APC or IFV

Equation

Lieutenant General
What I don't get about BMP-3 is the designer's choice of rear engine for an IFV and its weird infantry compartment. A series of photos at the site illustrates the problem.
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So to exit the vehicle, the infantrymen have to get through two narrow passages OVER the engine deck. Note the soldiers in those photos are lightly equipped, imagining having to do that with ammo, radios, rocket launcher on your back.

Make your mechanize infantry thinner for more elbow room.:p;)
 
Can't believe I have totally missed this fun thread for so long. I think tank conversions make a lot of sense for those on a limited budget and a bunch of old tanks, say, China. I guess they are on such a limited budget that they want their old tanks as old tanks rather than APC/IFV's. Otherwise something like the BTR-T or Achzarit would be good. Chinese APC/IFV designs continue to be lightly armored and I have yet to see add-on armor for any of them.

I like the Achzarit ramp, looks very sci-fi yet practical.
achzarit_13.jpg
 

Miragedriver

Brigadier
Contortionist only need apply,

Does anybody else think the boomerang hull is too narrow? Also that tiny rear door with top hatches doesn't make sense. I thought they would have followed a more western approach in the design.

It has two rear doors, the small one is inside the larger one
GLnob8K.jpg



Back to bottling my Grenache
 

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
I think we need more photos but from what I see I think its just about comparable to many modern wheeled platforms. The hatch looks about two people wide and seems common for K25 and boomerang. Roof hatches are common on any number of vehicles including Stryker.
 

Black Shark

Junior Member
Does anybody else think the boomerang hull is too narrow? Also that tiny rear door with top hatches doesn't make sense. I thought they would have followed a more western approach in the design.

It has two rear doors, the small one is inside the larger one
GLnob8K.jpg



Back to bottling my Grenache
The top hatch is common and is based on motorized and mechanized troops doctrine to have some basic Air defense and self suistaining on enemy ground after being paradroped and being cut off from other forces such as ADS. Those hatches are used on the move in case of CAS role from enemy aircrafts so a soldier can peak out with MANPAD and try to shoot down enemy aircraft. BMD's also have top hatches for the same purpose.
 

Scratch

Captain
Israel is procuring kits to assemble more Namer heavy APCs through US military assistance.

Those Namer troop carriers are based on the Merkava Mk4 hulls, and the new ones are now supposed to be outfitted with Trophy APS. That probably makes them the best protected APCs in the world.

They are, of course, tailored very much to Israels specific needs. Due to their weight, deployability over great distances is rather restricted, I would guess.
But in a dense, urban environment, they do offer great all around protection. Something like a 40mm GMG or perhaps even a 60mm Mortar would be a great weapon for this I think.

rva4ie.jpg


Israel Signs Heavy APC Deal With GDLS
By Barbara Opall-Rome 3:15 p.m. EDT May 5, 2015
$310M, Six-Year Contract To Come From US Military Aid

TEL AVIV — Israel's Defense Ministry announced Tuesday that it signed a US $310 million contract with General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) to produce kits for its Namer (Leopard), a heavy troop carrier based on the indigenous Merkava Mk4 main battle tank.

Funded through annual US military assistance, the six-year contract calls for US-based production kits, with final assembly and installation of subsystems to be performed at MoD's Masha facility in Tel Hashomer, south of Tel Aviv.

In the announcement, MoD noted that the contract with GDLS joins a $250 million previously concluded contract, also funded through US military aid, for US-built Namer engines.

"The Namer is considered to be the most heavily armored carrier in the world, and has proven its capabilities in Operation Protective Edge against myriad threats," MoD stated in reference to last summer's war in Gaza.

[...]

The contract announced Tuesday follows a 2011 deal between MoD and GDLS for production tooling and an initial 111 kits, with options for another 276 vehicles based on a full production rate of some 60 per year.

Prior to last summer's war, due to budget cuts, MoD had planned to slash Namer production orders by more than half. But lessons from that war and outrage sparked when seven infantrymen were killed in an RPG attack on their 50-year-old M113 restored top procurement priority for the heavy APC.

Since its initial fielding in 2009, less than a handful of infantry brigades have been equipped with Namer. And unlike the Merkava Mk4 tanks, the heavy APCs have not yet been equipped with active protection against RPGs and anti-tank missiles.

According to today's statement by MoD, all new Namers will be equipped with the Trophy, an active protection system (APS) built by state-owned Rafael. ...
 
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