Arrowpointe Dragoon 300 AMC (Armored Mortar Carrier)
Notes:
The Dragoon 300 AMC is a light mortar carrier based upon the Dragoon
multipurpose chassis. The Dragoon
300 Mortar Carrier has had some small sales to a variety to foreign customers,
but no big sales or use by the large countries that arms dealers covet.
As a mortar
carrier, the Dragoon’s turret is removed, and a pair of bi-fold hatches is
installed to allow the mortar to fire.
The mortar is mounted on a turntable which is capable of 360-degree fire.
Stops can also be set in the turntable to allow the crew to quickly shift
fires to pre-determined azimuths.
The interior, like most mortar carriers, is largely taken up by the mortar and
its installation, ammunition, and fuzes, as well as legacy fire control
equipment like plotting boards, protractors, grease pencils, maps, etc.
However, one might find more space inside than in most mortar carriers.
The 81mm mortar can operate with a crew of four or five.
The driver and
commander are in the front, with the driver on the right and commander beside
him. They have a small
bullet-resistant windshield in front of them, and vision blocks to the sides.
Vision blocks are also present in front of the hatches for use when the
vehicle is buttoned up. They have hatches above them and can also reach their
stations trough the troop compartment.
Their hatches have night vision blocks, which can be removed and replaced
with an armored block. The driver
has a conventional control set, though he has power brakes.
The driver and commander have electrically-powered raising and lowering
of their seats. The crew has three
seats in the rear, simple fold-down pads on metal seats.
The wide doors on either side are retained in the Mortar Carrier, and the
firing ports on either side and the one in the rear are also retained. (The rear
firing port is a bit difficult to fire from due to lack of space.)
There is no gunner’s station, but the commander is armed with a
pintle-mounted machinegun (though little ammunition for the machinegun is
carried as part of the basic load).
In the 1990s, Arrowpointe began offering Mortar Ballistic Computers with the
Mortar Carrier. At the same time, data-capable long-range radios which could
pass information to the MBC were added for customers who bought the MBC for
their Dragoon-300 Mortar Carriers.
The Dragoon-300
MC borrows the starter, vision blocks, bilge pumps, control knobs and electrical
and hydraulic components from the M-113A2 APC; automotively, many components are
the same as on the M-809 medium truck, particularly in the suspension.
The engine of the Dragoon-300 MC is a Detroit Diesel 6V-53T
300-horsepower turbocharged diesel engine (again, a modified version of that of
the M-113), coupled to an automatic transmission. The Dragoon-300 MC has a
flood-type Halon fire suppression system, but this must be manually triggered.
There is one for the troop/front compartment and one for the engine
compartment. The suspension is 4x4
and of the off-road-type, and the Dragoon-300 has run-flat tires and central
tire pressure regulation. Armor is
moderate, but angling of the front and sides helps the situation, giving it
protection greater than might be expected for such a vehicle.
Armor is acceptable for such a vehicle, though appliqué armor kits are
available. All Dragoon-300 MCs and
variants have a front-mounted winch with a capacity of 5 tons and 53.34 meters
of cable. The Dragoon-300 MC is
amphibious, powered by wheel rotation in the water, and steered by the front
wheels as if on land. Bilge pumps
must be turned on before entering the water, but other than that, there is no
preparation required for amphibious operations (and turning on the bilge pumps
only requires the flipping of a switch by the driver).
The driver may also fully inflate the tires using the central tire
inflation system before amphibious operations to increase flotation, an
operation that requires only 15 seconds. Amphibious speed is slow, and steering
response is sluggish.
Vehicle |
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
Dragoon Mortar Carrier |
$237,181 |
D, A |
1.2 tons |
11.28 tons |
4 or 5 |
8 |
Passive IR (D, C) |
Enclosed |
Dragoon Mortar Carrier (w/Appliqué) |
$240,039 |
D, A |
800 kg |
11.68 tons |
4 or 5 |
10 |
Passive IR (D, C) |
Enclosed |
Vehicle |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor |
Dragoon Mortar Carrier |
213/107 |
59/30/3 |
350 |
111 |
Stnd |
W(4) |
HF8 HS4
HR4 |
Dragoon Mortar Carrier (w/Appliqué) |
187/131 |
52/36/3 |
350 |
115 |
Stnd |
W(4) |
HF10Sp HS4
HF4* |
Vehicle |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
Dragoon Mortar Carrier |
None |
None |
81mm M-252 Mortar, M-2HB (C) |
60x81mm, 600x.50 |
*Floor AV is 4Sp.
Cadillac-Gage LAV-150 Mortar Carrier
Notes:
A mortar carrier version of the V-150/LASV-150 light APC, the mortar
carrier variant was designed to provide a modicum of mobile fire support without
being prohibitively expensive to countries who do not have a big defense budget.
As such, many of the countries operating the V-150/LAV-150 also bought
the mortar carrier version. In
addition, there were other smaller countries who bought small amounts for
general fire support. (Though the
US employed the V-100 and later the V-150 during the Vietnam War, they did not
use the mortar carrier variant; however, the South Vietnamese Army did, and for
a while these were used by Vietnamese forces.)
The design of
the LAV-150 Mortar Carrier follows most such vehicles – the turret is removed
and large bi-fold hatches are installed on the rear deck to allow firing of the
mortar. Most other aspects of the
vehicle remain virtually unchanged from the LAV-150 APC. The internal
installation of the mortar is almost identical to that of the Dragoon-300 Mortar
Carrier, and the turntable allows 360-degree traverse and fire.
Stops can be preset to allow the crew to quickly switch to previously
defined targets (normally useful only in long bombardments).
The presets can also be used to lock the turntable, which helps to keep
the mortar from drifting off target.
The LAV-150 Mortar Carrier can mount up to four light or medium
machineguns for local self-defense; two may be mounted at the rear corners of
the deck hatch, one may be mounted at the front right corner of this hatch, and
one is normally mounted at the commander’s position at the front left of the
vehicle. Two tripods are carried to
allow ground-mounting of some of these machineguns.
A baseplate and bipod are also carried strapped to the right rear side
should the mortar have to be ground-mounted.
The Mortar Carrier is equipped with a Mortar Ballistic Computer, as well
as a data-capable long-range radio to allow fire information to be transmitted
and input into the MBC. Again, like
most such mortar carriers, the interior is cramped due to the mortar
installation, ammunition, and fuzes, as well as legacy fire control equipment.
The driver of
the LAV-150 Mortar Carrier is on the front right, and commander beside him on
the left. As stated above, the
commander’s overhead hatch has a pintle-mounted machinegun; this is on a
manually-operated cupola. The
commander and driver are equipped with special, high-protection vision blocks;
both can see to the front, and the driver has vision blocks to the right side,
while the commander has all-around vision blocks built into his cupola. The
driver has essentially conventional controls in his compartment, as well as
controls for the bilge pump. Above
the driver’s and commander’s position are two hatches; the commander and driver
may raise their seats to see out of the hatches.
The gunner’s position of the LAV-150 APC has been deleted in the mortar
carrier variant. A seat for
crewmembers is found on each side at the front of the fighting compartment, and
at the front in the center is another seat. (These are simple fold-down seats
with a pad strapped to metal seats.)
Power for the
LAV-150 Mortar Carrier is a Cummins V-8 diesel engine; this engine is a
derivative of the same engine that powers the M-113A2.
This engine develops 202 horsepower.
An Allison-made automatic transmission is installed. The axles were taken
from the M-44 2.5-ton truck. The
tires were specially designed by Cadillac Gage and are run-flat and designed to
run even in heavy mud without bogging down.
The tires are also puncture resistant.
The front has a 10-ton-capacity winch in it, and the vehicle carries a
5-ton snatch block to increase the winching power.
The vehicle is fully amphibious, requiring only that bilge pumps be
turned on.
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
$236,239 |
D, A |
400 kg |
11.4 tons |
5 |
16 |
Passive IR (D) |
Enclosed |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor |
158/79 |
43/22/4 |
303 |
60 |
Stnd |
W(3) |
HF7 HS4
HR3 |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
None |
None |
81mm M-252 mortar, MAG (C, RF, RR, LR) |
62x81mm, 4800x7.62mm |
Cadillac-Gage LAV-300 Mortar Carrier
Notes:
Though the LAV-300 is not merely a larger version of the LAV-150, the
LAV-300 Mortar Carrier is
conceptually almost identical to the LAV-150 Mortar Carrier, but bigger.
Like the LAV-150 Mortar Carrier, the LAV-300 Mortar Carrier has it’s
turret removed, and defensive armament is similar to that of the LAV-150 Mortar
Carrier. A large amount of
LAV-300s, including the Mortar Carrier, but these sales have been in dribs and
drabs, and Textron (who bought Cadillac Gage in the mid-1990s) keeps open an
assembly line big enough for one vehicle, and another line which produces spare
parts for the LAV-300 family already being used in the world.
Some experimentation of the LAV-300 has been made by the US Army,
including when the 9th ID was a test division, and again when the
Stryker was still the Infantry Armored Vehicle and the design was as yet not
finalized. Currently, no new
LAV-300s of any sort are being produced, though spare parts are still being made
for countries who cannot produce their own spare parts or have vehicles damaged
beyond the capability of local repair facilities.
The LAV-300 Mortar Carrier,
in an effort to increase its utility, can mount either a Western-type 81mm in
the rear, or a Russian/Eastern-type 82mm mortar (though NOT a Vasilek).
For local defense up to four machineguns may be mounted; these are
mounted in the same manner as those of the LAV-150 Mortar Carrier.
Though the LAV-300 base is quite a bit larger than the LAV-150, more
attention has been paid to internal stowage of crew equipment, more maps, and
enhancements like an MBC, a ruggedized laptop, a data-capable long-range radio,
and a GPS with a small computer of its own primarily containing maps.
Versions mounting 81mm or 82mm mortars have 360-degree turntables and can
fire in any direction. The 120mm
mortar version can rotate 160 degrees (80 in each direction from the
centerline), and greatly reduces the amount of space available to the crew and
their gear. A bipod and baseplate
for the mortar are carried on the right rear side in case the mortar must be
ground-mounted; in addition, three tripods are carried in case the machineguns
must be ground mounted.
The LAV-300 has a driver’s position on the front right, with a hatch above him
and three vision blocks to the front and one to each side.
The center front vision block can be replaced with a night vision block.
On the basic APC, the commander’s position is to the rear of the driver’s
position and in the center of the vehicle, and has a simple cupola with a pintle
mount. The firing ports are
retained, though the two rear side firing ports are VERY difficult to access due
to the vehicle’s mortar ammunition and storage for maps and legacy fire control
equipment being in the same area.
The three firing points in either side of the front “cab” are also retained.
In the right side of the hull is a small door; using this is made a
little more difficult due to the size and position of the mortar installation.
Three members of the mortar crew sit back in the fighting compartment –
one in each side and one in the center front.
There are strapdown points for crew gear (with plenty more on the outer
hull). The LAV-300 Mortar Carrier
has an MBC, GPS, and mapping module, as well as a small laptop computer that has
all the tech manuals for the vehicle, mortar, rounds, radios, GPS module, and
MBC. It has two long range and one
medium-range radio; one long-range radio is data-capable.
The LAV-300 is powered by a
270-horsepower Cummins VT-504 turbocharged diesel engine, coupled to an
automatic transmission. The
suspension is 6x6 and of an off-road type, with puncture-resistant tires (though
they are not run-flat). Ground clearance is decent and the floor armor is
strengthened as a measure against mines, though it is by no means an MRAP of
spaced armor-type of floor protection. The LAV-300 can have added appliqué
armor. The LAV-300 is amphibious
after turning on bilge pumps and erecting a trim vane (5 minutes), but speed is
quite slow in water.
Vehicle |
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
LAV-300 Mortar Carrier (81mm) |
$303,237 |
D, A |
650 kg |
16.1 tons |
5 |
13 |
Passive IR (D) |
Enclosed |
LAV-300 Mortar Carrier (81mm) w/Appliqué |
$490,886 |
D, A |
525 kg |
16.5 tons |
5 |
13 |
Passive IR (D) |
Enclosed |
LAV-300 Mortar Carrier (82mm) |
$507,851 |
D, A |
500 kg |
17.3 tons |
5 |
15 |
Passive IR (D) |
Enclosed |
LAV-300 Mortar Carrier (82mm) w/Appliqué |
$518,714 |
D, A |
400 kg |
17.7 tons |
5 |
15 |
Passive IR (D) |
Enclosed |
LAV-300 Mortar Carrier (120mm) |
$537,257 |
D, A |
315 kg |
17.57 tons |
5 |
17 |
Passive IR (D) |
Enclosed |
LAV-300 Mortar Carrier (120mm) w/Appliqué |
$569,108 |
D, A |
215 kg |
17.97 tons |
5 |
17 |
Passive IR (D) |
Enclosed |
Vehicle |
Tr Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor |
LAV-300 Mortar Carrier (81mm) |
125/63 |
34/18/3 |
200 |
60 |
Stnd |
W(3) |
HF8 HS5
HR4* |
LAV-300 Mortar Carrier (81mm) w/Appliqué |
123/62 |
34/17/3 |
200 |
61 |
Stnd |
W(3) |
HF10Sp HS6Sp
HR4** |
LAV-300 Mortar Carrier (82mm) |
120/60 |
33/17/3 |
200 |
64 |
Stnd |
W(3) |
HF8 HS5
HR4* |
LAV-300 Mortar Carrier (82mm) w/Appliqué |
119/59 |
33/17/3 |
200 |
65 |
Stnd |
W(3) |
HF10Sp HS6Sp
HR4** |
LAV-300 Mortar Carrier (120mm) |
119/60 |
33/17/3 |
200 |
65 |
Stnd |
W(3) |
HF8 HS5
HR4* |
LAV-300 Mortar Carrier (120mm) w/Appliqué |
117/59 |
32/16/3 |
200 |
66 |
Stnd |
W(3) |
HF10Sp HS6Sp
HR4** |
Vehicle |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
LAV-300 Mortar Carrier (81mm) |
None |
None |
81mm M-252 mortar, MAG (C, RF, LR, RR) |
62x81mm, 4800x7.62mm |
LAV-300 Mortar Carrier (82mm) |
None |
None |
82mm 2B14 Podnos Motor, MAG (C, RF, LR, RR) |
62x82mm, 4800x7.62mm |
LAV-300 Mortar Carrier (120mm) |
None |
None |
120mm Soltam K-6 Mortar, MAG (C, RF, LR, RR) |
42x120mm, 4800x7.62mm |
*Floor AV is 4.
**Roof AV is 3; Floor AV is 5Sp.
Notes:
The M-125A2 was introduced shortly after the M-113A2 version of the M-113
APC. Most potential customers opted
to wait the few months for the M-106A2 with its heavier mortar, or use the
M-113A2 as a base chassis and arm it with a 120mm mortar.
The US used the M-125A2 as a lighter companion vehicle to the M-106A2,
but by the time I went to my first AIT in 1984, we were told that the M-125A2
was almost totally phased out in active duty and that about half of the Guard
and Reserve’s M-125A2 had also been phased out.
Training new mortarmen to use a vehicle-mounted mortar was one of the few
uses that made heavy use of the M-125A2, but now, they have been phased out even
in this role. The M-125A2 and
M-106A2 have been almost totally replaced by M-125A2s and M-106A2s that have
been modified into M-1064A3s, but some M-125A2s with M-252 mortars are still
used in lighter units.
The M-125A2 is
an M-113A2 which has been modified to carry an 81mm mortar as its primary
armament. In this role, the
modifications to the 81mm mortar actually has few modifications to itself;
perhaps the biggest modification is the replacement if the baseplate with one
built into the floor. A standard
baseplate is strapped to left side during on the bumper to allow ground mounting
of the mortar. The bipod in this
role is unmodified; it just has an unusual installation.
It can be removed from the vehicle installation and used during
ground-mounting. The vehicle fires out of the hatches on the rear deck, which
have been modified to be larger.
Most of the room inside the fighting compartment is taken up by the M-125A2’s
copious supply of ammunition for the mortar.
Like most military vehicle, personal gear ends up strapped to the outside
of the vehicle. Originally, the M-125A2 was armed with an M-29 mortar, but this
was quickly switched to the M-252 when it became available.
There are seats in the fighting compartment for the mortar crewmember;
these are shorter versions of those in a standard M-113.
About the time
that the M-125A2 was being developed, the US Army was developing a successor to
it’s World War 2-vintage 4.2” (107mm) mortars; the 4.2” mortar had proved useful
for heavy organic fire support during World War 2, Korea, and Vietnam.
Of course, the new M-30 mortar was a large, heavy mortar (nearly 275
kilograms), and the ammunition was also heavy.
The US Army quickly looked to its M-113 and M-125A2 to develop a mobile
version of the M-30. This led to
the M-106A2. The installation of
the M-30 mortar in the M-106 is tailor-made for the vehicle; the turntable,
bridge, and monopod are all vehicle-specific.
To allow ground mounting, the M-106A2 carries a baseplate (and it’s a
mother-f getting that baseplate off the vehicle, it’s so heavy), a bridge, and a
monopod, on the right side of the vehicle. The ammunition takes much of the
internal volume of the fighting compartment, and the mortar installation just
about the rest, so like most fighting vehicles, the exterior becomes strewn with
personal gear and other gear found useful.
The deck hatches are similar to those on the M-125A2, and the rear ramp
is retained, largely to allow the crew more space when the mortar is in use.
Crew seating is similar to those of the M-125A2. It should be noted that, in an
actual 4.2” platoon, four troops will often be split between the mortar tracks
and used as ammunition bearers and messengers.
In the early
2000s, the US Army switched to a 120mm mortar, to make it easier to share
ammunition with allies. They
mounted this on a variant of their newest version of the M-113, the M-113A3,
producing the M-1064A3. At the same
time, the vehicle received an MBC, a small tactical laptop, and a GPS receiver
with a mapping module and a BMS. This allows them to act as their own FDC is
necessary. The vehicle has NBC
Overpressure with vehicular NBC backup. The mortar, called the M-121 when
mounted on the M-1064A3, might be seen as having less room for ammunition at
first, but the movement of the fuel cells to the rear means that the fuel tanks
are not carried in the walls of the vehicle, allowing for expanded ammunition
storage while giving the crew more space to work in.
This often takes the form of strapped-in ammunition round tubes or crates
of ammunition, or cans of machinegun ammunition.
Twilight 2000
Notes: The M-1064A3 is not available in the Twilight 2000 timeline, except for
five examples found with US Army units in the southwestern US.
Vehicle |
Price |
Fuel Type |
Load |
Veh Wt |
Crew |
Mnt |
Night Vision |
Radiological |
M-125A2 (M-29
Mortar) |
$245,882 |
D, A |
500 kg |
12.07 tons |
5 |
9 |
Passive IR (D) |
Shielded |
M-125A2 (M-252
Mortar) |
$342,451 |
D, A |
500 kg |
12.09 tons |
5 |
7 |
Passive IR (D) |
Shielded |
M-106A2 |
$272,790 |
D, A |
600 kg |
11.94 tons |
5 |
7 |
Passive IR (D) |
Shielded |
M-1064A3 |
$990,327 |
D, A |
220 kg |
12.92 tons |
5 |
10 |
Passive IR (D) |
Shielded |
Vehicle |
Tr
Mov |
Com Mov |
Fuel Cap |
Fuel Cons |
Config |
Susp |
Armor* |
M-125A2 |
170/119 |
47/33/5 |
360 |
102 |
Stnd |
T2 |
HF6
HS4 HR4 |
M-106A2 |
171/120 |
48/33/5 |
360 |
101 |
Stnd |
T2 |
HF6
HS4 HR4 |
M-1064A3 |
156/109 |
43/30/4 |
360 |
106 |
Stnd |
T2 |
HF6
HF4 HR4 |
Vehicle |
Fire Control |
Stabilization |
Armament |
Ammunition |
M-125A2 |
None |
None |
M-29 or M-252
81mm Mortar, M-2HB (C) |
114x81mm,
600x.50 |
M-106A2 |
None |
None |
M-30 4.2”
Mortar, M-2HB (C) |
88x4.2”, 600x.50 |
M-1064A3 |
None |
None |
120mm M-121
Mortar, M-2HB (C) |
69x120mm,
600x.50 |
*Roof AV for these vehicles is 3.