M163 Thailand Vulcan Air Defense (TVADS) Super Vulcan During the Royal Thai Army’s Rapid Combat Readiness Training, 2020
OVERVIEW
With the USA’s retreat from Vietnam in 1972, the previous commitment by the USA to help protect its airspace was in jeopardy - requiring the Royal Thai Army to invest more into its Air Defense Capabilities and in 1980, it first ordered 40mm Bofors from Sweden and 20mm VADS from the USA. From these assets, Special Army Order No. 25/24 was enacted to establish the 5th Anti Aircraft Battalion upon the arrival of these assets a year later in 1981.
Meanwhile in the 1997, the IDF chose IAI’s Machbet upgrade for its Hovet fleet. IAI’s competitor in these program was IMI with its Super Vulcan upgrade offering - the main difference between these two is that IMI’s Super Vulcan does not come with Stingers naturally integrated with the system and a much smaller turret but overall is the same as with the Machbet, replacing the AN/VPS-2 tracking radar with a new FLIR autotracker.
In October 2015, it was reported that IMI performed the Super Vulcan upgrade into the RTA’s M163 VADS fleet, at first in a batch of 12. This was then later finished in 2020 with all the remaining M163 VADS fleet upgraded to this type as well as the M167 towed 20mm VADS. This was all done in the backdrop of a larger modernization program within the RTAF and as such information on this particular upgrade is very sparse and afaik, it did not even receive a change in designation.
SPECIFICATIONS
Characteristic
Details
Type
Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun System
Mass
27,140 lb (12,310 kg)
Length
191.5 in (4.86 m)
Width
112.4 in (2.85 m)
Height
115 in (2.9 m)
Crew
4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Max speed
40 mph (64 km/h)
Propulsion
General Motors 6V53, 6-cylinder two-stroke diesel212 hp (158 kW)
I dont have definitive proof but it seems that the EO-IR system in use with the Super Vulcan is the same one found in the Machbet which is the Eagle Eye Optronics Mk. 2 so we should be able to expect the same performance as with the Machbet, at least in its tracking capability.
The 5th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion organized personnel to attend the Upgraded Thai Vulcan air-defense system Field-level Operator and Maintenance Manual training course, 2015
IN-GAME
In the Japanese Tech Tree, there is a big gap between the SUB-I-II and the Type 87, so Japan badly needs an AA vehicle that has some tracking capability before they get access to the Type 87. The M163 Super Vulcan should be able to fit quite nicely in this niche and despite it being a Machbet without the Stingers, it should still be able to do well in its role in exchange for a lower BR.
Personally I think it can be placed around BR 7.7 - 8.0 to be a viable alternative to the Type 87 and with its shorter range and lack of a search mode should be able to justify its much lower BR compared to its Machbet cousin which sports Stingers and the Type 87 which has a much longer range and bigger 35mm caliber compare to the M163 Super Vulcan’s 20mm.
Congratulations on such a well detailed suggestion +1
I have been wanting to make one on the IMI Super Vulcan for a while, yours has a lot of additional info I was never able to find.
Regarding the Machbet similarities, my research is still ongoing and unfortunately there are still no specs on the sight.
I was able to find out that the EO unit should in theory be the same as the one mounted on the Israeli Chaparral (the on in game is incorrect, a bug report is open on the matter Community Bug Reporting System ).
Unfortunately information on Israeli vehicles are hard to find, with most of them still being classified, so I am trying to find some other source.
The EO unit on the IMI SV is probably different from the Machbet, it is smaller and more modern. But in terms of how it should perform in game it should work just like the Machbet: TV tracking with range provided by the laser rangefinder.
Also, I find it interesting that the second slide on the presentation has the 947th IDF AA battalion (the Vulcan with wings), which was the unit that operated Vulcans and later Machbets.
You have no idea how much your suggestion saved this one lol, at first I didnt even know what the specifics of the upgrade was until you mentioned IMI’s Super Vulcan in your suggestion which led me to the correct rabbit hole.
I have to admit that this is still very scuffed but I just thought the basic idea was pretty simple so I just said fuck it and submitted it. Thank you for your very detailed bug report on the Machbet as well!
+1 for Japan. 7.3 could work especially it is a BR where we have a few 7.3 vehicles to build a lineup around it.
Would fit nicely for my Type 99 lineup ;)
