5 Heavyweight Military Vehicles Of The Modern Battlefield
Essential to the asymmetric nature of today’s battlefield, armored vehicles provide military forces tactical mobility fortifying boots on the ground. Armored vehicles are the high-tech answer to low-tech counterinsurgent attacks.
Today’s armored vehicles are manufactured to meet a diverse range of operational requirements. These can include mission variants which require engineering, medical support, reconnaissance, and command & control platforms.
Military forces have adapted to the prolific use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and explosively formed projectiles (EFPs) through the evolution of militarized vehicles capable of combat effective performance in extreme environments.
Each military vehicle on this list represents this evolution. Each entry has exceptional survivability, firepower, and mobility, capable of performing in any scenario.
Armored fighting vehicles
For many years and conflicts, dating back to the largest military campaigns, armored regiments were spearheaded by battle tanks. The conclusion of the Cold War conflict paved the way for a transition. Smaller conflicts gave way to attlefields with limited ports and airfields.
This made the deployment of large armored vehicles like battle tanks difficult.
These new conflicts called for armored vehicles that could be rapidly deployed, yet comparable to the firepower and survivability of heavy armed forces like tanks. The armored fighting vehicle (AFV), or infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) occupied that middle ground between boots on the ground and articulated treads on the battlefield.
Armoured fighting vehicles compromise firepower for strategic mobility. But their ability to be immediately deployable makes them essential in modern theatre.
Mine resistant ambush protected vehicles
Today’s evolving threat environment required military forces to further adapt armored regiments. With counterinsurgent adversaries deploying low-tech asymmetrical threats such as IEDs, EFPs, and ballistic threats, military forces have adapted with protection solutions that mitigate these threats.
The mine resistant ambush protected (MRAPs) vehicles represent the new standard. MRAPs are capable of withstanding the changing landscape of irregular warfare with world-class protection and incomparable mobility.
MRAPs are multi-role platforms, capable of deploying for multiple mission variants. Highly configurable by nature, MRAPs can adapt to modern, conventional and asymmetric operations. Deployable in both 4×4 and 6×6 options, the MRAP family of vehicles can operate in the harshest operational environments.
Armored security vehicles
Armored security vehicles (ASVs) are highly modular armored, all-wheel drive vehicles. ASVs balances the expeditious nature of light-armored vehicles like the HUMVEE with the protection levels of an IFV.
The ASVs main role sits within the support category of modern theatre. ASVs provide support for rear security operations such as law and order operations, enemy prisoner of war transport, battlefield circulation as well as convoy protection missions.
Its lightweight and configurable armor scheme makes the ASV fully air-transportable. This increases their rapid deployment capabilities for high-speed responses to tactical situations.
Armored multi-purpose vehicles
While the primary purpose of the armored multi-purpose vehicles (AMPVs) was to serve as high-tech armored combatants in the Eastern European theatre, the AMPVs have acclimatized to today’s irregular warfare.
AMPVs are essential to the future of armored combat. These future-ready vehicles have significant protection, survivability, mobility, and reliability. AMPVs are also equipped with exceptional interoperability. They are outfitted with a power generation platform incorporating other future technologies.
Their main role is to operate alongside modern combat tanks, in missions requiring troop transportation, reconnaissance, evacuation of injured personnel, and escort logistical convoys.
Combat tanks
The modernity of tanks in today’s battlefields belies its operational age. Originally deployed in World War I, combat tanks have become the vanguard of any modern mechanized army.
Remaining the principal combatant within a mechanized army, modern combat tanks are capable of operating in any climate and lighting condition. Combat tanks utilize maximum firepower against heavily armored insurgents.
Many combat tanks like the M1 Abrams Tank affords its crew extreme survivability and mobility. Equipment variants in a modern tank can include nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) protection, advanced thermal sensors, and technologically advanced upgrades.
The combat tank’s operational role may have diminished in recent theatres. But their adaptability and modern advances in technology have created the possibility of land drones – or unmanned tanks.
A cursory view of the modern battlefield indicates an asymmetrical evolving landscape. As military forces transition to meet the new operational requirements of modern battlegrounds, armored vehicles are poised to remain crucial military regiments. Their reputation for versatility and performance makes them essential for any operational scenario.
AUTHOR BIO
Miles Chambers
Senior International Business Development and Sales Manager, NIMR Automotive LLC
Miles Chambers joined NIMR Automotive in October 2016 as Senior International Business Development and Sales Manager. In this capacity, Miles oversees NIMR Automotive’s expansion to Global markets, particularly into Europe and Southeast Asia. In addition to his responsibilities at NIMR Automotive, Miles is the Chairman of the Azerbaijan-South Africa Chamber of Commerce.
