RH ALAN LOV-OP

     Notes:  The LOV is used as the base chassis for a number of Croatian armored vehicles, one of which is the LOV-OP APC.  It is based on the Torpedo HV TK-130 T7 4x4 medium truck, with an armored shell added as well as a gunner’s position near the center of the troop compartment.  The LOV-OP began development in 1992 and was first seen in a parade in 1995, along with other members of the LOV family.  So far, the LOV family is used only by Croatia, and has been offered for export. Interest is lowered somewhat by the LOV-OP being slightly underpowered, and RH-ALAN is considering putting more powerful engines in the LOV series.

     The driver is in the front left, with a rather small bullet resistant front windshield and left side windshield. He has an overhead hatch to access his compartment; he can also get in by going through the troop compartment or by using a door on the left side. The driver’s position is raised somewhat above the rest of the hull. The driver’s position has no provision for night vision, but he is normally issued a set of night vision goggles (included in the cost below). The commander is to his right; he has vision blocks to his front and a door in the hull to his right. He also has a periscope which can be traversed to the front, right and the left.  The gunner’s position, in the center of the troop compartment, has a raisable seat and an overhead hatch.  The position is surrounded by low AV2 gun shields to all sides except the front; they also go lower on the sides toward the front.  The gun has only limited traverse and is moved side to side primarily by rotating the cupola.  The gunner has no vision blocks and must peek over the gun shields to observe his surroundings.  The troop compartment has a pair of large overhead hatches over the rear of the compartment and two doors in the rear of the hull.  On each side of the hull at the front of the flat troop compartment roof is a cluster of four smoke grenade launchers which fire forwards and slightly to the sides.  Optional equipment, so far not fielded by the Croatians, include air conditioning, an NBC overpressure system or collective NBC system (or both), and an amphibious operations kit.  The left rear door has a spare tire, and the other has a firing port; there is also a firing port in each side of the troop compartment.

     The LOV-OP is powered by a Deutz BT6L 9125 turbocharged diesel engine developing 120 horsepower, and coupled to a manual transmission.  The driver has conventional controls.  The suspension is 4x4 (switchable to 4x2 for road use) and has run-flat tires.  A winch is mounted just behind the driver and commander’s positions, and the cable leads out through the bottom front. It has a 5.1-ton capacity and 38 meters of cable, and is primarily meant for self-recovery. The front and sides of the vehicle have moderate armor sloping, helping protect the vehicle a little more.  Armor slopes upwards and downwards from the center of the vehicle’s sides and front.  The floor and roof have additional armor reinforcement for protection against land mines and IEDs.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The LOV-OP forms a good portion of Croatia’s APC fleet; as they were put into a greatly-accelerated production program starting in 1992.

     Merc 2000 Notes: This vehicle does not exist in the Merc 2000 timeline.

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

$27,476

D, A

2 tons

9.2 tons

3+9

4

Headlights

Enclosed

 

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

128/64

29/15

170

66

Stnd

W(3)

HF7  HS4  HR3*

 

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

None

None

M-2HB

600x.50

*Roof AV is 3; floor AV is 4.