M113A1 to A3 Gavin UPGRADE Do-It-Yourself (DIY) by FNSS

[tobitadagon]

How well does it stand-up to EFP's, both from conventional arms and IED's? How about those of a tandem-charge design? Or would worrying about tandem-charge EFP's not a worry simply because they don't come up often?

[dynmicpara]

@tobitadagon AVOIDING land mines by cross-country mobility is a HUGE and #1 priority. PLAN B would be to have applique' armoring to defeat all threats if avoidance doesn't work. Wheeled trucks have no PLAN A--they are already being decisively engaged when they roll into road/trail ambushes they cannot avoid.

[lukico]

That would be sooo cool to have under a zombie attack =P

[Sismiques]

Put a autocannon on it.

[sailbeyondthesunset]

Would this version make a practical road-going vehicle (in snowy conditions). I ask because here in the UK we've had a inch of snow and the whole country has closed down - but I still need to get to work somehow!

Great video by the way!

[JRPeyesatsne]

@sailbeyondthesunset Lol, an inch! My bald-tired 2wd Ford Escort can handle an inch. People that can't drive in snow are hilarious!

[ottoramsaig]

I remember there was once a movie that dealt with the Bradley (Comical) and how horrendous the developement was. The M2/M3 are the worse AFV's ever. As an M1 Tank Commander I have always had to wait on them. There are big, noisy and blet out tremendous amounts of smoke (exhaust) that gives away your location. We should have stayed with the gavin or perhaps an M113A4. But no, our government decides to turn the massive amounts of M113's into artifical reefs WTF?

[astrialkil]

@ottoramsaig Can you tell me where they are dumping these M113? Aluminum hulls might survive 5 years or more and be restoreable.

[paratrooper629]

I have very fond memories of M113s from my days as a PLT LDR and Co CDR. Shame we aren't upgrading them and using them. Question- could a Strkyer MGS 105mm turret be mounted ans used on an M113- make a great Assault Gun.

[dynmicpara]

Easily. The Gavin has a much lower COG and is far more stable than high atop Stryker hull on 8 flimsy tires. I would go with 6-roadwheel version to get more ammo and still be able to carry troops with a RWS 105mm gun. We should use one more reliable than what's on Stryker-MGS, though. Best option would be 105mm gun in hull, STUG-style but that will take more R&D than plopping gun on top. .

[dynmicpara]

Point-of-order, we ARE upgrading our M113 Gavins, and we ARE using them. Moreover, we should be an ALL-TRACKED, ALL-TERRAIN MOBILE Army, not road-bound excuse-victims. Infantry should NOT be using Strykers (send to MPs) and replace them with High Tech Gavins so we practice staying-off-roads-that-we-prea­ch.

[Jamesaidit]

I expect to see xzibit....Dude were going to pimp your APC...Or john homes

[Vincentjames20]

can Chuck Norris drive this thing...???

[blah11blah]

Why would he? He is more deadly, more efficient, and more deployable than any tank will ever be.

[dynmicpara]

Let's send him to Afghanistan and send back our 60, 000 troops.

[digisage57]

alumiam aqromer bad ideal they should give them chombium aromer packages then up grade the weapon i think there a good asset

[dynmicpara]

Watch our Super Gavin video, you have the right idea. Aluminum alloy hull was just to be the STARTING point for the vehicle's armor.

[bobkats]

Well done chaps. I'm sure a few countries could afford this over bradley's

[whitebear26]

search - Israeli Armored Corps Memorial, Museum Latrun/Yad La'Shiryon

[thadutchguy]

the only best one;)

[Rocxgonzales]

Turkish Technology!..

[wittenelm]

the result of a low budget and motivated hardworking men

[Precognist]

i want one

bad.

really bad.

[slipfirep40]

Your far from alone.

[tastethefreedom]

they were mass produced and there are a lot out there and you can get one for cheap (for an apc that is)

[gtracer226]

easy to clean

[whitebear26]

what is the engine in 0:52 ?is it petrol? it looks like spark wires in left side of screen.. i thought the have diesel v-6

[whitebear26]

great video,what is the diference between bradley and gavin?

[dynmicpara]

Bradley is a start-over hull thinner than the Gavin's to accomodate the bloated 2-man turret and has more roadwheels and wider tracks to try to compensate for the 200% weight increase. Bradley turrets can be fitted to Gavin hulls in a more space/weight efficient manner if we must have a turret gunner and commander, though this smothers the vision of the infantry in back

[dannytoro]

Nice job. Will they offer the one man turret with a choice of cannons? 25mm or 30mm? I know people fault the Bradley. But there was a whole mentality of cold war oneupmanship that produced it. Pity the US Army discarded the M113 in a raft of guilt over Vietnam. Had they rationally looked at it's success and failure there, The may have wisely stayed the course with it. It's great to see your company doing a fine job of rebuilding them. If I were a King, I'd buy some from you guys.

[dynmicpara]

The U.S. Army hasn't discarded the M113 Gavin. It still has yet to fully exploit them where they are most needed: in light units.

[dynmicpara]

The active duty U.S. Army owns and operates over 13, 000 M113 Gavin family of vehicles today.

[mathiastheok]

Yeah but the Stryker has wheels!! Big round pretty rubber wheels!! They go round and round....!!! I mean whats better than wheels??????? Oh yeah tracks...they're better than wheels...sorry I forgot.

[TURKSTA19]

hah look at that old turned into brand new and more meaner

[tbmore59]

I thought this was the similiar APC used in late in the Korean war early 60s?. A friend actually had this big ol APC. The height was a little taller also. Damn i need to read up on this stuff.

[dynmicpara]

You are thinking of the humongous all-steel M75 APC that was very effective late in the Korean war. The key to making effective all-terrain APCs was and still is using ALUMINUM ALLOY as the STARTING POINT of the hull for a basic bullet-proof box THEN adding armor layers for PROTECTION not automotive structure. Read the web pages offered in the video description.

[iiivviii]

These are awesome, I want one for xmass ;-)

[barbaralovesblack]

What protection and weight reduction advantages, if any, can be had by applying the new, "lightweight" composite armor that supposedly makes the upgraded Bradleys better protected and lighter at the same time?

[dynmicpara]

Bradleys are not better protected than M113 Gavins when the same applique' armor is fitted. The Gavin is intrinsically better protected than a Bradley due to the latter's design flaws I don't want to reveal in public. Whatever you apply to a Bradley gets a far better result on a Gavin.

[jimbo10003]

is the bradley the turret and not the hull then??

[dynmicpara]

Smaller, more efficient 1-man, 25mm autocannon turret; allows infantry in back to fight from open hatches...

[ihateforigners]

Can one man turrets have Thermal and Optical sights? FLIR, Range Finder. Where is the commander in all of this?

[dynmicpara]

YES.

[ihateforigners]

Where is the commander in all of this?

[barbaralovesblack]

A few months back, I saw a piece on fiber-reinforced polymers being used for armored vehicles' structure and armor. If for new hulls are needed/desired, would these molded hulls be: a) cheaper than fabricated metal armor,and/or; b)lighter, and/or; c)stronger, and/or; d) provide better ballistic protection for/with a given weight or thickness as compared to steel, aluminum or titanium armor?

What advantages, if any, can be had from the fact that Type3 anodized aluminum is "harder than steel"?

[dynmicpara]

"Plastic" tanks offer 2x the kinetic energy protection at 10x the cost of an aluminum alloy hull. When you apply spaced armoring to pre-det chemical energy (hollow charge) RPGs/ATGMs you automatically double KE protection so going to a plastic hull is moot and unaffordable, anyway.

[barbaralovesblack]

Will (filled) steel water cans add any noticeable protection against HEAT rounds?  (Can they be filled with MoGas to better simulate a Stryker getting hit? ;-D )

Can a turbo-generator-based hybrid electric drive system completely replace the IC engine, or is it just additional weight? (How about those "torquey" electric drive motors? :-D ) Would such a hybrid drive system free up any internal space? Take up more?

How much weight and volume would be needed for the batteries or capacitors?

[dynmicpara]

Water is VERY helpful at cooling blast effects as the Rhodesians learned to fill their v-hull bottoms. Water cans on the outside will pre-det HEAT rounds but we still need at least a 24 inch stand-off. A fossil fuel small generator can power lithium-ion batteries and the hub motors freeing up nearly all the space now used by the huge diesel engine/tranny powerpack. The Li-on batteries can be stored where no troop seating space is lost.

[barbaralovesblack]

Can we add a one-turret like the one on the Scorpion with modular add-ons for 7.62 or 12.7 mm mini-guns, (horizontal ammo drum rotated with elevation/depression inside an armored rear bustle)and possibly a small armored box launcher for Javelin's and/or Starstreak's (2 shot? 4 shot?)

Will it fit? Can the driver stay of the rotating tub? It's been twenty-two years since I saw the inside. (And that was a M114.)

Can the anti-HEAT cage have a "floor" and carry water cans and rucks?

[dynmicpara]

Yes; a 1-man turret can be and are already fitted to the center of M113 Gavins or off-set to the right on the AIFV for the dismount squad leader to have his own cupola without inmpinging on the driver's hatch space.

[barbaralovesblack]

Starting with the Gavin concept, if not actual hull/vehicle; let's make it better.

1)tracks > 17 inches

2)anti-HEAT cage collapses backwards on pivots for transport (Cage covering rear ramp door raises electro-hydraulically?)

3)Increase power (TORQUE)- hybrid electric? Replace IC engine entirely with turbo-generator hybrid electric?

4) Replace existing track unit with outside-of-the-hull-mounted hydropneumatic unit once suggested for the "Super M60" and actually used on Jordan's(Challenger)

4)

[dynmicpara]

Soucy makes band tracks wider than the current 15 inch type; retracting storage rack/RPG pre-det caging is vital for air transport but remember the heavy "mech pussies" own/operate Gavins now; light infantry must have their own so air transportability for 3D maneuver will be valued and factored into upgrades. HED and external roadarm suspensions are available now COTS.

[biukucanoe]

is that a hollow front water vane to defeat shaped charges?

[dynmicpara]

Its for increased floatation but you are correct--if the trim vane were to be erected it would act as an anti-RPG pre-det, very smart of you to come up with that idea! We should make a part of the trim vane clear to not block the driver's view to facilitate this frontal protection.

[thadutchguy]

isn't that extra protection for the engine too?

looks like some armor too...correct me if i'm wrong.

[dynmicpara]

The beefier trim vane is to displace more water when swimming for the anticipated heavier weight once add-on armor is eh, added. The trim vane can be left erected to act as a RPG pre-detonation layer on land if you don't mind your driver losing some close-in visibility. Our M113 Gavins at NTC visually modified using a front fiberglass piece to look like a BMP didn't suffer from a little driver visibility loss.

[thadutchguy]

aw ok :)

The Dutch YPR is kind a M113 too (pretty the same model as the Gavins but than more different) but i do'nt know they use it for swimming too but it has on the engine that same thing like you see here on this video but than its like 30CM thig...(sorry for bad english :D)

[BlacktailFA]

Those M113 Gavins were pretty chewed-up when the started, but man, look at the results!

I wonder if FNSS could restore an early-90's Nissan Pathfinder...

[dynmicpara]

Biukucanoe offers a great use for the trim vane; read his and mine comments!

[BlacktailFA]

I've read somewhere that a foam-rubber backing (or cover?) for a trim vane defeats shaped charges without fail.

To think that the Army is trying to strip them all off, because they think M113A3s can't float!