AMV35

   The AMV35 was developed by Patria of Finland in cooperation with BAE Systems Hagglunds of Sweden. This armored vehicle was specially tailored to compete for Australian LAND400 program. Australia was looking for a versatile combat reconnaissance vehicle to replace their ASLAV family of vehicles. The Australian Army requirement is for a total of 225 vehicles in 7 variants. A teeming agreement between BAE Systems and Patria was signed in 2014. The AMV35 is essentially it is a Patria AMV armored personnel carrier fitted with a BAE Systems 35 mm turret. The new vehicle was first publicly revealed in 2016. It competed against a Dutch/German Boxer with a Lance 30 mm unmanned turret to meet the Australian requirement. However the AMV35 eventually lost to the Boxer.

   The baseline Patria AMV is an armored personnel carrier. However the AMV35 is rather a wheeled infantry fighting vehicle, as it weights more, is better protected and packs heavier punch than most armored personnel carriers. In Australia it is considered as a combat reconnaissance vehicle and is intended for reconnaissance, raiding and screening operations. Overall the AMV35 offers much better protection and mobility than the Australian ASLAV-25.

   The AMV35 is fitted with a BAE Systems E35 manned turret. The same turret is used on the CV9035 tracked infantry fighting vehicle. The turret is armed with Bushmaster 35 mm dual-feed cannon. It fires at a rate of 150-200 rounds per minute. Its High-Explosive (HE) projectile weights 550 g and has significant destructive power. An armor-piercing projectile penetrates nearly 50 mm or rolled homogenous armor at a range of 3 000 m. Tests concluded that the Bushmaster III can easily penetrate front armor with add-on armor kit of the Russian BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle. This gun can also fire new programmable. ammunition. Dutch gunners of the CV9035 proved that the Bushmaster III gun is accurate even beyond the 3 000 m range.

   Two 35-round belts with different type of ammunition are loaded in the gun and are ready to fire. Another 140 rounds of ammunition are stored inside the vehicle. There is also a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun.

   This armored vehicle has modular ballistic protection. The hull and turret are of welded steel construction. Armor composes of interchangeable add-on passive modules of various thickness and can be tailored to suit mission requirements. Heavy armor is removed during peacetime and for transportation. However it is restored once the vehicle arrives in the combat theater. With maximum level of protection the front arc of the AMV35 withstands 30 mm armor-piercing rounds. The uparmored Patria AMV demonstrated in Afghanistan that with maximum armor it withstood hostile RPG-7 rocket hits without penetration and managed to return to base. Vehicle also has a top-class mine protection. It withstands blasts equivalent to 10 kg of TNT. The AMV35 also has improved protection against top attack munitions. NBC protection and automatic fire suppression systems are fitted as standard.

   This armored vehicle has a passive protection system, that links a laser warning receiver to smoke grenade discharger. A smoke screen is laid automatically, once the vehicle is illuminated by a laser beam. Such system improves protection against anti-tank guided missiles with semi-automatic guidance.

   The AMV35 has advanced fire control system, developed by SAAB of Sweden. Vehicle commander uses independent panoramic sight with thermal vision to search for targets. Once the target is selected the gun is laid on the target automatically and the gunner completes al the aiming and firing process. During that time commander looks for the next target. Such hunter-killer engagement method is present on modern main battle tanks.

   This armored vehicle is operated by a crew of three, including commander, gunner and driver. It can carry 6 fully-equipped dismounts. Troops enter and leave the vehicle via rear power-operated ramp with integral doors. Also there are roof hatches for emergency exit.

   The AMV35 is powered by Scania DI 12 turbocharged diesel engine, developing 480 hp. It is mated to ZF automatic transmission with 7-forward and 1-reverse speeds. Suspension is hydropneumatic and height adjustment is proposed as an option. Two front axles are steerable. Vehicle is fitted with a central tyre inflation system. It improves mobility over difficult terrain, such as sand, mud or snow. The AMV35 is fully amphibious with preparation. Though it looks like some of the add-on armor has to be removed. Rear-mounted waterjets are proposed as an option.