- Yes
- No
Introduction:
Hi and welcome to another suggestion of mine, this being my 8th suggestion!
The Strf 9040 was always intended to be uparmored, as already when it began production, studies were carried out to evaluate if the protection could be made better via adding ERA or other applique armor. One chassis was sent down to Rafael in Israel for testing with ERA, while some other chassis were tested in Sweden with applique armor. But it was not until the early 2000s that an armorkit would actually be put forward for the Strf 9040.
Earlier, AMAP-B Medium had been used on export variants, and AMAP-B Heavy is used on the Strf 122 series, so naturally the answer would be found at IBD and Åkers Krutbruk Protection AB. The chosen armor package would be the AMAP-SC, which is specifically for shaped-charge projectiles, hence the SC in the name of the armor package. A Strf 9040B was chosen to be the testbed for this new armor package.
History:
The Stridsfordon 90 came to be as the Swedish army had a gap between APC’s and MBT’s. The idea was to create a vehicle that was able to defend itself in case it got into a difficult situation, but it needed to be able to take out heavy armor like MBT’s. Therefore, the Bofors L/70 40mm cannon was chosen to be the main weapon of choice, and an in-house chassis was made by Hägglund. And thus the Strf 90 was born, but it was quickly realised that the armor was not enough for the 90’s battlefield. Add-on armor was now on the table, as well as ERA, and multiple tests were conducted for what could be mounted and integrated on the Strf 90.
After the CV90 Mk.I saw action in Afghanistan with Norwegian troops, the threat of shaped-charge ammunition became real, and work began on finding a solution for the Strf 90 in Swedish service. Since AMAP-B was already in use with the export CV90 models, it was decided to see what IBD and Åkers Krutbruk Protection AB had to offer, and they had the AMAP-SC armor package. It was decided to test this on a Strf 9040B for trials.
Marketing material for AMAP-SC
Comparing this early-stage Strf 9040C Prototype to the production version of the Strf 9040C, there are some visual differences. There is no external machine gun, so on this version of the prototype, it had probably not been switched out to the newer one. The shape of the AMAP-SC on the left turret cheek and the armor package does not have the anti-slip applied. There are also protection bars or support bars connecting the front applique armor to the front corners. The vehicle has no smoke launcher either.
3/4 front view of the Stridsfordon 9040C Prototype
This prototype would later be revised, and some of these differences would be removed, making it look pretty much like the production C variant. The Strf 9040C would serve in Sweden, but it was the IFV to be sent out for peacekeeping, with it seeing service with Swedish units in the Middle East as well as with the UN in Africa.
Specifications
Armor:
The armor on the prototype is identical to that on the production version. You get the base armor of the Strf 90 but with the added protection of the AMAP-SC that the Strf 9040C already has in-game.
Chassis
Front: 20mm + AMAP-SC
Sides: 16 mm + AMAP-SC
Rear: 20 mm
Turret
Front: 20 mm + AMAP-SC
Sides: 20 mm + AMAP-SC
Rear: 20 mm
Crew:
Crew remains the same for this variant of the Strf 90, which means we have a commander, gunner, and driver all in their usual positions with the same optics and other utilities.
-
Commander
-
Gunner: Optics: 7.2x - 8.0x, Thermal imager, and Laser rangefinder
-
Driver: NVD
Armaments:
The armaments of this prototype are the same as the Strf 9040B we have in-game; it just lacks the smokes as mentioned earlier.
Main armament
The main armament is the Bofors L/70 40 mm automatic cannon derived from the anti-aircraft version of the Bofors 40 mm.
- Bofors L/70 40 mm
Ammunition:
It should have the same ammunition choices as the Strf 9040B in-game; most likely, when the prototype was presented, the slpprj m/01 was probably just in the testing stage.
- slpprj m/90
- slsgr m/90
- kulsgr m/90
Secondary armament
- 7.62 ksp 39 C
Mobility
The mobility would be the same as the Strf 9040C we have in-game. You would lose a few kilos as you do not have the smokelaunchers, but it wouldn’t be enough for you to notice any difference in-game.
Engine:
Scania V8 DSI 14 making 550 hp
Gearbox:
Perkins X-300-5N
- 4 forward gears
- 2 reverse gears
Speed:
- 70 km/h forward
- 45 km/h backward
Mass:
The weight of the vehicle should be almost identical to that of the Strf 9040C in-game. What would cause a small decrease in weight would be the exception of smoke launchers and the mounting for the external MG that the Strf 9040C has in-game. You could potentially lose maybe around 50 kilograms in total weight, which means it wouldn’t be noticeable.
- ≈28.5 tons
Power-to-Weight:
- ≈19.3 hp/t
Sources
Strf 9040C | War Thunder Wiki
Strf 9040B | War Thunder Wiki
Strf 9040
Projekt "Stridsfordon 90"
https://www.fht.nu/bilder/Flygvapnet/Organisation/fmv/publ/fmv_aktuellt/2002/fmv_aktuellt_02_2002.pdf
Advanced Modular Armor Protection - Wikipedia
Client Challenge
Stridsfordon 90 – Wikipedia
Militaria - Hans Högman
Stridsfordon | SPHF