Page 80 - Australian Defence Magazine Sep-Oct 2022

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LAND WARFARE
LAND 400
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
The turret mounts the Northrop Grumman Mk.44S Bushmaster II 30mm cannon – a scaled-up version of the M242 25mm cannon fitted to Army’s ASLAVs and capable of firing all natures of the 30mm x 173mm ammunition in service with the US and 18 other nations – together with a MAG58 7.62mm coaxial machine gun that is fully acces- sible and reloadable from under-armour.
It also includes an integrated, shock-isolated retractable launcher on the right of the turret for two
Spike LR2 ATGMs, and the Elbit Iron Fist
light decoupled APS (also selected for Lynx),
Turret and hull protection is provided entirely by Austra- lian-manufactured Bisalloy armour steel.
BOXER CRV
Eighteen months prior to the shortlisting of Lynx and Red- back for the Phase 3 requirement, Rheinmetall Defence’s Boxer 8x8 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV) was selected under Land 400 Phase 2 to replace Army’s age-
LEFT: Personnel from the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment (Queensland Mounted Infantry) test the Boxer CRV on the beach during Exercise Sea Wader 2020
both of which were fundamental design in- puts to ensure optimum performance over bolted-on solutions.
The EOS R400S Mk2 RWS mounted on the roof in front of the gunner’s hatch can be fitted with a range of weapons and provides the commander’s sight, utilising a medium- wave infrared cooled thermal camera with a detection range of at least 12 km at night, rec- ognition at 5.1 km, and identification at 4 km.
Designed as an IFV turret from the outset,
the T2000 also incorporates the Elbit Iron
which furnishes the vehicle’s commander (and others if re- quired) with a heads-up external view from a turret-mount- ed camera array while remaining safely under armour.
Iron Vision also provides access to all sights and the abil- ity to shoot from the commander’s helmet-mounted display or to cue the main gun for the gunner. Additionally, the system incorporates overlays from the battle management system that allows the commander to maintain situational awareness while still supervising the gunner.
“THEN-CHIEF OF ARMY LIEUTENANT GENERAL RICK BURR DISCLOSED TO SENATE ESTIMATES IN APRIL THAT THE BOXER CRV FLEET WOULD NOT BE EQUIPPED WITH AN APS”
ing fleet of 247 Australian Light Armoured Vehicles (ASLAVs) at an acquisition cost of $5.2 billion for 211 platforms, 12 mission modules and associated support systems.
(Land 400 Phase 1 covered the project’s definition study, while Phase 4 involves an in- tegrated training program for Phases 2 and 3).
Cost pressures saw the number of turreted platforms reduced from 180 to 133 prior to acquisition negotiations in 2018, according to program sources.
Further, all turreted Boxers were to have been equipped with two-round launchers for the Spike LR2 ATGM but in a further cost-
Vision system
saving move the number of ATGM launchers and air burst munitions sensors for 30mm cannon were each cut from 133 to 40 in the same negotiations.
Instead, all CRVs will be fitted for the elements of a Deployment Kit applicable to each variant, and those pro- ceeding on operations will be equipped to match the as- sessed threat profile, Defence has confirmed.
Block 1 vehicles, comprising 13 multi-purpose Boxers and 12 of the reconnaissance variant that deploys a turret and 30mm cannon, were assembled in Germany and de-
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