More ‘mean-looking’ ASVs planned for Iraq

Stars and Stripes ^ | April 14, 2006 | Jeff Schogol

[Chode]

yup... that's it,I WANT one!!!
the VFW up the Lake has one out front i've coveted for years. 8^)

[neverdem]

M1117 Guardian Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) ASV-150

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

True, the HV was as a replacement for the Jeep, a bloody tank it will never be.

[usmcobra]

Imagine a small block chevy with electronic fuel injection running this thing.

[Thunder90]

Ping

[Northern Alliance]

Spc. Eric Davenport, left, and Spc. David Norris, both with Battery C, 1st Battalion, 17th Field Artillery, load grenades into the internal turret of an Armored Security Vehicle.

Belt-fed grenade launcher? What weapon is that?

[JSteff]

Uhhhh, I hate to bring this up... but it looks like it has a huge blind area to the rear.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

MK-19

[Calpernia]

Spc. David Norris swivels like a ball-turret gunner in an old bomber as he moves the internal turret of his Armored Security Vehicle to check for prowling insurgents on a main Iraqi road.

With a turret that allows gunners to fire while inside the vehicle, three layers of armor and an imposing look, the ASVs also have a distinct psychological effect on those inside and out of the vehicles, soldiers said.

[gatorbait]

It's the Grandson of the V-100

[SFC Chromey]

MK-19 auto grenade launcher. These ASV's are great as long as you don't burn through all your ammo before realizing its time to reload.

Reloading a dry weapon has to be done outside the turret, because there isn't room inside to do that!

Oh well, almost perfect.

I like the part that states they only lost three, all of which were back in service within a week!

[SFC Chromey]

That picture was from very early on in 2003. The IFF panels have been s-canned for the most part.

[Northern Alliance]

Thanks for the info, guys.

[R. Scott]

For example, it is so cramped inside that some crews leave certain gear behind, they said. Also, with few windows, the ASVs have far less visibility than Humvees, and sometimes gunners won’t hear enemy fire, they said.

Two major drawbacks – but every thing has a tradeoff. I would personally like to be able to see what is going on around me. I saw several M48 tanks knocked out because they had no infantry support – which means they had no way to know what was happening around them. Not much can be seen through the periscope.
I can see the same thing happening with this vehicle. Inexperienced commanders will be so fearful of losing people they will send these out with no support, not even the uparmored Huumvees.

[FreeAtlanta]

Looks like we could mount small cameras all around it, and also IR motion sensors.

[R. Scott]

Cameras and sensors won’t make up for the Mark 1 Eyeball.

[Bogey78O]

I rode alongside one for a short bit along Hwy 90 in New Orleans. The driver sits as high as a Chevy 3500. This was before Katrina. No clue what their operations are doing now.

[Thunder 6]

I'm guessing you haven't spent much time in armored vehicles?

Regards,

[wyattearp]

None whatsoever. I was Navy. I just read that the majority of the tankers killed in the Iraq war have been tank commanders who were killed while standing up through the turret hatch in combat. All that armor doesn't mean a thing if you stand up in the hatch and expose yourself to small arms fire.

[operation clinton cleanup]

How long before Arnold S. gets a street legal one!?