Oct 2012 Compendium 1 - Armada

NANOcERAMIcS “GlASS” FROM IBd dEISENROTH
At Eurosatory 2012 IBD Deisenroth, the well known German armour solutions
company unveiled a new member of its ceramic products based on nanotechnologies
that might well have a considerable impact on light armoured vehicles protection levels.
The Bonn-based company has been displaying its nanotech-based armour solutions
that halve weights for any given protection level for at least a year. The new family
member, however, makes a genuine breakthrough in the light armoured vehicle
world as it is transparent and thus appears as perfect lightweight replacement for
armoured glass as the author’s picture herewith shows.
The transparent surface is made of a series of tiles of about 50x50 mm made of
synthetic ceramics; the crystal structure is in the low nanorange as a very fine grain
is needed to ensure transparency. The tile size depends very much on the threat
to be countered, a special bonding process being used to joint the tiles together.
Boundaries are invisible, producing a large transparent surface. Those tiles are then
sandwiched with a front glass side to bar abrasion, and a plastic back carrier that
absorbs the residual kinetic energy. The key point here is again weight: the Level 3
transparent ceramic protection shown by IBD Deisenroth boasts a weight of 56 kg/
m2, which is nearly a quarter of the 200 kg/m2 of standard armoured glass rated
at the same protection level. According to potential users sources the price is still
considerably higher than the armoured glass, but industrialisation combined with
the increasing use of transparent nanoceramics should eventually make costs drop
to challenging levels.
protected command and control vehicle
(and which still falls in the light armoured
vehicles category examined here). Some
initial batches of General Dynamics
Eagle IVs were acquired through urgent
operation requirement procedures, but for
new acquisitions the New Eagle has to run
against the KMW/Rheinmetall Armoured
Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV).
Both vehicles were qualified by the
BWB in late 2011 and a decision should
have already been made. However,
European law obliged Germany to issue
a European-wide tender. Downselection
is expected in the near future, which
will prelude to a further round of testing
before selection, which will then lead to
a contract negotiation, for final approval
by Parliament.
AMpV: The available time was used
by the KMW/Rheinmetall consortium
to further hone the vehicle’s payload
capacity and protection, especially against
mines and roadside bombs. In the build
process KMW is responsible for the
armour plates while Rheinmetall handles
the monocoque construction. The gross
weight increase from 9.3 to 10 tonnes
results from a 700 kg increase evenly split
between protection and payload capacity.
Four AMPVs have been produced, one
having been sold to the German Army for
internal tests while three have been used
for company testing.
Latest internal improvements include
new seats that have been specifically
designed with removable cushions on
the higher part of the backrest to offer
optimal seating for personnel wearing the
Gladius (the name adopted last June for
the IdZ-2 soldier system). A screen has
been added to the dashboard to give the
driver a view from the rear-facing camera.
With KMW and Rheinmetall focussing
on the GFF2 version, other versions of the
AMPV are on the backburner for the time
being. At Eurosatory 2012 the vehicle
was exhibited with a Rheinmetall Istar
system. Rheinmetall of course eyes the
export market, but is well aware that the
very high protection level of the AMPV
(namely Level 3A/2B against mines) has a
cost and that this might be a problem for
certain countries. European armies are
awaiting the German decision, but given
the fact that the KMW/Rheinmetall
consortium has already developed the
industrialisation process, first production
items could roll out of the assembly line
in late 2013.
MRV-p: With the MRV-P moving
ahead the Ministry of Defence having
started contract award procedures for the
first phase of the programme (covering
pre-concept demonstration), numerous
companies are already standing in line.
The MRV-P succeeds to the defunct
Operational Utility Vehicle System
programme and should include vehicles
aimed at support roles.
A tentative date for entry into
service is given as around 2018 and
the two companies that met the LLPV
requirements are of course among the
current contenders.
OcElOT-FOxHOUNd: Deployed to
Afghanistan in early June 2012 the Ocelot,
developed by Force Protection Europe
(now part of General Dynamics Land
Systems) and known in the British Army
as Foxhound, was delivered in 18 months
armada Compendium Light Armoured Vehicles 2012
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