Terrängbil 16 LEMUR

RycotSS · September 5, 2024, 6:27pm

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Terrängbil 16 LEMUR

Summary

The Terrängbil 16 LEMUR, commonly called “Galten”, is a prototype/demonstration vehicle made by BAE Systems Bofors to promote their LEMUR RWS. It is based on the prototype vehicle for the Terrängbil 16 series of armoured cars and is armed with a singular 30 mm chain gun which is also used by the Apache. It can be placed in the tech tree as either an armoured car with HEDP or as an SPAA with HE-VT, although the second option would be sort of ahistorical.

History

As Sweden required a new armoured car to replace their ageing ones, they decided to procure the South African RG-32M which came to be known as the “Terrängbil 16” (abbreviated to Tgb 16). However, these vehicles did have to go through modifications to be able to operate without issues in an arctic and subarctic climate as they had been designed to operate in the temperate South African environment. On the 19th of May 2005, the prototype for these vehicles for these modifications was given the name “Personterrängbil 6” and carried the licence plate 65480.

Later in 2007, BAE Systems Bofors successfully finished the development of their new LEMUR family of remote weapons stations. They initially saw some international interest in their product from countries like Denmark which ended in a $50 million deal for the Danish army to procure a variant of the LEMUR RWS. After which, not much happened with interest for the RWS, and BAE Systems Bofors needed some new marketing material for it. As such, they loaned the aforementioned Terrängbil 16 prototype with the licence plate 65480 from Försvarsmakten which they then mounted the LEMUR RWS on. This vehicle was then used for firing trials where the LEMUR RWS was fitted with a new weapon that had never been fitted to it before, the M230LF made by Northrop Grumman.

After the firing trials were done, it is unknown what happened to this vehicle. Although it probably got reverted into the original vehicle before being placed in a shed somewhere. Sometime between 2009 and 2021 (possibly a lot earlier than 2021 as 2021 was just the earliest date I found. 2011 is the earliest possible year), the very same Terrängbil 16 with the licence plate 65480 was put up as a display item at the Swedish tank museum “Arsenalen”, although without the LEMUR RWS on its roof.

Tgb 16 “65480” currently on display at Arsenalen

Features

Weapons

The weapons carried by the Terrängbil 16 LEMUR is the LEMUR remote weapons station made by BAE Systems Bofors. This RWS is not standalone but rather a family of systems where each and everyone are highly customizable in features such as sensors, weapons, and smoke. The one fitted on this vehicle however lacks any smoke but has a laser rangefinder and a thermal sight. It is possible that it possesses some kind of IRST which would make it a much better SPAA, but I have yet to see any proof of it. This RWS is then fitted with the M230LF chain gun made by Northrop Grumman. This is the same gun as the one on the Apache helicopters, but with some slight modifications to be used in a ground-based role. It can fire four different types of ammunition: M789 HEDP, M799 HEI, XM1198 HEDP-SP, and XM1211 HE-VT. It shall not be ignored however that the development or planning of XM1198 and XM1211 had not even started by the time that this vehicle existed and whilst this vehicle can certainly fire them if they existed at the same time as this vehicle, this vehicle never used them due to the time difference.

M230LF

Hull

The hull of the Terrängbil 16 LEMUR is the South African 4x4 named RG32M produced by BAE Land Systems OMC which in turn is the military version of the RG32 Scout. It is rated as STANAG Level 1 in protection against ballistic projectiles and explosives. The general construction of the vehicle also makes it highly resistant to troop mines and IEDs which could help against getting killed by overpressure. The combination of this and a Central Tire Inflation System (CTIS) makes this vehicle surprisingly resilient for what it is. It also features outstanding mobility due to its lightweight construction yet powerful engine and transmission which is combined with an automatic engine fire suppression system that should let you put out the fire without disabling the entire vehicle for a few seconds like how it is with the current system in War Thunder.

Tgb 16 LEMUR moving on the firing range

In War Thunder

How this vehicle would function in the game would depend largely on a single factor, if it will be given the XM1211 HE-VT ammunition or not. If it is given, then it would be able to be a quite useful SPAA to bridge the large gap in the Swedish SPAA line. This would though be a semi-historical addition as the Terrängbil 16 LEMUR never fired this ammunition, however, the gun (and possibly the FCS) fully supports the use of this round. The same is the case for the XM1198 HEDP-SP although it would not have as big of an impact on the capabilities of this vehicle as the XM1211 round. If it is not given XM1211 then it would largely be an armoured car with an insanely good FCS and the Apaches gun with a reduced fire rate.

Specifications

General:

Crew: 2
- Driver
- Commander / Gunner
Weight: 6920 kg (Without RWS)
Height: 2,8 m (Without RWS)
Width: 2,21 m
Length: 5,05 m (5,32 m with reserve tire on the back)
Ground clearance: 437 mm
Wheelbase: 2,9 m
Protection: NATO AEP-55 STANAG 4569 Level 1
Automatic engine fire suppression system

Mobility:

Top speed: 120 km/h
Gradient: 30,96°
Side slope: 21,8°
Fording: 0,8 m
Vertical obstacle: 0,35 m
Turning radius: 17 m
Trench: 0,5 m
Engine: Steyr-Daimler-Puch M16 3,2l 6-cylinder:
- 181 hp at 3800 rpm
- 215 hp at 4000 rpm without VEC (Vehicle Emissions Control)
- 420 Nm at 1800 rpm
Transmission: Allison 1000 SP:
- Automatic
- 5 forward gears
- 1 reverse gear
CTIS which lets the vehicle keep running for up to a kilometre with one or more tires punctured.

Weapons:

LEMUR RWS:
- M230LF / XM914:
- Calibre: 30 x 113 mm
- Weight: 72,6 kg
- Length: 2181 mm
- Height: 288,8 mm
- Width: 277,2 mm
- Fire-rate: 200 rpm
- Recoil: 28 022 N
- Ammunition:
  - M789, HEDP (Same ammo as on the Apaches)
  - M799, HEI
  - XM1198, HEDP-SD (Same as M789 but it self destructs)
  - XM1211, HE-VT
- Dual-axis stabilisation
- Laser rangefinder
- Thermal imaging
- Magazine size: Unknown *
Ammo count: Unknown

The American M-SHORAD which uses the same gun uses ammunition boxes which contain 72 rounds each. It is possible that the magazine size on this vehicle is roughly the same based on how big the box looks.