Welcome to Gaia! ::

The Manokan Iveco Super-AV is based on the design of the U.S. marine Iveco Super-AV, with a handful of minor alterations. The vehicle is an amphibious 12 man vehicle, with the possibility of a turret mounted cannon and designed to partially replace and augment the AAV-7. The configuration used by the Manokan forces has a 40mm Bofors chaingun, 81mm autoloading mortar, various anti-tank and aircraft missiles, and several light machine guns. It is also designed to possess a stretcher and medical equipment to help treat wounded soldiers, which can be used to treat two soldiers at a time (however this removes the ability for two soldiers to sit, reducing the sitting capacity to 10). The addition of medical capabilities to every vehicle is designed to reduce the bottleneck constraint of medical services and increase the survivability of the men in the event of an injury by decreasing the time needed to get emergency medicine (not having to rely upon a medical vehicle to arrive first). Based on the Iveco Super-AV, it operates fundamentally on the same interior design, with the key difference being has a turret on top which supports a variety of weapons, the primary armament being a 40mm bushmaster cannon. On top of this is typically a heavy machine gun, light machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, AGM-114 hellfire missiles and stinger anti-aircraft missiles, and an 81mm Mortar. The turret is operated by a single seat behind the driver, with a mechanism similar to an apache helicopter which tracks the soldier's eye movements. The weapons and driving mechanism can be operated by either soldier, like the apache helicopter, but typically the responsibility is divided between two soldiers, to increase ease of use and improve versatility. When sitting still, typically one of the weapons is operated by the driver instead. The 40mm bofors round is powerful enough to defeat the majority of modern up-armored APC's, as well as light vehicles like Humvees, making it a versatile weapon for use against vehicles; with air bursting rounds, it is capable of defeating infantry and aircraft, especially infantry that are hiding behind defenses. While designed to be extremely powerful and capable of defeating most armored vehicles, it also useful as an anti-infantry and anti-aircraft weapon, defeating low lying aircraft, especially helicopters, and being useful in tandem with anti-aircraft missiles like the FIM-92 Stinger, and other anti-aircraft weaponry. In large numbers, the 40mm bofos is especially useful, which helps provide a protective blanket for APC's when working in tandem with each other in large groups. This serves as both a deterrent and as additional protection for the armored vehicles against aircraft, and decreases the amount of vehicles needed in the field to defeat aircraft. The increased risk of retaliation for air strikes significantly reduces the impact from anti-vehicle, tank busting helicopters and aircraft, and makes the cost-to-risk ratio effectively not worth the risk of use, mitigating their impact and reducing the chance of repeated attacks against vehicles. The weapon finally makes a good anti-infantry weapon, with air bursting rounds capable of defeating entrenched soldiers, enemies inside buildings, and even enemies behind defenses themselves, exploding through walls. This provides incredible firepower and protection to the squad, being able to take out not only large volumes of infantry, but also barricaded and entrenched infantry as well, that normal infantry have difficulty engaging. The air bursting rounds are particularly useful when fired in to buildings or bunkers, and for clearing our structures at a distance, making it more useful for urban combat. The 40mm bofors gun is capable of 80 degrees of elevation and 20 degrees of depression, due to the unmanned maneuverable turret. Various FLIR's, or thermal vision cameras are used to help identify targets, even through walls, along with drones and radar to help target armored vehicles and aircraft, based on the apache longbow system. In effect, each APC serves as an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), anti-aircraft vehicle (AAV), and anti-APC vehicle, as a result of the 40mm bofors and various assortment of weapons.

The vehicle is amphibious, and makes use of a hybrid engine, which is substantially more fuel efficient. The engine is a heavily modified Ford 4.4-liter twin turbocharged hybrid electric V8 diesel engine, that shares commonality with the Mk. 32 Mod 1 RIPSAW and Fed Bravo vehicles. Despite being slower and carrying a substantially higher payload, the engine performs well with the vehicle, although it's maximum speed is slower than in the RIPSAW or FED Bravo design. As the vehicle is a hybrid electric, it's acceleration and speed is not dependent on the engine and is dependent entirely on the electric drive train, thus allowing a smaller more efficient engine to essentially power the battery of the vehicle, rather than provide force to the vehicle itself. This combination is not only more fuel efficient, The engine utilizes a 180 gallon fuel tank, and with the hybrid engine design, has roughly a 900 mile range at 40mph, or a 400 mile operational range.The front axle is powered by an electric motor, while the rear-wheel-drive is linked to a hybrid fuel-powered and electric system, for a road-coupled parallel hybrid drive system. The Engine essentially powers an electric battery and drive train, which then goes on to power the vehicle, making the vehicle electrically powered, but it uses a gasoline powered engine as a generator to extend the range of the otherwise weaker electric battery. These designs often result in higher fuel efficiency, due to the ability to maximize the efficiency engine designs and adjust for acceleration without directly or immediately altering the engine or it's RPM. The vehicle also sports a fuel injector, and a number of various improvements, including turbochargers, over the original engines. The Hybrid design is fairly similar to the FED BRAVO. The design allows the vehicle to consume 70% less fuel, and as a result reduces the logistical supply and range of the vehicle. This translates to roughly 3 times the range the vehicle would have without. With this design, the vehicle gets around 4.1 mpg city and 7.1 mpg highway, and some 3-4 MPG off-road.

The vehicle makes use of a number of active defense systems, which helps defeat threats before they reach the armor. The vehicle uses both the Tropy defense system and Iron curtain defense system in order to shoot down oncoming missiles, and works well against a range of projectiles, from armor piercing grenades to full sized anti-tank weapons. Ranging from the RPG-7 to the javeline anti-tank missile, to the AGM-114, the system shoots down oncoming missiles and explosive projectiles, while adding on a small amount of weight to the system. It is capable of stopping repeated impacts in the same area (between 10 and 50 rounds), projectiles of both high and low velocities, and works well even against hard to defeat threats like the RPG-29. It also causes little if any potential for collateral damage, meaning that nearby soldiers are not effected by the mechanism, unlike with explosive reactive armor other active defense systems. It can be easily applied to virtually any surface, and thus is easily replaced if it succumbs to damage. Furthermore it works in a wide degree of angles, giving an extreme degree of overlap for protecting the armor. The vehicle works by using a small number of metallic pellets, similar to a shotgun round, in order to cover a wide area with projectiles in the general direction of the oncoming missile. In combination with the existing armor, the iron curtain can sufficiently detonate the majority of anti-tank and shaped charge weapons away from the armor in order to prevent it from being destroyed. In combination with this is an EMP weapon designed to shoot down missiles and drones at long range by disrupting their electronics, and a 6.5mm minigun that also helps to shoot down missiles if programmed to do so. Working like a 20mm phalanx system, it shoots down missiles and drones at close range, providing a curtain of defense around the vehicle when activated. The minigun also functions as a regular weapon and can be remote controlled by the crew. This has the ability to stop the majority of threats to the vehicle on it's own, but is best paired with existing armor. The armor also has active defense system that relays information to infantry via the boomerang anti-sniper system and anti-battery radar, which automatically alerts the soldier to oncoming sniper fire and mortar and artillery rounds, thus allowing the soldiers to detect and avoid threats. The phalanx defense system also protects the soldiers at a distance by shooting down missiles and explosive projectiles from getting too close to the infantry.

The armor of the vehicle is extraordinarily thick in comparison to most APC's, making use of the increased power and weight support of the tracks to provide extra protection for the vehicle and it's passengers. The vehicle is slightly heavier than many comparatively wheeled APC's, being approximately 29 tons vs. 19 tons for the Stryker, which gives it superior armor to most light APC's, although it is also larger. The vehicle is amphibious, which allows it to traverse a wide variety of different types of terrain despite the heavy armor, and allows for beach landing capabilities. The armor is modular and bolt-on, meaning it can be replaced when damaged, which makes the repairs easier. The vehicle is surrounded in perforated high strength 12mm thick aluminum armor, which is capable of stopping 7.62mm x 54mm armor piercing rounds, disrupts and deflects larger armor piercing rounds, and prematurely detonates explosive projectiles. The armor is extremely hard and thick, and very lightweight for it's size, being approximately half the weight of armor of the same thickness, which is achieved by possessing small holes evenly spread in the material. The holes are small enough to where projectiles cannot pass through them, and thus it can stop the majority of bullets and large sized fragmentation without it passing through. The high hardness disrupts the flight pattern of most rounds and prematurely detonates explosive rounds, serving as a form of spaced armor which protects the armor below. On it's own it can alone can stop armor piercing .50 caliber rounds, largely by prematuring detonating the round, but must be paired with armor beneath it in order to catch the fragmentation and penetrator. On top of this is two layers of slat or caged armor, which helps to prematurely detonate shaped charge weapons, such as armor piercing grenades or rockets. High explosive rounds and shaped charge projectiles are prematurely detonated by the slat armor, which are prematurely detonated by the spaced perforated armor if they managed to penetrate the slat armor, serving as a buffer that is capable of stopping the vast majority of tandem warhead rounds. Beneath this is the bulk of the vehicle's armor, a 1.25 inch thick plate of titanium, a very hard form of titanium with approximately 2.5 times the strength of RHA at 1100 MPA (vs. 400-500 for mild steel), which increases the strength of the vehicle, and is 38 pounds per square foot. This can stop armor piercing 14.5mm rounds, as well as armor piercing .50 caliber rounds on it's own, even HEIAP rounds, and it's protection increases substantially with the perforated armor surrounding it. As titanium armor it protects as well as steel but is 30-40% lighter, and only approximately 15% more expensive, due to new manufacturing techniques and a slightly weaker alloy of titanium than has been traditionally used in armor. Behind this titanium armor is a layer of composites and energy absorbing polymers, similar in composition to Kanchan armor, which increases the strength of the armor by being semi-reactive armor, but non-explosive, and deflecting shaped charge and KE penetrators. Finally, beneath this is approximately 1 inches of dyneema backed ceramic, arranged in 4 x 4 inch tiles in a metallic matrix, in a form of chobham armor, spaced several inches behind the steel armor to act as a form of perforated armor. This can stop high end armor piercing rounds, especially KE penetrators, and absorb the armor piercing jets of shaped charges. The high hardness of the ceramics helps stop high velocity armor piercing rounds, but it's brittle nature makes it less useful against repeated impacts in the same spot. The armor on it's own can stop an RPG-7 in addition to various other shaped charge weapons on a direct hit. However, active defense systems, such as the iron curtain and trophy system, help shoot down missiles with an extremely high degree of reliability before impact, protecting the armor further. This works in tandem with the SLAT armor, which predetonates the shaped charge rounds past their stand off distance, dispersing the explosive force of the round before it can get through the armor. The armor on it's own can stop a single 30mm x 173mm round in one spot, and can stop multiple 25mm chaingun rounds, with the ceramic armor, while the base titanium can stop repeated .50 caliber and 14.5mm rounds.


Active Defense systems
The vehicle uses the Trophy active defense system, the Iron Fist active defense system, and the Iron Curtain active defense system. The use of multiple, overlapping defense systems help increase the systems readiness, and the redundant safety measures increase the likelihood of success of intercepting missiles and RPG's, as well as other shaped charge weapons. The Iron Curtain system uses a radar to detect the incoming round and cue the system. It then switches from armed-ready state to an armed state. As the round comes into close range, the optical sensor profiles the threat and tracks it within 1 cm (0.39 in) of accuracy to select an aimpoint and determine which ballistic countermeasure to fire. The countermeasure deflagrates the RPG warhead without detonating it, leaving the dudded round to bounce off the vehicles side. Because of its shelf-like design, the system can be modified to protect almost any surface, from the sides of the vehicle to all around protection, including a turret. Artis claims that the Iron Curtain can be enhanced to protect against “more challenging threats” like the RPG-29 and RPG-32 ‘Hashim’ multipurpose anti-tank grenade launchers, which utilize tandem warheads for penetrating tanks with explosive reactive armor. Iron Curtain should also be able to defend against ATGMs (Anti-Tank Guided Missiles). The system has 360° coverage, is multi-shot, low-cost, low power, lightweight, and rugged and reliable.The system, which began in 2005 as a DARPA program, is able to defeat threats even if fired from an extremely close range. It has undergone significant safety testing, including temperature and shock testing, and its software architecture has been approved by the U.S. military's Joint Services Weapons Safety Review Process. The countermeasure fires straight down or up, neutralizing the incoming threat within inches of the vehicle, separating the system from many others which intercept threats several meters out, resulting in minimal risk of collateral damage to dismounted troops or civilians. Iron Curtain is designed to be highly modular, and the system's radar does not need to track the threat; hence, a relatively inexpensive radar will suffice. To date, two radars have been integrated onto Iron Curtain: the Mustang radar developed by Mustang Technology Group in Plano, Texas and the RPS-10 radar, built by RADA Electronic Industries. In April 2013, the company announced it achieved a perfect score during rigorous government tests. “We proved not only that Iron Curtain defeats threats and saves lives, but the risk from collateral damage is minimal, especially when compared with the alternative," according to the company's CEO, Keith Brendley. He said the system is ready to be deployed onto battlefields.

The trophy active defense system uses a Elta EL/M-2133 F/G band fire-control radar with four flat-panel antennas mounted on the vehicle, with a 360-degree field of view. When a projectile is detected, the internal computer calculates an approach vector almost instantly, before it arrives. Once the incoming weapon is fully classified, the computers calculate the optimal time and angle to fire the neutralizers. The response comes from two rotating launchers installed on the sides of the vehicle which fire neutralizing agents, usually small metal pellets like buckshot. The system is designed to have a very small kill zone, so as not to endanger personnel adjacent to the protected vehicle. The system is designed to work against all types of anti-tank missiles and rockets, including handheld weapons such as rocket propelled grenades. The system can simultaneously engage several threats arriving from different directions, is effective on stationary or moving platforms, and is effective against both short- and long-range threats. Newer versions of the system include a reloading feature for multiple firings.

The iron fist mechanism is designed to be used with the Trophy active defense system. It senses incoming threats via a fixed active electronically scanned array radar sensor developed by RADA Electronic Industries and an optional passive infrared detector developed by Elbit's Elisra. When a threat is imminent, an explosive projectile interceptor is launched towards it. The interceptor explodes very near the threat, destroying or deflecting and destabilizing it without detonating its warhead. For this, only the blast effect of the explosive is used. The interceptor casing is made of combustible materials so no fragmentation is formed in the explosion, helping minimize collateral damage. On top of this are mortar radar detection systems, designed to detect and intercept oncoming mortar rounds and relay this information to the soldiers via the Net Warrior system, and the Boomerang anti-sniper device, which detects the direction of enemy sniper fire.


Armor
The vehicle utilizes the Advaced Modular Armor Protection system, which is a successor to the MEXAS. The high strength ceramic tiles, which arranged in a chobham style format, are used to help stop high strength armor piercing rounds, such as shaped charges and KE projectiles, which are aided by the previous steel and kanchan armor which absorbs and fragments the previous rounds before reaching the more fragile ceramic armor below. This ceramic armor is arranged in a chobham style format, which is 4 inch ceramic tiles embedded within a high strength aluminum matrix which helps to absorb and deflect the energy for the ceramics, increasing their strengthen. With the outer armor using approximately 1.25 of an inch AR500 steel, it's more than capable of stopping most armor piercing .50 caliber or 14.5mm rounds. It is slightly stronger than the previous ATI-500 steel, and uses twaron and dyneema as a backing over kevlar, which is more fire resistant than kevlar but just as strong, which became a serious problem in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Behind this are multiple layers of energy absorbing composites and polymers, similar to Kanchan armor, that works like reactive armor, but is non-explosive, being reusable and preventing collateral damage. It also has an added benefit if disrupting and stopping armor piercing penetrators and shaped charge jets, making the armor more resistant to anti-tank threats and aiding the ceramic armor below. Approximately 315 mm (12.4 in) of Kanchan armor weighs the same as 120 millimetres (4.7 in) RHA while providing the same protection as 12.4 inches of RHA, giving it much higher strength than steel alone. The armor is similar in strength to the MRAP and Stryker, with the MEXAS, and should theoretically be stronger at the same weight or lighter weight with the Advanced Modular Armor Protection armor.

The armor is similar to the Stryker, in that it is sloped on both sides; it is additionally, sloped underneath the vehicle, with a monocoque V-Hull, as to deflect the blast of land mines away from the vehicle, as similar to the RG-33, or MRAP "cougar", and is a monocoque v-hullI design. In addition to this, the armor uses caged "Slat" armor in order to better help protect from RPG's, and prematurely detonates warheads before they can come in contact with the armor below. On top of this is the iron curtain active defense system, which helps to shoot down missiles before they come in contact with the armor. Extremely reliable, capable of targeting multiple weapons at once, fast moving projectiles, and with very little collateral damage, it is an ideal way to disrupt or stop shaped charge weapons, especially lightweight anti-tank missiles, and it works against the RPG-7, as well as newer weapons such as the RPG-29 and RPG-32.

As a result of the design, shape, and material, it provides substantial protection against RPG's, light arms, heavy arms, and mines. Behind this are several layers of composite material and energy absorbing polymers, that act similarly to non-explosive reactive Kanchan armor, which help disrupt the penetrators of armor piercing rounds. With five layers of defense, the iron curtain active defense system to shoot down missiles, slat armor to prematurely detonate warheads, the kanchan armor to absorb armor penetrating warheads, spaced armor to give space for such rounds and explosive force to be diffused, and finally the ceramic armor underneath, the armor is very well protected against shaped charges and low-end armor piercing kinetic energy rounds, capable of stopping 30mm and 40mm DU armor piercing rounds, although only a few round in the same spot due to the brittle nature of the ceramic armor. Aluminium oxynitride (AlON) is a transparent ceramic composed of aluminium, oxygen and nitrogen. It is marketed under the name ALON and described in U.S. Patent 4,520,116. It is 4 times harder than fused silica glass, and 85% as hard as sapphire. The material remains solid up to 1,200 °C (2,190 °F). When formed and polished as a window, the material currently (2005) costs about US$10 to US$15 per square inch (~ US$20,000/m²). The material is composed of three parts, an outer layer that's exposed to gunfire and made of baked aluminum oxynitride, a middle layer of glass, and a rear layer of polymer backing. The aluminum armor can deflect rounds from small-caliber weapons and still be more clearly transparent than bullet-resistant glass that's been shot, it also passes a much more important test -- it resists .50-caliber armor-piercing bullets and anti-aircraft weapons that typically use .30-caliber rounds, and is roughly half the weight and thickness of traditional ballistics glass.


Electronics
The System is operable with the Land warrior operating systems. In addition, it carries a GPS. The radio system is also compatible with the MARS system, and as well include a microwave and radar communications disk and radios. The vehicle charges the electronics of the soldiers, serving as a sort of mobile generator with the hybrid engine producing electricity for the men. The weapon systems of the vehicles are electronically controlled and remoted operated, generally by the CROWS II or Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station program, which not only protects the crew member by removing their need for exposure, but also allows them to operate a greater number of weapons without having to change position. Despite the plethora of weapon systems on the vehicle, only a certain number can be fired at any given point in time, based on which systems the weapons operator chooses. These weapons can also be operated by passengers in the vehicle, to free up operating control needed by the weapons operator.

As an intelligence counter measure, the vehicle sports a Boomerang Anti Sniper acoustic orientation device, intended on finding the location of incoming shots, using an array of speakers. This information is relayed directly to soldiers through the land warrior system, alerting them to the presence and location of enemy fire. With a very adept radar system, similar to the Longbow Apache radar, it can target multiple moving vehicles at once, and can intercept enemy vehicles, from aircraft to tanks, with missiles if necessary; this radar system is used to aim the AGM-114 hellfire missiles, and is useful in anti-aircraft targeting features to aid the 30mm in anti-aircraft attacks, as well as help locate enemy vehicles in general. Various FLIR thermal vision cameras are used to help locate enemy forces as well, and can be used to detect and automatically avoid missiles and incoming artillery. The same radar system can be combined with additional radar systems to serve as mortar and artillery battery radar,


Armament


The vehicle is capable of using a wide array of weaponry, as can be fit on the CROWS II, Defender, and ARROWS automated firing systems, and can utilize a multitude of other automated weapons systems. However, the vehicle predominately uses the following. The secondary weapon systems rotate on a two pivots. The 40mm Bofors gun turret carries approximately 450 rounds of ammunition, which adds an additional 2250 pounds to the weight of the turret.



1 x 40mm CT Bushmaster
2 x AGM-114 Anti-Tank missile pods
4 x FIM-92 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles
2 x Javeline Anti-tank missiles (Detachable)
1 x Electrically operated 81mm Brandt Mortar
2 x M3 15.5mm Machine guns, or M2 .50 caliber machine gun or 40mm automatic Mk 47 Striker grenade launcher
1 x 6.5mm LSAT machine gun, or M240, M134 minigun, M249 machine gun