GDLS Bison Mortar Fire Support Vehicle

     Notes:  This is a Bison armored personnel carrier with a turntable mounting an 81mm mortar in the center of the passenger compartment.  As such, the interior is heavily-modified to accomplish its mission; in particular, the former rear passenger area is largely taken up by a turntable and special bipod mounting for the 81mm mortar, ammunition racks, stowage for associated equipment, and a bit of interior room to carry part of the mortar crew and some of their equipment.  As the standard Bison is spacious inside, this allows the Bison Mortar FSV to carry a large supply of ammunition for its mortar as well as a standard ammunition complement for its roof-mounted machinegun.  The Bison Mortar FSV also carries a standard baseplate and bipod to allow the mortar to be removed from the vehicle, ground-mounted, and fired away from the vehicle if it is necessary.  Aiming stakes are also carried for properly aiming the mortar if a mortar fire control computer is not available (though one is included in the cost below).

     Like the standard Bison, the Bison Mortar FSV is a variant of the LAV II chassis and therefore a relative of the LAV-25, with the turret removed and the rear area raised by almost the same amount, forming a large rear space.  The Bison Mortar FSV’s driver and commander occupy their customary spaces, the same as those on the standard Bison, and the chassis and hull are largely the same as that of the standard Bison externally.  However, instead of relatively small roof hatches with a large flat space behind them, the Bison Mortar FSV has larger hatches to allow unimpeded operation of the mortar.  On early Bison Mortar FSVs, the mortar had to be raised into position partially above the roofline before a fire mission; later Bison Mortar FSVs have even larger roof hatches and a periscopic mortar sight extension, allowing fire missions to be conducted with the crew protected by the vehicle’s armor (except from the top).  Unusually, the mortar fires primarily over the front of the vehicle on the Bison Mortar FSV, though the turntable has a traverse of up to 15 degrees to each side.  The rear ramp with a door in it is retained, as are the large stowage bins on the rear sides of the vehicle.  Likewise, the air conditioner is retained, as is the collective NBC system, the amphibious capability, and the cluster of four smoke grenade launchers on each side of the hull near the front.

     Power is provided by a Detroit Diesel 6V53T turbocharged diesel developing 275 horsepower, coupled to an automatic transmission and conventional driver’s controls.  The Bison Mortar FSV is amphibious with a minimum of preparation (about 2 minutes), and propulsion in the water is by a pair of waterjets steered by rudders. Drive is 8x8, with the front four and rear four sets of wheels able to steer independently to tighten steering radius.  The tires are run-flat.  Construction is largely of steel, with a Kevlar anti-spalling liner.  The Bison Mortar FSV can take a version of QinetiQ’s LAST appliqué armor kit, which includes additional internal anti-spalling panels.  In the front of the hull is a winch with a capacity of 6.8 tons and 100 meters of cable.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: In the Twilight 2000 timeline, the US Marines acquired 12 of these vehicles in 1995-1996 to help close perceived gaps in the Marines’ mortar support capabilities. The US Army bought three Bison Mortar Fire Support Vehicles as test vehicles in the early 1990s for the 9th Motorized Infantry Division, and they put these into action when hostilities started.

Vehicle

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

Bison Mortar FSV

$97,492

D, A

450 kg

13.3 tons

4

9

Passive IR (D)

Enclosed

Bison Mortar FSV (LAST)

$99,080

D, A

340 kg

14.6 tons

4

11

Passive IR (D)

Enclosed

 

Vehicle

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

Bison Mortar FSV

154/49

36/17/4

300

148

Stnd

W(6)

HF6  HS4  HR3*

Bison Mortar FSV (LAST)

140/44

33/16/3

300

163

Stnd

W(6)

HF10Sp  HS6Sp  HR4**

 

Vehicle

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

Bison Mortar FSV

None

None

81mm mortar, C-6 (C)

90x81mm, 1620x7.62mm

*Hull Floor AV is 3.

**Hull Floor AV is 5; Hull Roof AV is 3.

 

GDLS LAV-M

     Notes: This is a mortar carrier modification of the LAV-25 designed by GDLS Canada specifically for use by the US Marines, and designed to be a companion to the LAV-25.  So far, only the US Marines use the LAV-M.  The hull of the LAV-25 has been retained, though the roofline has been raised a little bit (about 100mm or so).  The turret is removed, and the rear area has large hatches to open and permit operation of the mortar.  In most other respects (except the interior), the hull is identical to that of the LAV-25.

     The driver is in his customary position on the front right, with three frontal vision blocks, one of which can be removed and replaced by a night vision block. The commander has an adjustable stand with a simple commander’s hatch; the commander has three vision blocks to his front, one to the right side, and one to the rear.  The center front vision block has an IR channel. Like most Marine vehicles, the LAV-M did not at first have a machinegun for its commander, but most had them added by the commander’s request throughout the Marines.

The rear ramp with a door in it is retained, along with the two rear vision blocks.  All firing ports have been deleted.  At the rear of the vehicle, above the ramp, is a tent extension of the working area, approximately to double normal size; ammunition is often stored in this tent extension if the LAV-M is going to be operating in an area for an extended period.  A cluster of six smoke grenades is mounted on each side of the front hull, as the upper point of the glacis plate.

     As a variant of the Piranha, the LAV-M has the wedge-shaped nose and moderately-sloped sides of the basic chassis, and an 8x8 suspension with front and rear sets of wheels with independent steering, giving the LAV-M a surprisingly small turning radius.  For standard road use, the LAV-M normally uses only the four rear wheels as drive wheels, switching to 8-wheel drive off road.  The LAV-M is amphibious with a minimum of preparation (about 2 minutes), and is propelled in the water by propellers and steered by rudders.  Power is provided by the standard LAV II engine, the Detroit Diesel 6V53T 275-horsepower turbocharged diesel.  This is coupled to an automatic transmission.

     The rear area is largely taken up by the mortar on its special floor-mounted turntable and modified bipod, along with an extension allowing the sight to sight targets outside of the vehicle, and racks for mortar ammunition.  Two seats are installed for the two cremembers that are carried in the rear, and there is room for a small amount of personal gear and other equipment. A standard baseplate and bipod is carried externally, being the primary aligning system; this is being increasing supplanted by mortar fire control computers (included in the cost below).  The rear area is largely taken up by the mortar and the ammunition for it; crew space is actually quite small.

     The LAV-M was subjected to a version of the SLEP in the 1990s, becoming The LAV-MA1.  The mortar fire control is included (and is included in the cost of the basic LAV-M as well), along with a small computer able to generate fire solutions if no FDC vehicle is present.  The chassis has been given a general overhaul under the SLEP program.  An air conditioner has been added.  Currently, LAV-MA1s are scheduled to receive part of the A2 upgrades, including the LAST kit as standard, fire suppression equipment, and suspension upgrades.

     The LAV-M is able to take the LAST kit, though only that able to be fitted to the hull, and even this is adapted to the LAV-M’s greater height.

     As with the LAV-25, power is provided by the standard LAV II engine, the Detroit Diesel 6V53T 275-horsepower turbocharged diesel.  This is coupled to an automatic transmission and the driver has a conventional drive control setup.  The driver is located on the front left and has three vision blocks to his front. An 8x8 suspension with front and rear sets of wheels with independent steering, giving the LAV-25 a surprisingly small turning radius.  For standard road use, the LAV-25 normally uses only the four rear wheels as drive wheels, switching to 8-wheel drive off road.  The LAV-25 is amphibious with a minimum of preparation (about 2 minutes), and is propelled in the water by propellers and steered by rudders.

Vehicle

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

LAV-M

$128,676

D, A

525 kg

14.3 tons

4

9

Passive IR (D)

Enclosed

LAV-M (LAST)

$131,614

D, A

335 kg

15.8 tons

4

10

Passive IR (D)

Enclosed

LAV-MA1

$162,943

D, A

515 kg

14.3 tons

4

10

Passive IR (D)

Enclosed

LAV-MA1 (LAST)

$165,881

D, A

325 kg

15.8 tons

4

11

Passive IR (D)

Enclosed

 

Vehicle

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

LAV-M/MA1

155/78

36/18/5

300

168

Stnd

W(6)

TF6  TS4  TR4

LAV-M/MA1 (LAST)

139/70

32/15/4

300

177

Stnd

W(6)

HF10Sp  HS6Sp  HR4*

 

Vehicle

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

LAV-M/MA1

None

None

81mm M-252 mortar, C-6 (C)

84x81mm, 1620x7.62mm

*Roof armor for this version is 3; Floor armor is 5.