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Background
— CF LAV TUA ( TOW-Under-Armour ) Project |
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LAV III TUA – Wheeled TOW-Under-Armour
When DND’s procurement plans for the LAV III were slashed in
half in the mid-1990s, among the cuts to a proposed family of vehicles based on this next-generation LAV
was a replacement for M113 TUAs, the CF’s tracked APC-based TOW missile launchers. This wheeled TUA was
never cancelled. It was simply a matter of funding the necessary vehicles (the recycled Kvaerner TUA turrets [1]
would simply swap onto new chassis. So, what had suddenly made funding available?
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Moving in Mixed Company: Is TUA Better Than One ?
DND’s decision to buy the Mobile Gun System (MGS) got the LAV TUA out of the deep-freeze (the three-part direct-fire
support plan was to mix TUA with gun-armed MGS and the ‘Multi-Mission Effects Vehicle’ (also LAV III-based) firing a dual-purpose ADATS[2]
missile (both ADATS and TOW being proven missiles). Compared with the original TUA, LAV TUA performance would
be improved with better target acquisition and two new, upgraded missile types – extended-range
TOW Aero and TOW Bunker Buster. [3]
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The CF intended to field 71 new TUAs.[4] Familiarization train- ing began in March 2006, E Coy LdSH(RC) began
revieving its first of 18 vehicles in April for ‘Initial Product Testing’ at CFB Wainwright. This
was essentially conversion training from the tracked TUA. RAMD (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, and
Durability) testing followed “with emphasis on monitoring TUA weapon, surveillance and command and control
compon- ent integration and functionality”. Crews also had to get used to substantially taller vehicle[5],
albeit also a more reliable one.
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Testing is complete but questions remain about this one leg of a planned tripod. LAV TUA will be useful in all
the ways that its tracked predecessor were (perhaps more so with its superior roadability). But how useful is the TOW
missile when there is no armour threat (as in Kandahar)? Bunker Busters are an expensive way to
‘mousehole’ if HESH tank rounds are available. The LAV TUA will find its place in the future. But
direct fire support is still a gap in capabilities. Eventually, LAV TUAs will be needing big-gunned, wheeled
partners. [6]
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[1] Swapping the Kvaerner Eureka turrets from the tracked M113 to the wheeled LAV III chassis is not that difficult.
However, the system is also being upgraded with the addition of the Improved Target Acquisition System. As its
name suggests, ITAS is intended to improve field performance. ITAS includes an improved Fire Control
Subsystem allowing the use of all existing (and future) TOW missile variants.
[2] Like LAV TUA, the MMEV concept involved ‘recycling’ turrets from M113 chassis (in this case, Oerlikon
Contraves ADATS, the dual purpose Air Defence/Anti-Tank System). MMEV was to enter service in 2010 but Land Staff
recommended its cancellation in July of 2006.
[3] TOW 2B Aero has a maximum range of 4.5km (0.75km more than a standard TOW 2B). The Bunker
Buster is based on the earlier TOW 2A variant which has a 3.75km range. LAV TUA tests included firing the
two new missile types at the US Army Redstone Arsenal range.
[4] It now seems that only 33 LAV TUA conversions are due to be completed (presumably because of the absense of any
armour threat in Afghanistan). The remaining hulls may be converted as Infantry Section Carriers. [Also see: LAV
Alternative - Turret Mortar from TUA?]
[5] The turret top is 4.25m off the ground. This takes some getting used by the crews, but it is also a
tactical consideration – finding hull- down positions will be a bigger challenge). As for added
reliability, note that the TLAV rebuilds did not include original TUA M113A2s.
[6] In the short term, DFS will be provided by the Leopard C2 tanks. As GDLS have
found, it is no easy thing mounting a 105mm tank gun on a LAV III. Part of the reason is the relative narrowness of
that hull. A LAV III is about 2.66m wide. By comparison, tracked IFVs can be as much as 1m wider (CV90 3.01m, BMP-3
3.2 m, Marder 3.38m, Bradley 3.6 m; IFVs under development:
Boxer MRAV 3.61m, Puma 3.7m).
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