Warrior Tracked Armoured Vehicles, United Kingdom

The Warrior family of tracked armoured vehicles, developed by Alvis Vickers Ltd (now BAE Systems Land Systems), has been proved in action with the British Army in operations in the Middle East during Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom and on United Nations duties in Bosnia. Warrior vehicles were also deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in September 2007.

The Desert Warrior family of vehicles has been adapted for operations in hostile desert conditions. Between 1987 and 1995, 789 Warriors were produced for the British Army and 254 Desert Warrior infantry fighting vehicles have been produced for the Kuwaiti Land Force.

Warrior section vehicles carry driver, commander, gunner and seven fully equipped soldiers together with supplies and weapons for a 48-hour battlefield day in NBC conditions.

The Warrior adapts to a range of roles with weapon fits ranging from machine pistols to 90mm guns, mortars and missile systems. The Warrior is in service in the following variants: infantry section vehicles, infantry command, repair vehicles, recovery vehicles, observation post vehicles, artillery command and anti-tank guided weapon carriers.

Warrior upgrade programme

The British Army is upgrading its Warriors to extend their service life to 2035. The upgrade includes the General Dynamics UK Bowman tactical communications system and the addition of a night fighting capability in the form of the Thales Optronics battle group thermal imaging (BGTI) programme.

BGTI includes a thermal imager, eyesafe laser rangefinder, GPS / inertial navigation system and fire control system.

BGTI entered service on the Warrior in March 2005. 350 vehicles are to be fitted with BGTI by 2008. Bowman was deployed on Warrior vehicles in Iraq in November 2005.

Under the British Army's manned turret integration programme (MTIP), a new two-person turret with a 40mm stabilised case telescoped weapon system (CTWS) cannon, to allow firing on the move is being trialled. The turret has been developed by CTA International, a joint venture formed by BAE Systems and Nexter Systems (formerly Giat). A contract was awarded in June 2004 for the delivery of one Warrior vehicle fitted with the turret by December 2006. The upgraded vehicle began company firing trials in June 2006 and MOD firing trials in October 2006.

Thales has delivered a new STAG (surveillance, targeting, acquisition and gunnery) gunner's sight for the MTIP which is stabilised in two axes and includes a second generation thermal imager and eyesafe laser rangefinder.

The Warrior lethality improvement programme (WLIP) will select a new turret and cannon to be fitted to up to 450 British Army Warrior vehicles. Invitations to tender for the WLIP are planned for issue in July 2006 with contract award in March 2007.

Invitations to tender (ITT) for the WLIP gun and turret were issued in 2007. Bids were received from: BAE Systems / CTA International (MTIP turret and CTWS cannon), Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems / Oto Melara (HITFIST turret with ATK mk44 Bushmaster cannon), General Dynamics UK (mk46 turret with mk44 Bushmaster) and a Lockheed Martin UK Insys / Rheinmetall consortium (Rheinmetall turret with mk44 Bushmaster).

In March 2008, the 40mm case telescoped weapon system (CTWS) was chosen as the gun for the Warrior WLIP. ITTs for the turret requirement are expected in mid-2009 with contract award by the end of 2009. General Dynamics withdrew from the competition in September 2008. The in-service date is scheduled for 2013.

Self-protection

Smoke grenade launchers are mounted on either side of the turret.

In United Nations operations in Bosnia the high level of protection of the crew against small arms, missiles and anti-tank mines was proven.

The aluminium armour construction provides protection against 14.5mm armour piercing rounds, 155mm air burst shell fragments and 9kg anti-tank mines.

Enhanced protection against other threats can be provided with applique armour.

From late 2007, Warrior vehicles operating in Iraq are being fitted with 'wrap two' armour, with increased effectiveness against improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The old bar or slat armour was removed.

Propulsion

The Warrior has four-speed fully automatic transmission and hydrostatic drive steering. The Perkins Rolls-Royce V8 Condor engine produces 550bhp giving road speeds of 75km/h. The suspension provides high-speed crossing across rough terrain at speeds faster than most main battle tanks.

The vehicle is fitted with TR30 single pin tracks from William Cook Defence. All major systems including the power pack can be removed and replaced in less than one hour by two men.

Warrior reconnaissance vehicle

The reconnaissance vehicle is fitted with additional armoured protection against conventional and chemical attack. Armour shielding covers the front, sides and the suspension of the vehicle.

The Warrior reconnaissance vehicle is normally operated by a crew of three, the driver, the commander and the gunner. The vehicle has capacity to accommodate a reconnaissance officer and additional surveillance equipment.

Armament

The vehicle is equipped with an electrically operated turret designed by Delco which can traverse through a full 360°. The turret is fitted with a ATK Ammuniton Systems (formerly Boeing Ordnance) M242 chain gun on a stabilised mount which allows the gun to be used while the vehicle is in motion. The turret also has an M240 7.62mm machine gun.

TOW missile launchers are mounted on each side of the turret. The TOW wire guided anti-tank missile from Raytheon Missile Systems travels at 200m/s to a range of 3,750m. The vehicle has the capacity to carry four TOW missiles in the vehicle and two in the launchers.

Fire control and observation

The gunner's station has an optical sight and can be fitted with an electro-optical day / night thermal sight. The commander has seven optical periscopes which provide 360° observation and a dedicated sight for weapon aiming.

Thales (formerly Pilkington) Optronics is supplying new thermal imaging gunner's sights for 450 British Army Warriors, under the battle group thermal imaging (BGTI) programme, replacing the current image intensifying sights.

The BGTI programme also provides new laser rangefinder, GPS navigation system and associated display screens.

The driver's station is equipped with three optical periscopes, the central periscope is replaceable with an electro-optical periscope which gives passive night vision capability. A mast mounted sensor with a driver's thermal viewing system can be installed.

Warrior 2000

Warrior 2000 is a version of the Warrior which was developed for the Swiss Army requirement. The first prototype was completed in 1998.

Improvements included all-welded aluminium hull, increased passive applique armour protection, digital fire control system, more powerful engine and a Delco or Land Systems Hagglunds E30 direct electric drive turret with ATK Bushmaster II mk44 30mm cannon.