Otobreda OF-40 ARV

     Notes:  Like most vehicles of its type, the OF-40 ARV uses the chassis of a base armored vehicle – in this case, the OF-40 Mk 2 tank, with the turret removed and a raised superstructure, crane, winch, and tools in its place.  A dozer blade is at the front, primarily for bracing the vehicle while the crane or winches are being used, though it is capable of shouldering aside some obstacles or digging large fighting positions.  The crane has a capacity of 18 tons at a reach of 9 meters, and can be manually operated if necessary.  The main winch has a pulling capacity of 36 tons, or 72 tons with block and tackle, and has 80 meters of cable.  A secondary winch has a capacity of 3 tons, or 6 with block and tackle. The vehicle carries all the necessary tools for repair and recovery of vehicles up to main battle tanks, including basic, tracked vehicle, wheeled vehicle, small arms, and heavy ordinance tools, a welding and cutting set, an air compressor, a tow bar, a selection of spare parts, and ropes and cables.

     A cluster of three smoke grenade launchers are mounted on the glacis about a meter below the top of the glacis.  They face 45 degrees outwards.

     The engine is the same as on the OF-40 Mk 2 tank: an MTU MB 838 ca M 500 830-horsepower multifuel engine; it has a power take-off so full power can be applied to the crane, winches, and power tools.

     The OF-40 ARV was designed specifically for export.  The UAE bought 18 to support their force of 40 OF-40 Mk 2 tanks; the Libyans, despite the fact they bought a good number of OF-40 tanks, decided to buy ex-Soviet ARVs instead of matching OF-40 ARVs.  No other sales have been made; I have been unable to determine whether the OF-40 series are still on the market.  The UAE, the only known operators of the OF-40 ARV, have equipped theirs with GPS. The UAE version also has small LCD screens at the driver’s and commander’s positions to allow them to navigate using the GPS and a small mapping computer. The UAE also generally equips them with an extra long-range secure radio, and the other two radios are also secure radios.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: As with the OF-40 main battle tank, this Italian recovery vehicle had pre-war sales only to the United Arab Emirates, even though it was specifically designed for export.  As with the OF-40, the Italian government requested all stocks on Italian soil and manufacturing capability to be directed to Italian use, and these vehicles were taken into Italian Army service to replace vehicle losses, and sales during the Twilight War were made to Thailand and Greece.

*The front-mounted dozer blade may also function as armor; what’s protected by the blade depends on how high the blade is raised.  The blade is 1.1 meters high and about 3.55 meters wide, and in general may be Not Raised, Medium Raised, and Fully Raised. Travel Position is different; the blade is raised to a position just off the ground, then folded flat underneath and against its arms.  This may still stop a round, but the chance of an enemy gunner hitting it is only 1 in 20.  The blade has an AV of 6Sp.