Defence Technology Review answers your questions about STANAG 4569 Lvl 6 & AMV35

Ian, the editor over at DTR circled back to this blog, saw your comments and before I could pen your questions, he hit me up with answers.  His response is below....

Hey Solomon,

Saw the comments from DTR Sept post and thought I’d respond:

Andrew Benghazi

The last sentence on page 36 of that article mentions upgrading the armor to STANAG 4569 LEVEL 6.Is this something new? I thought STANAG 4569 only went to level 5. Does anyone know what the standard for level 6 would be?

EDITOR DTR:

For Land 400, meeting STANAG 4569 Level 6 requires protection against 30mm armour-piercing discarding sabot (APDS) rounds over the frontal section of the CRV, 90° left and right at best or 30° left and right at worst. So at 90° this not just the traditional ‘frontal arc’ that needs to be covered but also the turret and hull flanks.

Either way, meeting STANAG Level 6 is an extreme demand, and requires inches of armour and a huge increase in weight; adding 10mm thick sheets of fancy composite appliqué won’t do it. No surprise then that GVM of these vehicles will be the highest ever seen in a wheeled AFV competition.
There are a few comments here that Boxer will be too big and expensive for Australia. I think they are being made without understanding the requirement, particularly that for protection and how that will drive up the size, weight and cost of the vehicles. But least of all Boxer. Here’s why:
All the contenders will be big and heavy, perhaps heavier than their original designs intended. Except Boxer. It has the requisite motive power and running gear to cope with the weight (due to its already very high protection levels) out of the factory – no add-ons required. The others – AMV35, GD’s offering and Terrex II – will need upgrades to their powertrain, suspension etc to cope. This adds both risk and cost.

random reader

The AMV 35 looks interesting. Too bad that they only have photoshops of it...

EDITOR DTR:   

Both the advertisements from BAE (see inside front cover) and our own representations of the vehicle in the cover story are artist impressions. Doctored.   That’s because the AMV35 as a real put-together-vehicle does not yet exist. So far, only the Boxer CRV actually exists as a fully integrated hull/turret solution. Nothing from GD yet, nothing from Elbit-STK yet and unsure when the real AMV35 will appear.
That’s because the AMV35 as a real put-together-vehicle does not yet exist. So far, only the Boxer CRV actually exists as a fully integrated hull/turret solution. Nothing from GD yet, nothing from Elbit-STK yet and unsure when the real AMV35 will appear.That’s because the AMV35 as a real put-together-vehicle does not yet exist. So far, only the Boxer CRV actually exists as a fully integrated hull/turret solution. Nothing from GD yet, nothing from Elbit-STK yet and unsure when the real AMV35 will appear.

Good info here.

Looks like the armor race is really and truly on...especially with STANAG 6 coming into existence (I had NEVER heard of a level beyond 5).  I'm becoming a bit more curious about the AMV35.  Quite honestly I thought that plugging new turrets with bigger weapons into armored fighting vehicles was to the point of it being risk free.  Guess I was wrong.

Land 400.  I'm definitely gonna follow this program closely!

Sidenote:  Sorry about the "triple" in the post guys.  Late nights ya know!