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In Detail —— Alternatives to the Mobile Gun System? ——

by T.S. Rea

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Defence Technology  —  March 2004 Does Canada have alternatives to the Mobile Gun System? Tom Rea considers the importance of compact components and the use of mass-efficient armour in the design of modern Armoured Fighting Vehicles Part 7  –  “... eyes they have and see not ...”  Sensor Systems and Survival The sensors of the vehicle could be conventional infrared and low-light systems. Alternatively, a spinning array of electronically-controlled polar filters aligned at angles to each other could form the basis of a 360° detection and tracking system. This rudimentary tracking system could be allied with laser rangefinders for range data of engagement quality. Such a system may not be adequate for tracking and engaging anti-tank missiles (or their source launchers) with machinegun fire (twin machineguns are mounted above the main gun).  However, this detection system would provide an early threat-warning sufficient to employ countermeasures. Supplementing the electronic detection systems, would be twin laterally-extended periscope arrays for the crew. Pop-up over-head hatch covers with vision blocks would provide the crew with direct sightlines on either side of the main armament. With its sophisticated sensor suite, remotely-controlled turret, and crew members safely housed in the hull, this vehicle could take maximum advantage of  tankers’ hull-down techniques. In such defilade positions, the AFV would present as little as two square feet of target area.  And,  the vehicle’s low silhouette would allow the most minor of folds and contours in the terrain to be used for effective cover. Network-centric communications systems, which are a major element of the cost of the Mobile Gun System, could be exploited to their fullest with these vehicles. The main tactical weakness of the MGS (after its weak armour protection) is that LAV III-based vehicle’s overly high profile. [1]  Our proposed alternative MGS mates all those advanced communications and sensor systems with a low profile. In other words,  this proposed vehicle combines most of the tactical deployment advantages of tanks (allowing it to make full use of defilade techniques) with the improved communications, tracking/targeting systems, as well as the increased speed and mobility necessary to meet the demands of network-centric warfare. <  Part 6  —  Visualizing How Design Considerations Might Shape an AFV >  Part 8  —  Turning the Hypothetical Alternative MGS into Reality