M1117 Guardian Armored Security Vehicle Replaces Hummer

M1117 Guardian – In the mid-1980s, the famous “Jeep” that had been used by the US military for many years needed to be replaced. So the military chose the M1025/M1026 HMMWV (Hummer) manufactured by AM General, which was recognized as a “high mobility multipurpose vehicle. It turned out to be more functional, powerful, and larger, but still just a four-wheel-drive general-purpose vehicle.

M1117 Guardian Armored Security Vehicle Replaces Hummer

MilitaryEzyInfo.com – In the past few years, with the change in U.S. military doctrine, U.S. military experts needed an armored vehicle that could withstand small arms fire, projectile fragments, and even mines. In a word, they could provide greater survivability in the current state of the battlefield.

In armed conflicts and local warfare, not only in narrow urban areas but also in foothills and hills, tanks proved to be too huge to be maneuverable and were needed along with armored vehicles to fill the gap between heavily armored vehicles and unarmored light vehicles.

This time, the army’s command decided to use the M1117 Guardian, also known as the ASV-150, an armored vehicle manufactured by the American company Textron. While the prototype vehicles were the famous wheeled armored personnel carrier “Commando” and its later model “V-150”.

M1117 Guardian: History of Manufacture

The first 94 series were built in late March 1999 and were initially delivered to a unit in Warren, Michigan; in August 2000, some were sent to the 18th Military Police Brigade stationed in Germany. As part of the brigade’s 709th Battalion, they deployed to Kosovo and participated in peacekeeping operations in the Balkans.

Their actions were regarded as successful. However, recognition M1117 received later by the military forces of Iraq, where they came with the same brigade in the summer of 2003. There, U.S. Military Police (MPs) were used in combat zones for patrols, patrol missions, convoy escorts, and as combat observers. In Iraq, these vehicles began arriving in large numbers on a regular basis, constantly adding to the ranks of the army’s troop equipment.

By 2011, the US Army had ordered a total of 3,030 M1117s and 414 M1200 “Armored Knight” artillery observation aircraft, which were converted into vehicles. The last order for armored vehicles was in 2011.

In addition, 370 aircraft were transferred to Iraq, 40 to Colombia, and about a dozen to Bulgaria.

M1117 Guardian: Vehicle Weight

The M1117 Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) is a four-wheel-drive armored vehicle weighing 13.4 tons that were adopted by the US Army in 1999. A little higher up in the military hierarchy, recall that the Stryker and M2 Bradley had a mass of 20 and 25 tons respectively. The Hummer, standing at the lower end, had a mass of only a few tons, and the reinforced armored M1114, for example, had a mass of 4.5 tons. In terms of capability and purpose, the M1117 took a niche in between.

Ceramic-composite armor could protect the crew in the event of being hit by a 12.7 mm armor-piercing round, a 60 mm mine striking the hull 10 m from the vehicle, or a 155 mm projectile being fired more than 15 m away. The bottom could withstand the detonation of an improvised explosive device having a total equivalent of up to 5.4 kg.

The commander of the armored vehicle sat in the front right seat, while the driver sat in the front left seat. The sides of the vehicle were armored as well as the windshield in front. There were crew entrances on both sides, as well as on the stern.

M1117 Guardian: Armament

The armament was housed in a small single turret and consisted of a 40mm Mk19 grenade launcher, a 12.7mm M2HV “Browning” large-caliber machine gun, and a 5.56mm auxiliary machine gun. The effective range of the grenade launcher was up to 1,800 meters, and it could fire up to 6,800 meters. At the rear of the turret was a block with four M257 smoke grenade launchers.

The turret could rotate a full 360 degrees, with an angular rise of up to 60 degrees for omnidirectional firing; an M36E2 day/night vision device was installed to provide 24/7 terrain awareness and precision target shooting.

There were 96 grenades and 200 rounds of M2HV machine gun ammunition on board.

M1117 Guardian: 4WD (4 Wheel Drive)

The M1117 Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) had a 4×4 wheel configuration, a 6-speed Allison MD3560 automatic transmission, and an independent wheel suspension with coil springs for excellent maneuverability and handling.

The turbocharged six-cylinder Cummins 6STA8.3 diesel engine produced 260 hp. at speeds up to 60 km/h, the armored truck could be equipped with a two-wheel trailer M1102 or M1101 with a gross weight of up to 1900 kg, a two-wheel trailer M1102 or M1101 with a gross weight of up to 3400 kg At speed, armored trucks can tow two-wheeled trailers M1102 or M1101 weighing up to 1900 kg gross, and two-wheeled trailers M1102 or M1101 weighing up to 3400 kg, and three-quarter-ton cargo vehicles M101. These trucks can carry equipment, auxiliary equipment, and units for use of these vehicles as, for example, combat observers or repair shops. They could also evacuate damaged Hummer-type vehicles closer to the rear from their positions.

M1117 Guardian: Top Speed

The armored vehicle could accelerate to 40 km/h in 7 seconds. With a tank capacity of 190 liters, it was able to travel up to 700 kilometers without refueling. Meanwhile, it could overcome obstacles up to a height of 0.5 meters and ford up to a depth of 1.5 meters without any preparation. It was equipped with an automatic CTIS system to regulate the pressure of each wheel. It had filtering and ventilation installations, air conditioning. For self-recovery and recovery operations, a winch with a towing capacity of about 7 tons was installed at the front of the hull.

An AN/PSN Global Positioning System (GPS) station located inside the vehicle allowed the crew to track the vehicle’s route; two AN/VRC-91 radios were used to communicate with the unit and AN/VIC-3 was used as an internal intercom.

17 Features of M1117 Guardian ASV

1. Driver’s side armor,
2. Turret,
3. Hull side door,
4. Spare canister,
5. Commander’s side armor,
6. M2HV 12.7mm machine gun,
7. Mk 19 40mm grenade launcher,
8. Observation device,
9. Turret hatch,
10. Driver’s hatch,
11. Commander’s hatch,
12. Exit stack,
13. M257 smoke grenade launcher,
14. Rear exit door,
15. Radio antenna,
16. Windshield,
17. Winch.

There were several modifications made to the M1117 armored vehicle. These include:

• Armored personnel carriers.
• Command and control the vehicle.
• Mine clearance vehicle.
• Recovery vehicle.
• Artillery observation vehicles.
• Mortar launcher
• Medical armored vehicles.

Military experts say a great advantage in employing the M1117 to arm army units because of its ability to transport over long distances. For example, the Boeing C-17 “Globemaster III” strategic military transport aircraft, designed to carry large cargoes over intercontinental distances and to transport them to small, unprepared airfields, could carry six such armored vehicles. This was also quite in line with the principles of the new US military doctrine.