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Hello everyone :), what I would like to introduce today is XM-246 anti-air tank.
In the late 1970s, the M163 and MIM-72 in the United States were already outdated at that time. Therefore, the US Army requested the development of a new self-propelled anti-aircraft gun to replace them. The project was initially called the “Advanced Radar Guided Artillery Air Defense System” (ARGADS), later renamed “Division Air Defense” (DIVAD). The project required the use of tank chassis to carry powerful anti-aircraft guns, so that they could provide the necessary anti-aircraft firepower to accompany the Army’s air defense.
At that time, the project required the use of existing M48 tanks as chassis to carry anti-aircraft guns, so many companies proposed their own solutions. General Dynamics provided XM246 as one of them, and the well-known M247 was also competing in the project The turret system of XM246 is similar to Gepard, but the weapon positions are not on either side of the turret, but are arranged side by side in the center of the turret.
The radar and fire control system of this turret come from CIWS. The search radar is installed in a mushroom like device on the top of the turret, while the tracking radar is installed on the right side of the gun. In order to improve combat efficiency, the turret also includes independent and stable optical sights and laser rangefinders for manual combat. The entire turret is made of aluminum metal.
The project was ultimately screened out, leaving only XM246 and XM247, and the two companies quickly manufactured test vehicles based on their own design schemes. After the shooting target experiment, their ultimate winner was M247. Despite being highly advanced, the DIVAD project was ultimately forced to be cancelled due to various issues that prevented large-scale production.
XM246 is a high-performance self-propelled anti-aircraft gun equipped with two 35mm KDA machine guns, which have full power against air and ground, and can effectively shoot down enemy aircraft and destroy lightly armored targets. The chassis uses an M48 tank, which has good passability and maneuverability, and sufficient ammunition reserves. He has a radar search system, so it is recommended to place him on BR 8.3.
- Crew：3
- Main weapon：2 × 35mm KDA auto gun（600 rounds）
- Ammo：HEI、API、APDS
- Secondary weapon：M60 machine gun（1000 rounds）
- Engine：AV-1790-5B（750hp）
- Max speed：45km/h
- Maximum travel: 463 kilometers
- Vehicle protection: homogeneous steel armor
- Auxiliary equipment: laser rangefinder, NVD, smoke bomb launcher
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