile turret.

     The primary difference between the Ulan and the Pizarro is the engine.  The Pizarro uses a smaller 600-horsepower MTU 8V-183-TEE22 supercharged diesel, while the Ulan uses a more powerful (but also physically larger) MTU 8V-199-TE22 engine which develops 720 horsepower.  This makes the Pizarro slower, but more fuel-efficient; however, the Pizarro 2 version will have the same engine as the Ulan, and for game purposes is identical to the Ulan except for the lugs for ERA.  The Spanish generally add lugs for ERA on the front hull, hull sides, turret front, and turret sides of the Pizarro, and both can be fitted with appliqué armor. Both have the same automatic transmissions and advanced torsion bar suspensions.  Armored track skirts are standard. Both have an NBC overpressure system with a collective NBC backup.

     The Ulan 2 version being developed by Austria uses the same chassis and engine, but has the complete turret of the BMP-3 IFV. The turret has some appliqué armor and a fire control upgrade, as well as Swiss-built missiles identical to those of the BMP-3 and a change of machineguns. Hull appliqué armor is standard on the Ulan 2.  The commander has an independent sight head, giving the Ulan 2 a hunter/killer capability.  (The Ulan 2 is presumably more cramped than the Ulan.)  The high engine power means that speed and agility are not severely impacted, though it does gobble fuel.

     Twilight 2000 Notes:The Ulan 2 and Pizarro 2 do not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

*Belly armor is 5Sp.

OT-62

     Notes:  The OT-62 was originally to be a joint Czech/Polish copy of the Russian BTR-50PK, but it quickly got enough changes, upgrades, and modifications to be considered its own vehicle.  The OT-64 entered service with Czechoslovakia in 1964; the Polish did a bit more work on their version, the OT-62C, and it did not enter service until 1966; production ended in 1971.  Some 15 other countries use or used the OT-62, but its original users – Czechoslovakia and Poland – have long since sold or given them to other countries, turned into range targets, or in some cases, turned over to civilian police or fire services.  As of 2010, Libya and Egypt operate the largest amount of OT-62s; they still have hundreds in service.

     The OT-62 looks basically like a BTR-50, but there are several important differences.  The OT-62 is a physically somewhat larger vehicle, particularly in length.  The OT-64 commander’s position has a small turret, barely larger than a cupola, instead of a simple pintle mount for its machinegun.  The OT-62 has a more powerful PV-6 Diesel engine developing 300 horsepower in it, and is propelled during amphibious operations by waterjets.  The troop compartment is fully enclosed and has an NBC overpressure system, which can be operated by a hand crank if the main system fails.  The front half of the vehicle is higher than the rear half, like the BTR-50.  The commander’s turret is on the front left of the raised section, with the driver to his right.  The commander has vision blocks for his turret and two vision blocks in the hull in front of him; the driver has three vision blocks just below his hatch on the front hull.  The commander’s turret does not have a hatch.  The engine compartment is in the rear of the vehicle, along with the transmission, cooling system, and fuel tanks; the passengers leave and enter by overhead hatches or doors in the sides of the passenger compartment as the rear of the raised section of the hull.  The automotive compartment and the crew compartment have automatic fire detection and extinguishing systems.  The system can also be activated by manual pull handles, and fire extinguishing bottles are also present.  The suspension is by conventional torsion bars, with six large roadwheels which are hollow to increase buoyancy.  Track tension is variable and can be adjusted by the driver from his compartment.  The vehicle is long but has only two pairs of shock absorbers, leading to a rough ride.  The OT-62 is amphibious, propelled by waterjets, and requires that a pair of bilge pumps be turned on and a trim vane extended at the front; a special driving vision block that allows the driver to see over the trim vane must also be put in. This procedure takes 10 minutes. The bilge pump can be operated manually if necessary.

     The basic Czech version, the OT-62A Topas, is armed with an M-59A recoilless rifle mounted on the rear deck, but has no commander’s armament; in addition, the commander has no hatch above him.  The OT-62B Topas-2A has the small turret mentioned above; it is armed with one machinegun and is manually-rotated and has manual elevation and some side-to-side movement for the gun.  Beside the turret is a T-21 recoilless rifle; it can be aimed and fired from inside the vehicle, but reloaded only by opening the hatch behind it and having someone reload it.  To the right of the recoilless rifle is a manually-operated IR searchlight. 

     The OT-62C Topas-2AP is the Polish version, and it differs much from the Czech versions.  In the center of the raised section of the deck is the same turret as fitted to the OT-64, with a KPVT heavy machinegun and a coaxial PKT. The guns can be elevated almost straight up (89.5 degrees), but only to -5 degrees. The turret also has an AT-3 Sagger launch rail on either side of the turret on some models.