A team of
4 Commander, Driver, Gunner and 1 more
internally.
UPDATE: Went back to review the
Army Rec. ref. from my last post. I count
8 Ukrainian troops externally using hand and foot holds on the side of the vehicle.
CARRY 012 (?)
These when first introduced were designed for
MP and Security reasons.
The
RECON role would come later.
The following is a post operational update on the
M1117 GUARDIAN approved for public release in
MAR. 21, 2001.
Pages 6-8 are pertinent to this discussion. I've "
cherry picked" the following as they somewhat
exceeded my expectations of this vehicle.
Page 6 Bottom:
"The vehicle provides protection from
.50 caliber armor piercing rounds to the crew compartments and ammo storage areas.13 It provides airburst..."
Page 7 as it continues from "
It provides airburst" as above: ..."protection from
60mm rounds at ten meters, and
155mm rounds at fifteen meters.
Anti-tank mine protection is provided for up to
twelve-pound blasts at each wheel and
four pounds in the center of the vehicle." (That's
really good for a vehicle of that size.)
Same Page in continuation:
"The vehicle mounts a
fully enclosed Up Gunned Weapons Station (UGWS)
(Figure 3) 14 and is also referred to as the
40/50
turret." And...
"The
M36E2 sight allows the gunner to engage targets at the
MK19 maximum effective range of 2200 meters during day or night engagements. Turret improvements over the standard UGWS provide increased survivability and a reduced silhouette.
Two banks of four electrically operated smoke grenade launchers are mounted on either side of the turret, firing forwards. "
https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA387741.pdf
The history section starting on
Page 20 I found very interesting especially on the
British use of their
LAV's in particular in
OPS in N. Ireland.
Andy might find it interesting as
I believe he served during the "
Troubles".
Regards,
Pat
