TAMSE VCTM
Notes: The VCTM
(sometimes called the VCTM-TAM or TAM-VCTM) is an Argentine mortar carrier based
on the chassis of the VCTP armored personnel carrier.
The Argentines have 54 of these vehicles on hand at present, though they
do not currently have plans to manufacture more. In this role, the turret is
removed, and in its place is a hump-backed rear with a set of large hatches,
which are opened when the mortar is to be fired.
What is normally the rear cargo area is taken up by the mortar, a
turntable built into the floor of the vehicle, a special bipod and sight
assembly designed for the vehicle, and ammunition racks. However, the VCTM
carries only a limited amount of ammunition and charges internally (like almost
all mortar carriers) and during most extended firing missions, the VCTM is fed
by crewmembers manning ammunition stacks and charge containers outside the rear
doors of the vehicle, who attach the charges to the rounds according to the
range required and then pass them by hand to the assistant gunner (the
crewmember who actually drops the round down the tube).
The VCTM also carries a normal baseplate and bipod for firing the mortar
outside of the vehicle if necessary.
The VCTM retains the rear-mounted remote-control machinegun of the VCTP.
Firing ports and their associated vision blocks are deleted.
There is a commander’s cupola, but it has no provision for armament,
though it does rotate manually and all-around vision blocks.
The driver has three vision blocks to his front; the two on the outside
are wide-angle vision blocks and the one in the middle gives a normal field of
view. The middle block can be
removed and replaced by a night vision block.
Like the VCTP,
the VCTM is a sort of descendant of the Marder.
It therefore shares having decent armor protection, though it is not as
good as an actual Marder. The VCTP
series, including the VCTM does, however, use a more powerful MTU MB-633
720-horsepower turbocharged diesel.
The engine is coupled to a manual transmission, and the VCTP series (including
the VCTM) is mechanically simplified as much as possible over the Marder or its
TAM descendant. The VCTM is amphibious with a minimum of preparation; a trim
vane must be erected (this can be done by the driver from the driver’s
compartment), and the driver must switch on bilge pumps.
However, crews are loath to swim the VCTM, as freeboard is not great, and
swimming speed is slow. On the front of the glacis, towards the outside and
about halfway up, are a cluster of four smoke grenade launchers on either side.
A small, hand-held mortar ballistic computer is included in the price
below. Drums on each side of the VCTM carry auxiliary fuel, though they are
normally filled only during long movements, and the driver draws from those
tanks first. The reason for the simplification is because the VCTP series was to
be built in Argentina as much as possible (a few specialized parts are built in
Germany and the mortar is built in France), and the Argentines have a lesser
manufacturing base. Some 70% of the
VCTM components are built in Argentina, and 100% are assembled in Argentina.
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
$93,995 |
D, A |
400 kg |
26 tons |
5 |
9 |
Passive IR |
Shielded |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor |
195/136 |
45/32/2 |
640+400 |
385 |
Stnd |
T3 |
HF14
HS6 HR6 |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
None |
None |
120mm TDA AM-50 Mortar, MG-3 (R) |
61x120mm, 2500x7.62mm |