Warrior Tracked Armoured Vehicle

The Warrior tracked vehicle family, are a series of British armoured vehicles originally developed by GKN plc (the armoured vehicle division of is now part of BAE Systems Land and Armaments), to replace the older FV432 series of armoured vehicles.

History

The MCV-80 project for a replacement for the FV432 vehicles was approached in the 1970s. GKN Sankey was awarded a production contract in 1980.

Description

Passenger access is through a large electric powered door at the rear of the hull, rather than a drop down ramp as in the American M113 and M2 Bradley armoured personnel carriers (APCs). There are no firing ports in the hull, in line with British thinking that the role of the APC/MICV is to carry troops under protection to the objective and then give firepower support when they have disembarked. Not to mention that the ability of the average soldier to fire accurately out of the ports of a moving IFV has always been questionable.

Warrior Section Vehicles are able to carry and support 7 fully equipped soldiers together with supplies and weapons for a 48 hour battlefield day in nuclear/biological/chemical conditions. The protection against small arms, missiles and anti-tank mines was proven during the UN operations in Bosnia. Additional (applique) armour can be fitted. Warrior is driven by a Perkins Rolls-Royce V8 Condor engine through an automatic gearbox. It is capable of a road speed of 75 km/h. The fully rotating turret carries a 7.62 Caliber chain gun alongside the 30 mm cannon. Thales Optronics STAG thermal imaging sights are being added to upgrade the night fighting capability as part of the BGTI (Battle Group Thermal Imaging) program.

Combat history

Production

Warrior - 789 (1987 –1995)
Desert Warrior - 254.

Operators

United Kingdom - British Army
Kuwait - Land Forces

Variants

FV510 Infantry Section Vehicle

Armament Fitted to the two-man turret is a L21A1 30 mm RARDEN cannon and coaxial L94A1 EX-34 7.62 mm Hughes Helicopter Chain gun. The cannon is capable of destroying most modern APC's at a maximum range of ~1,500 m.

Protection The vehicle is NBC proof, fitted with passive (upgraded to active in most vehicles) night vision and defensive grenade launchers (usually used with Visual and Infrared Screening Smoke - VIRSS).

Its armour is exceptional and has proved capable of protecting against mines - in Bosnia, a warrior drove over a Serbian anti-tank mine with little damage resulting. A BBC TV crew captured the incident on film.

MILAN Anti-Tank Guided Weapon Carrier

FV511 Infantry Command Vehicle

FV512 Mechanised Combat Repair Vehicle

operated by REME

FV513 Mechanised Recovery Vehicle (Repair)

operated by REME

FV 514 Mechanised Artillery Observation Vehicle

operated by Royal Artillery
fitted with mast-mounted Man-portable Surveillance and Target Acquisition Radar (MSTAR)

FV 515 Battery Command Vehicle

operated by Royal Artillery

Reconnaissance Vehicle

Additional armoured protection against conventional and chemical attack. Armour shielding covers the front, sides and the suspension of the vehicle. The Warrior Reconnaissance vehicle is normally operated by a crew of three, the driver, commander and the gunner and can carry a reconnaissance officer and additional surveillance equipment.

Desert Warrior

Warrior vehicles adapted for operations in hostile desert conditions.

The Desert Warrior is also fitted with the same turret used by the LAV-25 wheeled IFV.

In 1993, Kuwait purchased 254 Desert Warrior vehicles fitted with Delco turrets, stabilised M242 25 mm chain gun with coaxial 7.62 mm chain gun and 2 x Hughes TOW ATGM launchers (one mounted on each side).

Warrior 2000

A new version developed for the Swiss Army. Did not enter production.

All-welded aluminium hull
Increased armour
Digital fire control system
More powerful engine
Delco or Land Systems Hagglunds E30 turret with ATK Bushmaster II Mk 44 30 mm cannon.

Warrior Upgrade programme

As part of the Warrior Mid-Life Improvement Programme (2006-2012), the British Army is upgrading its Warriors to extend their service life to 2025. The upgrade includes

Addition of a night fighting capability
Bowman Communications System
New turret with a 30 mm or 40 mm cannon
Digital Fire control System
Improved power pack

A turret demonstrator has been developed by CTA International, a joint venture formed by BAE Systems and Giat Industries. A contract was awarded in June 2004 for the delivery of one Warrior vehicle fitted with the turret by December 2006, for the British Army's Manned Turret Integration Programme (MTIP). Although the MoD has part funded this work the Department will be embarking on a full competition to select the most suitable turret system. 350 vehicles are to be fitted with BGTI by 2007. 70 have been completed.

Trivia

The vehicle's name provided the inspiration for a 1999 BBC TV movie about the war in Bosnia, "Warriors". ^*

External links

Army Technology
The British Army
Army Recognition in French
Military History Encyclopedia on the Web
Proceedings of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The testimony by Lieutenant Colonel Bryan Watters gives a good illustrations of the peace-keeping operations in which Warrior vehicles were used.
Warrior at Army-Guide.com

References

Foss, Christopher & Sarson, Peter. Warrior Mechanised Combat Vehicle 1987 - 1994, Osprey UK, 1994, London, New Vanguard Series No. 10.

Infantry fighting vehicles | Cold War armored fighting vehicles | Modern armored fighting vehicles

Warrior (Panzer) | ウォーリア装甲戦闘車 | FV 510 Warrior | MCV-80 Warrior

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