- Yes
- No
HAVIC-15 AAAV: Cry ‘havoc!’ and let slip the… LAV sled?
Please note: this is not a suggestion for the LAV-25, which has already been both suggested and passed, but rather for the unique vessel which incorporates a complete LAV-25. As such, very little attention has been given to the LAV-25 component.
OVERVIEW
TL;DR, it’s an LAV-25 on a boat entirely controlled by the LAV’s commander in his turret, not by crew directly on the hull. This was designed for the LAV specifically, and should be thought of as a vessel with the LAV as a superstructure. It isn’t very quick at 23.4 kts, but the stabilized 25mm Bushmaster is a potent weapon, the crew is at least protected from small-caliber fire, and – depending on implementation – even if the sled hull is destroyed, the LAV-25 can still happily float on its own– if it hasn’t been holed. The extraordinarily shallow draft of only 0.69 m renders it effectively immune to torpedoes while underway.
HISTORY
Spoiler
1. BACKGROUND
The USMC wished to replace the AAVP-7 with a more potent vehicle, and – by 1988 – had tried and failed several times over the course of 15 or so years. In 1988, the USMC had kicked off the Advanced Assault Amphibious Vehicle (AAAV) program, which sought to provide a vehicle capable of 20 kts in sea state 3 (Beaufort Scale, 0.5-1.5 m wave height). Making a heavily armored vehicle perform well as a boat proved a curse: the AAAV program did eventually produce the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV), armed with a 30mm Mk44 cannon and capable of 25 kts with 2 ft waves, 72 kph over-land speed, and protected against 30mm rounds from 1000 m, but the program was plagued with issues and delays. The first prototype of the EFV wouldn’t appear until June 1999, ten years after the start of the program. Further prototypes showed up in the 2001-2008 window, with Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) planned for 2012-2015, twenty four to twenty six years after the start of the program. EFV would never make it to service, but that’s its own story.
2. THE CONCEPT
Back in 1988, when AAAV started, CACI International had a bright idea: the High Speed Assault and Interdiction Craft or HAVIC. Slap the USMC’s current standard IFV on a waterjet-powered sled hull, tie it down, give the commander control of the vessel by tele-operation right from his turret (including releasing the tie-downs!) via a box on a long cable, and send it cruising to shore (where the vehicle being transported would then disconnect and dismount). Remote operation of the vessel from the comfort of the turret would also allow the vehicle to fire while assaulting the beach, a capability that at this time was unique.
3. THE VEHICLE
CACI submitted HAVIC-15 (so named for its 15 ton nominal payload) as part of the AAAV program, and the craft as pictured was demonstrated at Camp Pendleton in 1988.
HAVIC was a simple, cheap, easy solution, which at worst would’ve given the USMC an ideal interim solution as an alternative to upgrading the AAVP-7 a few more times while waiting for the doomed-from-birth EFV to materialize. Consequently, the demonstrator was scrapped in 1993.
BASIC INFORMATION
DESIGNATION: High Speed Assault and Interdiction Craft (HAVIC-15)
WHAT: Waterjet sled for delivering vehicles (LAV-25 in particular) to the beach
WHO: CACI, Inc., built by Federal/Progressive Metals
WHEN: 1988
ARMAMENT
1 x LAV-25
Just like it says on the tin
- The LAV-25 carries a 25 mm M242 Bushmaster
- 210 rds ready (150 + 60), 420 stowed
- M791 APDS-T, M791 HEIT
- The LAV-25 also carries a coaxial 7.62x51mm M240
- 440 rds ready, 1200 stowed
ARMOR
Superstructure: LAV-25
- Standard LAV-25, HHRA, 4.71 mm to 9.71 mm
- All-round protection against 7.62 mm ball
Hull: none
- Structural aluminum pontoon skid
SPECIFICATIONS
CREW: 3+6 (Standard LAV-25)
DISPLACEMENT: 13.8 tons light, 29.7 tons full load
DIMENSIONS (L/B/D): 13.77 m, 4.34 m, 0.69 m
PROPULSION: 3 x Cummins VT-903-M marine diesels, 3 x Roper waterjets, 1200 bhp
SPEED: 23.4 kts calm, 20 kts sea state 3 (Beaufort Scale, 0.5-1.5 m wave height)
RANGE: 80 nm
SYSTEMS:
- LAV-25
- Ramp bow
- Remote operating control system on a long cable for the LAV’s commander.
CONSTRUCTION: Thin aluminum + LAV-25
PERFORMANCE
PROS:
- LAV-25 armament, armor, and systems.
- Can still float even if sled ‘compartments’ fully destroyed
- Psychological impact
CONS:
- Armament is potent only against light coastal vessels.
- Armor is ineffective against any serious naval gun
- Speed is mediocre
- Crew is limited and concentrated
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS
Spoiler
From Source #2
From Source #4
Unedited version of cover image, from Source #1
From Source #12
Patent drawings which appear identical to the vehicle as it appeared. From Source #11
SOURCES
Spoiler
- Marine vessel and method for transporting a vehicle. Mark S. Rice & Paul D. Hunt. Patent, 1985. Retrieved from: US4681054A - Marine vessel and method for transporting a vehicle - Google Patents
- Combat Fleets of the World 1990/91. Pg. 828. U.S. Naval Institute Press. Retrieved from: Combat fleets of the world 1990/91 : their ships, aircraft, and armament : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
- Marine Corps Seabasing Capabilities, Today and Tomorrow. Pgs. 23, 27. Presentation by Jim Strock, 17 November 2014. Retrieved from: https://ndiastorage.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/ndia/2014/expwar/TuesStrock.pdf
- Marine Corps Gazette July 1988. Pg. 6. United States Marine Corps. Retrieved from: The Marine Corps Gazette - Google Boeken
- The U. S. Marine Corps in 1988. Colonel John C. Scharfen, USMC (Ret.) in Proceedings Vol. 115/5/1,035, May 1989. Retrieved from: https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1989/may/u-s-marine-corps-1988
- National Security Cutter: Enhanced Oversight Needed to Ensure Problems Discovered during Testing and Operations Are Addressed. Pg. 20. GAO Report. 12 January 2016. Retrieved from: https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-16-148.pdf
- Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. Presentation before the NDIA Combat Vehicle Conference. 21 October 2008 Retrieved from: https://ndiastorage.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/ndia/2008/combatvehicles/Crane.pdf
- AAAV - At the Brink of Prototype, Collie J. Johnson in Program Manager Vol XXVII, No.6. November-December 1998. Retrieved from: https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA359290.pdf
- United States Marine Corps PM-AAA Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. Major John L. Medeiros (USMC). Presentation before the 43rd Annual Armament Systems: Gun & Missile Systems Conference & Exhibition. April 2008. Retrieved from: https://ndiastorage.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/ndia/2008/gun_missile/MedeirosJohn.pdf
- High-Speed Assault and Interdiction Craft (HAVIC™). Hunt and DeLaVergne. Presentation at the Advanced Marine Vehicles Conference, June 1989. Retrieved from: https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.1989-1502
- LAV Armor Plate Study, Report, 1992. Retrieved from: https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA257674.pdf
- New craft could raise ‘HAVIC’ for Corps. Lance Cpl. E.V. Walsh. Camp Lejeune Globe. 27 October 1988. Retrieved from: https://media-cdn.dvidshub.net/pubs/pdf_63985.pdf
