Jon Hawkes Profile picture
Jun 1, 2022 7 tweets 5 min read Read on X
(1/n) Patria Nemo on a BvS10. We've spent this week saying future vehicles should be lighter, more mobile, but still protected. Something to deploy and fight with traditionally lighter forces.

UK already has a fleet for that, just its seen as purely a RM thing for some reason?
(2/n) I don't think BvS 10 has been vaguely exploited to its full potential. There are a few interesting ones around, but not enough. The aforementioned Nemo mortar, an IRIS-T SLS launcher, a recovery version, counter battery radar
(3/n) Thinking about some of the discussions this week - how fast & cheap could you develop a Brimstone launcher, basic uncrewed turret (something RT20 to RT60 or RiWP flavoured), a hooklift cargo variant? Seems to tick a lot of what we're suggesting people need to think about?
(4/n) BvS10 goes anywhere, including afloat, can be airlifted incl. by rotary wing, is very well understood and proven and in use across Europe (and maybe the US soon under CATV as the Beowulf if it wins)
(5/n) When you actually look at a requirement like MRVP, why cant it be a Viking? Protection creep means MRVP are 7.5-10t trucks now, but their comparative mobility through two axles at that weight is pretty woeful, and they're a similar size.
(6/n) Yes, Viking is a tracked thing, and that comes with drawbacks. But compared to large armoured 4x4/6x6 its not radically more onerous. Viking is on CRT so is not comparable to your typical tracked vehicle.
(7/n) Impending issue is Viking's been around a while and some users are looking to replace theirs, but why not get ahead of that curve, help BAE make a new one, build it in the UK and buy loads of them in cool variants?

And thats my bank holiday daydreaming for #miltwitter /end

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More from @JonHawkes275

Sep 17
The UK was the birthplace of the tank and though today it has only a single upgrade programme to show for heavy tracked armour, it was the origin of many key technologies and capabilities used by tanks the world over. A🧵of a few highlights of the glory days of British armour R&D


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The first practical gas turbine powered vehicle, the FV200 Turbine Test Vehicle, a Conqueror. 'Practical' is a caveat - the Germans actually had the first gas turbine tank, a Jagdtiger in WW2, but it had a problematic habit of setting trees and other nearby objects on fire.


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FV4211 (initially the Chieftain Mk5/2), an all-aluminium tank that was the first with composite armour, initially called Burlington but renamed to Chobham, based around the concept of composite materials under permanent compression, laid in a matrix with additional materials... Image
Read 25 tweets
Jul 1
(1/n) A neat bit of thermal footage of Challenger 2 firing and driving. A couple of obvious takeaway comments on tank heat signatures:
Engine is peak sustained source of heat, particularly once underway & exhaust blooms. Its at the rear which is good for classic head on engagements, but modern all-aspect attacks mean its increasingly a concern that you can't do much to mitigate. (cgi image but representative) Image
Barrel once fired is a big hot spot from the front. One part of the reason for these trendy shrouds we see on concept AFV is to limit that signature (and thus far has been dismissed as until you shoot barracuda coverings are good enough, and once you have who cares anymore)

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Read 6 tweets
Jun 11
Some fervent discussion about KF51 in one of my tweets yesterday, a quick thread on the 130 mm main gun and its ammunition handling system in the KF51 concept vehicle to answer some of the question that came up.
Reminder this is a prototype vehicle still and everything is in active development and would be subject to user requirements if it gets bought by anyone. Notional data follows. Image
Main weapon is Rheinmetall’s new (though its almost 10 years old already – development started in 2015) 130 mm L51 smoothbore gun, often referred to as the Future Gun System (FGS). Image
Read 19 tweets
Jun 6
80 years since D-Day, so I thought a (rather long, it turns out) thread of the various interesting AFV things that were around that day, and a bit of a look at what they have evolved to today as spiritual successors. #tanktwitter #dday80 #tanks Image
Specialist AFV are ubiquitous now, but the D-Day landings were some of the first outings for many of these capabilities or at the least cemented their utility upon which several generations have evolved since.
Actually getting onto the beach is itself a challenge, as double-digit tonne AFV are not inherently seagoing things (aside dedicated amphibians). Image
Read 90 tweets
Apr 17
A brief summary🧵of the Manned Ground Vehicle (MGV) element of the aspirational US Army Future Combat Systems (FCS) programme. A bit of a "what they almost got" for the US Army of the late 90s and early 00s. Image
MGV was a common family of AFV that were bold in their vision - baseline 24 ton hull (later upped to c.30t) with hybrid drive & CRT track, loads of data & sensor fusion, a lot of automation (most variants were 2-man crews), with less passive armour and more smart solutions. Image
A few more details of the core base platform that the family would build on. Lots of bold capabilities that many 2020s AFV still lack, and all with the strategic benefits of a single common platform across an entire Army fleet, which are substantial. Image
Read 21 tweets
Mar 7
A long-requested (long) overview of the UK’s wheeled vehicle strategy – the Land Mobility Programme (LMP) and Boxer Strategic Pipeline (BSP).
Its actually rather good as a plan, being well considered, framed in reality and funded. Well done Army! Image
So, broad strokes. LMP and BSP form a full spectrum of wheeled vehicle capability for the Army. LMP comprises three strands – Light Utility, Light Protected Mobility, and Medium Protected Mobility. Boxer sits above as a de-facto Heavy Protected Mobility of sorts Image
In all we are talking a 20-year pipeline of >12,000 vehicles with a combined budget likely well over £7Bn. This is also the big test whether MoDs new Integrated Procurement Model is all talk or not – buy simple and fast, iterate and export, or not. Image
Read 46 tweets

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