GDR 99 - Weapons Systems

On Top of the
Action for LAVs


Section Articles
• A New Generation of Mortar • Expert Combination: Krauss-Maffei • The Defence Supermarket • Making Tracks: the FCS/Tracer • Centre of Excellence: Mauser • Big Guns Given Greater Mobility • Man With a Plan: Herstal • On Top of the Action: Delco • Crusader on Target in 1999 • Special Application Rifles • Fuchs Fuses for Fighting Forces • Revolutionary: the OICW • Revolution in US Small Arms • SADARM: Smart Submunition
Top: The 120mm armoured mortar system on LAV

Delco's 30mm turret mounted on a GKN Warrior platform

Delco is the leading supplier of modern turreted weapons systems for today's light armoured vehicles.

Delco Defense Systems Operations (DDSO), a unit of General Motors Defense, designs and builds modern turreted weapons systems that put fighting power into today's light armoured vehicles. The company is the world leader in supplying effective, affordable, reliable light armoured vehicle turret systems. Delco's products are in current production and are fully supported with maintenance systems in customer languages.

Delco's business headquarters and design centre are in California, USA, with production facilities in Ontario, Canada. Its principal products are turreted systems incorporating advanced weapons subsystems. Examples are the LAV-25 and LAV-30 turret systems and 120mm Armoured Mortar Systems (AMS).

25mm Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV-25) Turret System
This two-man turret includes a rapid-firing 25mm M242 Bushmaster cannon and 7.62mm coaxial machine gun with gun/sight stabilisation. Options include thermal sights, laser rangefinder, laser warning receiver, TOW missiles and enhanced armoured protection. It has been integrated on a wide variety of chassis such as: Piranha, Warrior, M113, CM-21, XA-185, Pandur, BMP-1, etc.

30mm Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV-30) Turret System
This two-man turret includes a rapid-firing 30mm Bushmaster II cannon and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun with gun/sight stabilisation. Options include second generation thermal sights, laser rangefinder, laser warning receiver, advanced ballistic computer for helicopter engagements, TOW missiles, enhanced armour and digital electronics. This turret is designed to be fitted on most light and medium, wheeled or tracked combat vehicles. In fact, it has been integrated on Piranha, Warrior, XA-185 and TC-500.

120mm Armoured Mortar System (AMS)
The AMS turreted mortar system combines Delco's GPS-aided fire control computer system with the unique Royal Ordnance recoiling 120mm breach loading mortar. The result is a computer-aimed weapon that is operated entirely under armour protection with high mobility and flexibility. This turret has been integrated on Piranha and M113.

The company's specialty is the design, integration and support of turreted weapons systems on a variety of platforms. Its products are specifically designed to be applicable to vehicles of the 11 tons or larger class. They can be integrated into new vehicle construction or as existing vehicle modernisation.

Advanced technologies can be applied to meet specific client requirements. These include:

  · Stabilised gun/sight systems incorporating day/night targeting, eye-safe laser ranging and integrated TOW controls; integrated gun and turret controls.

   Fire control systems incorporating control computers and GPS.

   Advanced fire control for helicopter engagements, including auto-tracking capabilities.

   Digital battlespace communications, integrating weapon/turret displays and controls with digital command and control communications, and combat-situational awareness. These are compatible with US, UN and NATO standards.


The elevated TOW system that was launched by Delco in co-operation with General Motors Corporation and Denmark's E. Falck Schmidt at Eurosatory '98

Delco also provides stabilised airborne weapon systems and is a leader in vehicle survivability development.

As part of the General Motors Corporation, Delco has a strong business base for its global operations. It provides technical and industrial benefits to its worldwide customers. Delco's corporate relationship provides its customers with a breadth and depth of the General Motors technical base. The company can also provide in-country production and other means of offset, including industrial benefits derived from the worldwide business activities of General Motors.

Reliable and Battle-Proven Performance
Delco's 25mm turret was initially produced to meet the requirements of the US Marine Corp's Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) program. Over 400 units were delivered in the mid-80s to the USMC. Delco's LAV-25 turrets have performed reliably in battle conditions such as Desert Storm, as well as in peacekeeping missions in Bosnia. It is expected that the USMC LAV-25 fleet will undergo, within the next few years, a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) in order to extend its initially intended 20-year life ten (10) years, i.e., beyond 2015.

A Decade of International Success

Delco has participated in a number of successful international projects over the past decade. Britain's GKN Defence utilised the Delco 25mm with TOW turret on the Desert Warrior programme for Kuwait. Canada's Diesel Division, another unit of GM Defense, supplies both the LAV-25 turret and the 120mm AMS turret on LAV chassis to the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG). The Delco 25mm turrets have also been procured by the Australian Army, and are currently in production for the Canadian Department of National Defence.

Alvis Vehicles is proposing the Delco 30mm turret on its Warrior 2000 chassis as part of the company's bid to win the Swiss infantry fighting vehicle contest.

Scandinavian interest in Delco products is strong and in June the company announced a teaming arrangement with Finland's Patria Industries OY to demonstrate and market the 25mm and 30mm turrets. Successful firing demonstrations have taken place on ranges in Finland with Delco LAV-25 turrets on former Soviet BMP-1 vehicles and Delco LAV-30 turrets on the Patria XA-185. The LAV-25 turret had previously been demonstrated successfully on the XA-185. Delco and Patria intend to offer the various combinations of turrets and vehicles on the international market.

In mid 1998 Delco entered into a co-operative agreement with Norway's Kvaerner Eureka (KE) A.S. to jointly market and sell Armoured Launching Turrets (ALT) developed by KE. The agreement will see Delco market, co-produce and support Kvaerner's ALT in certain international markets. These TOW turrets have been delivered to customers around the world with over 500 units currently in service with armed forces in North America and Europe. They have been modified to launch all variants of TOW missiles. The two companies are considering expanding their current co-operation to include the vehicle upgrade markets and the joint development of new weapon systems.

Delco and E. Falck Schmidt A/S, of Denmark, announced in June 1998 that they have teamed to develop and produce a new type of TOW missile-under-armour system for light armoured vehicles. It is designated the ETS or Elevated TOW System. The ETS features a four-tube TOW launcher mounted atop a retractable mast that can be elevated up to 6.5 metres above the ground, allowing it to be operated from a defilade position. In addition to being able to fire from behind protected cover, it also provides observation and tracking of targets while on the move.

The ETS contains today's most advanced sighting technologies and can launch the full range of TOW missiles, including the latest versions of TOW 2A and TOW 2B. The design is based on an all-electric turret and weapon drive sub-systems and can be operated continuously for up to six hours with the engine turned off. Missile loading is performed while the crew is under armour.

Summary
Delco's family of weapon and turret systems offers the customer a choice of solutions based on their individual needs and requirements. Their proven reliability makes them the best choice for light and medium armoured combat vehicles.