LAV-LOSAT

     Nation of Origin: Canada

     Notes: This is a LAV-25 with the normal turret replaced with a 12-tube Hypervelocity Missile launcher turret. This vehicle has not been produced in real life, though prototypes have been built.

     Fictional Notes: In the Twilight 2000 timeline this was produced for the US Marines, but a very few were produced, and all of them were deployed to the Middle East.

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

$387,457

D, A

300 kg

12 tons

3

10

Passive IR, Thermal Imaging

Enclosed

 

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

191/115

40/24/4

300

93

Trtd

W(6)

TF6 TS4 TR4 HF6 HS4 HR4

 

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

+3

Fair

12-round HVM launcher, C-6 (C)

24xHVM, 600x7.62mm

 

LAV MPLS (Multiple Purpose Launch System)

     Nation of Origin: Canada

     Vehicle Type: Multipurpose Weapons Platform

     Notes: This is a LAV chassis, with the area behind the driver's and commander's positions chopped down and the armor removed to form a flatbed. On this flatbed is a very large turret mounting a quadruple Chaparral mount, a 7-round Hydra-70 rocket pod, and two Hellfire ATGM launchers. Typically, the Chaparrals are for antiaircraft work, the Hydra-70s are for antihelicopter use, and the Hellfires are for antivehicle attacks. The Hydra-70s are also used as artillery rockets in some cases. There is a machinegun mount by the commander's hatch for local defense.  Like the LAV-LOSAT, the LAV MPLS was produced only as prototypes, though they were developed to the advanced prototype stage.

     Fictional Notes: In the Twilight 2000 timeline, this hybrid system was used only by Saudi Arabia before the Twilight War (in very small numbers), but was manufactured for US and Canadian forces during the war. These vehicles, despite their small numbers, were used to great effect by Saudi and US Marine forces in the Middle East, where they were called "Damnation Machines" by the Russian, Iranian, and Iraqi forces that faced them.

     In the Merc 2000 timeline, the MPLS very nearly faced a quiet death until the US Military latched onto them for their new Stryker Brigades. (The US Army also experimented with the turret on a Stryker/LAV III chassis, but the resulting vehicle was judged to be too heavy, unwieldy, and expensive.)

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

$555,734

D, A

500 kg

14 tons

3

14

Passive IR

Enclosed

 

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

171/102

37/22/4

300

107

Trtd

W(6)

TF4 TS3 TR3 HF6 HS4 HR4

 

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

+3

Basic

4xChaparral SAM launchers, 7-round Hydra-70 launcher, 2xHellfire ATGM launchers, C-6 (C)

4xChaparral SAMs, 21xHydra-70 rockets, 8xHellfire ATGM, 1000x7.62mm

 

M-41E Cazador

     Nation of Manufacture: Spain

     Notes: This Spanish vehicle is a refurbished M-41 light tank, with the usual gun turret replaced by a twin TOW launcher of the same type as mounted on the M-901A1 ITV vehicle. To the rear of this mount on the rear deck is a hatch for reloading the launcher. There are two hatches on the front deck for the driver and commander, and there is a weapon mount in front of a center deck hatch in front of the launcher. On the glacis plate are eight smoke grenade launcher barrels. This was tried as an experiment in order to get some use out of aging M-41 tanks, but never put into production.

     Twilight 2000 Story: This vehicle was only in Spanish service at the time of the Twilight War.

     Fictional Notes: In the Twilight 2000 timeline, this vehicle was only in Spanish service, and only in small numbers.  They nonetheless acquitted themselves very well.

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

$95,887

D, A

600 kg

23 tons

4

11

Passive IR

Enclosed

 

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

134/93

30/20

850

133

CiH

T4

TF2  TS2  TR2  HF12  HS8  HR6

 

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

+2

None

Twin TOW II launcher, MAG (C)

12xTOW II ATGM, 2000x7.62mm

 

M-920 Hellfire AT Vehicle

     Nation of Manufacture: United States    

     Notes: This is the M-2A1 Bradley chassis with the turret removed and a quadruple Hellfire antiarmor missile launcher fitted into its place. As far as I know, this vehicle is the product of the imaginations of the designers at GDW, and was never actually even considered by the US military in any form.

     Fictional Notes: This vehicle exists only in the Twilight 2000 timeline; it is the M-2 Bradley chassis with the turret removed and a quadruple Hellfire antiarmor missile launcher fitted into its place.  It was decided later in the war with helicopters and the fuel to fly them becoming more scarce that vehicles able to launch Hellfire missiles needed to be developed, and as quickly as possible.  The M-920 was sometimes manufactured as such, but more often, they were built on intact Bradley hulls which had damaged turrets, and a turret kit for the Hellfire missile system which could be installed in the field at rear-echelon vehicle maintenance units.

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

$224,356

D, A

200 kg

29.6 tons

4

13

Thermal Imaging, Image Intensifier

Shielded

 

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

153/107

35/25/3

662

217

CiH

T4

TF2  TS2  TR2  HF8  HS4Sp  HR4

 

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

+2

Fair

Quadruple Hellfire launcher, MAG (C)

12xHellfire ATGM, 600x7.62mm

 

M-921 Bradley-LOSAT

     Nation of Manufacture: United States    

     Notes: LOSAT stands for Line-Of-Sight Anti-Tank.  The M-921 is an M-2A2 Bradley chassis with a 12-round Hypervelocity Missile turret replacing the standard turret.   This weapon system is basically in a holding pattern; no further funds have been allocated to its development, but it has not been officially killed, either.

     Fictional Notes: In the Twilight 2000 timeline, very few of these vehicles were produced (perhaps a dozen), and all were deployed to Europe.  In the Merc 2000 timeline, budget difficulties killed this program before a single prototype could be built.

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

$398,268

D, A

300 kg

29.5 tons

3

13

Passive IR, Thermal Imaging

Shielded

 

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

153/107

35/25/3

662

217

Trtd

T4

TF4  TS4  TR4  HF13  HS8Sp  HR16

 

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

+3

Fair

12-round LOSAT launcher, MAG (C)

24xLOSAT ADATS, 600x7.62mm

 

M-922 Buford-LOSAT

     Nation of Manufacture: United States

     Notes: This is an M-8 Buford airborne combat vehicle with the standard turret replaced by a 12-tube Hypervelocity Missile turret. It does not have the special ammunition storage system that the standard Buford has, nor can the new turret be fitted with add-on turret armor packages (though the hull may still be equipped with these packages). This system was killed along with the standard M-8 Buford, though the on-and-off rumors of the Buford’s resurrection could mean that this program will also be resumed.    

     Fictional Notes: In the Twilight 2000 timeline, very few of these vehicles were produced (perhaps a dozen for each division), and all were deployed to the Middle East with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions.  In the Merc 2000 timeline, production of these vehicle was undertaken at a very slow rate along with the M-8 Buford; perhaps one M-922 was produced for every ten M-8s.

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

$385,260

D, A

300 kg

18.5 tons/20.82 tons/23.59 tons

3

9

Passive IR, Thermal Imaging

Shielded

 

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

186/130

40/30

568

195

Trtd

T4

TF6  TS6Sp  TR4Sp  HF4/6Sp/20Sp  HS3/6Sp/14Sp  HR4Sp/4Sp/4Sp

 

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

+3

Fair

12-round LOSAT launcher, MAG (C)

24xLOSAT ADATS, 1000x7.62mm

 

Panther

     Nation of Manufacture: Germany

     Notes: This is a tank destroyer based on the hull of the Leopard 1 chassis. They were converted by removing the turret and fitting an elevating arm with a 3-round pod firing Trigat ATGM. The arm can be raised to a height of 5 meters and contains all the sensors needed to target and guide the missiles. The sight is downlinked to a gunner's position in the hull, which guides the missiles via a TV monitor. There is a hatch on the center front deck for the driver, one on the right deck behind the driver for the commander, and a large hatch behind the elevating arm for reloading of missiles. This program was cancelled in the early 1990s after only one prototype was built.

     Fictional Notes: In the Twilight 2000 timeline, a few of these conversions were done before the war, but the program was actually cancelled for a short time; more were done after the war commenced.  In the Merc 2000 timeline, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy use this vehicle.

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

$372,284

D, G, A

700 kg

38.7 tons

3

15

Thermal Imaging, Image Intensification

Shielded

 

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

111/78

25/15

985

215

CiH

T6

TF4 TS4 TR4 HF26 HS12 HR8

 

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

+4

None

3xTrigat Launchers, MG-3 (C)

20xTrigat ATGM, 4000x7.62mm

 

Ratel ZT-3

     Nation of Manufacture: South Africa

     Notes: This is a Ratel-20 APC with the turret replaced with one mounting a triple Swift ATGM launcher, a coaxial MAG machinegun, and two smoke grenade launchers on either side of the turret. The Ratel in this configuration retains its rear MAG machinegun. The gunner is seated on the right side of the turret and the commander on the left. Unfortunately, the Ratel ZT-3 was cancelled by the mid-1990s, with only a few examples being built.

     Fictional Notes: In the Twilight 2000 timeline, the Ratel ZT-3 was not cancelled, and went into full production.  In the Merc 2000 timeline, South Africa found itself faced by hostile African neighbors with ever-more sophisticated and capable tanks, and South Africa decided to put the Ratel ZT-3 into full production.

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

$113,113

D, A

700 kg

19.2 tons

3

14

Passive IR

Shielded

 

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

139/84

25/15

430

103

Trtd

W(6)

TF6 TS3 TR3 HF11 HS6 HR4

 

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

None

None

3xSwift launcher, MG-4, MG-4 (Rear)

12xSwift ATGM, 800x7.62mm