Notes: This vehicle is the recovery version of the AAVP7A1 amphibious APC used by the US Marines and other countries. (The US Marines, Argentina, Brazil, Italy, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, and Venezuela use the AAVP7A1 and the AAVR7A1.) The cupola of the AAVP7A1 is not present on this vehicle; instead, the AAVR7A1 has a mount on the commander's position for an M-60 machinegun. On the right side of the hull is a crane with a telescoping arm that reaches 6.55 meters and can lift 2.72 tons. The winch is at the rear and has a capacity of 13.61 tons. Also installed in the vehicle is an air compressor, 5 kW generator, workbenches, welding gear, and a complete range of tools. A tent comes with the vehicle that can be erected at the rear to extend the workspace.

Notes: The ACE is basically a military version of a bulldozer, with an armored body. It entered the US Army inventory in 1977, and is perhaps one of the most common engineer vehicles in the world. Most of these vehicles were upgraded starting in 1985 to extend their operational life. Later production included nearly 200 vehicles for South Korea.

The ACE is a fast vehicle designed to keep up with Infantry Fighting Vehicles and Main Battle Tanks, in order to clear obstacles, create breaches in fortifications, and fill craters and ditches for those vehicles. The ACE is also used to prepare positions and dig fortifications. A secondary role for the ACE is the smoothing and creation of makeshift roads and airfields in rough terrain areas.

The ACEs primary feature is its large front-mounted scraper and dozer blade/bucket. The scraper has a capacity of 6.7 cubic meters, and the dozer blade/bucket can move 8 tons at a time. The ACE also has a winch with a capacity of 15.9 tons, and has a 60-meter cable. The ACE is equipped with a bilge pump for amphibious operations. (It is amphibious with preparation.)

The ACE is air-portable in any aircraft at least the size of the C-130 Hercules.

Notes: This is the US Army's current standard smoke generation vehicle, along with the M-56 Coyote. It is also used by several of America's allies, and many were used in the Middle East, Europe, and in the Continental US. It uses a tactical smoke generator of the 1994-2000 period type on the latest M-113A3 chassis, along with the RISE power pack improvement that is normally fitted to the M-113A4. This allows for greater speed to keep up with Bradley and Abrams formations. The Wolf uses smoke fuel and fog oil tanks twice as large as the standard tactical smoke generator.

Notes: This is an armored vehicle-launched bridge most commonly found in US service, and is also used by Germany, Israel, Pakistan, Singapore, Spain, and Taiwan. As the name suggests, it is based on the M-60A1 main battle tank, with a bridge that has a capacity of 54.43 tons. The bridge may cross a gap of 18.29 meters, and takes 3 minutes to deploy and 10 minutes to recover. By itself, the bridge weighs 13.38 tons. The crew does not have to leave the vehicle or open the hatches to deploy or recover the bridge.

Notes: The M-60 AVLM (Armored Vehicle Launched MICLIC) began as a field modification of a standard M-60 AVLB. The bridge is removed from the vehicle, the bridge deployment machinery retracted, and the line charge machinery of a standard M-58A3 MICLIC (Mine-Clearing Line Charge) trailer mounted on top of the hull at the rear. This allows a mine-clearing solution much more mobile than a trailer while carrying the ability for follow-up shots, as well as allowing the engineers to be better protected than in a truck, HMMWV, or even APC towing a trailer. The MICLIC launcher carries two line charges; a further four are carried on the vehicle for follow-up shots, but the crew must leave armor protection to load these charges. The line charge is fired from the AVLM, and starting 20 meters from the AVLM, a 107-meter long line of C4 charges are laid straight ahead. Each meter of the charge contains 7.44 kg of C4, for a burst radius of 40 and a concussion value of 11. Any mines in this radius may be set off, causing their own explosions if they do. Once all sympathetic detonations have occurred, the AVLM, other vehicles, and personnel may proceed through the cleared area (hoping all the mines have been set off). In practice, the AVLM is usually followed by a tank or engineer vehicle equipped with a mine plow, roller, or flail, as the MICLIC typically fails to clear up to 50% of the mines in a lane.

The AVLM was a field modification first used during the 1991 Gulf War, and there were never any purpose-built AVLMs, though it was a common modification, and kits were built to allow the modification. The AVLM modification may be accomplished by 4 personnel with appropriate skills and equipment; normally, at least one person on the team must have the Mechanic or Combat Engineer skill, and must pass an Average test. The modification can be done in 2 hours by those four persons if they have a MICLIC trailer, basic tools, and a crane, whether ground or vehicle-mounted.

M-88 Hercules

Notes: This is the longtime standard armored recovery vehicle of the US Army, and to a far more limited extent, the Marines. It is also used by 19 other countries worldwide. It was in the process of being replaced by the M-88A2 and M-5 in US service and by the M-88A2 in some other countries, but large amounts of the M-88A1 were still in use in the Twilight War. The M-88A1 is described as a vehicle with something for every mechanic, from the wide selection of tools to a crane, and a very good heater, room for a recovered tank’s crew, and even racks for things like an M-60 machinegun and antitank rockets. The M-88A1 carries basic, wheeled vehicle, tracked vehicle, small arms, and heavy ordinance tools, an air compressor, a welding and cutting set, and tow bars, ropes, chains, and cables. The crane may lift 22.7 tons when braced by the dozer blade, or 18.16 tons without using the blade. The main winch has a capacity of 39 tons, or double that with block and tackle. The auxiliary winch has a capacity of 1.9 tons.

The biggest difference between the base M-88 and the M-88A1 is that the M-88A1 is equipped with an 8.1 kW APU. The M-88A1 also has a fuel pump that allows the vehicle to pump fuel from an external source. Finally, the M-88A1 has a 19mm hydraulic impact wrench to assist in track maintenance of tracked vehicles.

The M-88A2 is a progressive development of the M-88A1. The general layout is similar to the M-88A1, but the M-88A2 adds armored side skirts, appliqué armor, stronger suspension, an upgraded engine, improved brakes, and more powerful winches. The M-88A2 is able to recover and tow a 70-ton vehicle at one-third speed, or a 30-ton vehicle at full speed. The M-88A2’s crane can lift 35 tons, or 8.4 tons when not braced by the dozer blade. The main winch is capable of pulling 63.6 tons. Directly above the main winch is a lead winch (used to assist in deploying the main winch), which is itself able to pull 2 tons. The fuel pump is able to pump 95 liters per minute. This vehicle is outclassed by the M-5 but is much cheaper, and crews familiar with the M-88A1 can use it with ease.

Notes: This vehicle is common in US units that still use the M-113 series as a primary vehicle. More commonly known as a VTR (Vehicle, Tracked, Recovery) to troops, the M-578 is a US-built recovery vehicle with a chassis as the M-107 and M-110 howitzers. The turret has a crane capable of lifting 13.6 tons. The VTR has an integral 10Kw generator, a rear mounted winch with 70m of cable capable of pulling 27 tons, and a dozer blade. The VTR has a driver’s hatch on the front deck, commander’s and mechanic’s hatches on the turret deck, as well as doors on the turret sides and a double door on the rear of the turret. The M-578 can tow up to 35 tons, but is slowed to one-quarter movement at that weight.

Notes: This vehicle was designed soon after the M-60A1 main battle tank was taken into US service. It was not widely exported, and the only other countries to use it are Singapore and Saudi Arabia. The M-728 retains the base M-60A1 hull, but a new turret armed with a 165mm demolitions gun is mounted instead of the 105mm gun. This is a very stubby-barreled and short-range weapon, and its best use is to destroy fortifications and tank traps instead of as an antivehicle weapon. The normal M-60A1 commander’s cupola is on top of this turret; also mounted on the turret is an A-frame crane with a capacity of 15.88 tons. The crane doubles as a winch, and has 61 meters of cable. At the front of the hull is a large dozer blade; this can be removed and replaced with a V-shaped mine plow.

Twilight 2000 Notes: Just prior to the Twilight War, the M-728 was being phased out of US service, thought to be overkill in a combat engineer role; however, a need for these vehicles was soon found again and they were drawn back out of the boneyards.

Notes: This was the US Army's standard smoke generation vehicle until adoption of the M-58 Wolf in the mid-1990s. Many of these vehicles were sold to US allies and other countries using the M-113 base vehicle. The Lynx uses a tactical smoke generator of the 1986-1993 period type, with tanks twice as big as that of the standard tactical smoke generator. The generator and its tanks take up most of the room in the M-113 base vehicle that would normally be used for passengers, so no passengers may be carried.