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77-561: The M247 Sergeant York DIVAD (Division Air Defense) was a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG), developed by Ford Aerospace in the late 1970s. Based on the M48 Patton tank, it replaced the Patton's turret with a new one that featured twin radar -directed Bofors 40 mm rapid-fire guns. The vehicle was named after Sergeant Alvin York , a famous World War I hero. The Sergeant York

154-400: A 2 pounder ) on a truck. This was to prevent the weapon from being damaged by long-distance towing across rough, stony deserts, and it was intended only to be a carrying method, with the gun unloaded for firing. However, crews tended to fire their weapons from their vehicles for the mobility this method provided, with consequent casualties. This undoubtedly inspired their Morris C9/B (officially

231-690: A M3 Half-track . The British developed their own SPAAGs throughout the war mounting multiple machine guns and light cannon on various tank and armoured car chassis and by 1943, the Crusader AA tanks , which mounted the Bofors 40 mm gun or two-three Oerlikon 20 mm cannon . Although used during the Normandy landings, by that point German aircraft were contained by the Allies own air forces and they were largely unneeded. The introduction of jet engines and

308-495: A business decision, not a technical one. While the 35 mm round was already a widely accepted NATO standard and was technically well respected, Ford had a marketing agreement with Bofors . Journalist Gregg Easterbrook later commented on the politicized nature of the contest. However, the Bofors 40 mm L/70 cannon also had worldwide popularity and had become NATO standard back in the mid-1950s. In addition, FACC had developed

385-530: A cheap way to counter unmanned aerial systems (drones), cruise missiles, and ultralight aircraft. Anti-aircraft machine guns have long been mounted on trucks, and these were quite common during World War I . A predecessor of the WWII German "88" anti-aircraft gun, the WWI German 77 mm anti-aircraft gun, was truck-mounted and used to great effect against British tanks. The British QF 3 inch 20 cwt

462-459: A further 2% of the time and have had an 8% inoperable rate." He later stated that the "gun still had problems with software and electronic countermeasures, but my sensing was that it was certainly no worse than many weapon systems at this period in their gestation". In spite of the bad press and development problems, the Army continued to press for the system's deployment as they had no other system in

539-482: A laser range finder for manual engagements. Ford Aerospace 's entry was based around the Bofors 40 mm L/70 cannons, twin-mounted in the center of the turret in a fashion similar to the General Dynamics entry. The relatively large and boxy turret also mounted separate long-range search and short-range tracking radars on top. The radars were mounted on booms to give them a clear view of the sky, and both had

616-415: A lengthy burst of shells the drone was knocked off target. As it flew out of control, the range safety officer had it destroyed by remote control. This was interpreted by the press as an attempt to "fake" the results, describing it as "sophomoric deceits". From that point on, every test success was written off as faked. The OT&E concluded that the gun could perform the mission as originally specified, but

693-806: A missile-based system to fill the same niche. This led to the Oerlikon Canada ADATS system, which suffered problems of its own and entered service only in the Canadian Army . The niche was eventually filled by the M6 Linebacker , an adaptation of the M2 with Stinger missiles. Although far less capable than the ADATS missile, the Linebacker is able to keep up with mobile heavy forces. The Linebacker has been retired from active service, while

770-549: A number of "off-the-shelf" parts. Colonel Russell Parker testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee in March 1977 that "We expect this somewhat unorthodox approach to permit a much reduced development time, thus resulting in an earliest fielding date, albeit with higher but acceptable risks... the manufacturer will be required by the fixed price warranty provisions, to correct deficiencies." It

847-562: A period of time to allow them to lock on, limiting its ability to deal with quickly moving targets. Both vehicles were optionally supported by the AN/MPQ-49 Forward Area Alerting Radar (FAAR), but this system was towed by the Gama Goat and could not be used near the front lines . The pair of weapons was, at best, a nuisance to the enemy and had limited performance against modern aircraft. At one point

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924-588: A proximity-sensing round for the 40 mm, which increased probability of a kill, and the shell carried either a greater explosive charge or higher deadweight mass than the smaller anti-aircraft platforms. These factors would be important in the primary scenario for which the DIVAD was to be deployed, that being the large-theater land operations vs the Warsaw Pact . On 13 January 1978, General Dynamics and Ford were given development contracts for one prototype each,

1001-420: A quickly-traversing turret with a high rate of elevation, for tracking fast-moving aircraft. They are often in dual or quadruple mounts, allowing a high rate of fire. In addition, most anti-aircraft guns can be used in a direct-fire role against surface targets to great effect. Today, surface-to-air missiles (generally mounted on similar turrets) have largely supplanted anti-aircraft guns, but they may return as

1078-450: A range of about five miles. However, Mauler proved to be beyond the state-of-the-art and ran into intractable problems during development. Realizing it was not going to enter service any time soon, it was downgraded to a technology demonstration program in 1963, and eventually canceled outright in 1965. Still lacking an effective anti-aircraft system, the Army started development of two stop-gap systems that were meant to operate in concert as

1155-549: A system based on their older Vigilante gun, modified to fire the 35 mm round from the Oerlikon KDA series, widely used in NATO in the anti-aircraft role. The gun could be fired at 3,000 rounds per minute for anti-aircraft use, or 180 rounds per minute for use against ground targets, fed from a 1,464-round magazine. The aluminium turret was topped by two radars and an IFF system, all from Sperry. General Electric entered

1232-598: A version with a small turret mounting their 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger cannon from the A-10 Thunderbolt II . It included a single search/track radar adapted from the earlier FAAR, although they later suggested an improved system. Raytheon proposed using the turret from the Dutch version of the German Flakpanzer Gepard . Most of the turret remained the same as the original Gepard, including

1309-809: Is a lightweight early warning radar system consisting of the AN/TPQ-43 radar, AN/TPX-50 Mark XII IFF receiver, a 5 kW generator set, and a Gama Goat providing mobility. FAAR was developed by the US Army in the 1960s to support their field anti-aircraft weapons, the M48 Chaparral and M163 Vulcan Air Defense System , deployed through the 1970s and 80's, and retired from active service in 1991. FAAR units have been used for drug trafficking surveillance in Palm Beach , and since September 1991, offered for sale to foreign users. The AN/TPQ-43 radar

1386-1321: Is more limited. The U.S. Army did use the M163 VADS and developed the prototype design of the M247 Sergeant York . Modern SPAAGs usually have short-range missiles for longer range engagement. The Pantsir system from Russia is primarily a missile battery, although it does have twin cannons as secondary armament. Some examples of modern SPAAG: 2 × FN-6A — 4 × QW-2 IR missiles 4 × FN-6 IR missiles PGL-XX (Code name 625) 4 to 8 × FN-16 (for PGZ 625E ) Thales A3B-T programmed telescoped ammunition (Israeli Aircraft Industries) 4 × FIM-92 Stinger — (Consortium Iveco OTO Melara ) "OTO Main Anti-aircraft Tank for Intercept and Combat" "Maneuver Short Range Air Defense" 1 M240 (7.62mm) 4 × FIM-92 Stinger 2 × AGM-114L Hellfire 7.62 × 51 mm — — (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) HEI ammunition MADIS RWS "Marine Air Defense Integrated System US Marine Corps Ground Based Air Defense" AN/MPQ-49 Forward Area Alerting Radar The AN/MPQ-49 Forward Area Alerting Radar ( FAAR )

1463-664: The M1097 Avenger HMMWV-based Stinger-equipped systems have been downsized. Most of the production Sergeants York ended up as targets on air force bombing ranges. However, one is on display at the Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park in Pall Mall, TN where its namesake hailed from, one is in the Wahner E. Brooks Historical Exhibit at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Grounds, AZ, another is located at

1540-640: The MIM-72 Chaparral missile system, which combined the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile with a more heavily modified version of the M113 chassis. The Chaparral's AIM-9D missiles were capable of tail-chase launches only, but offered ranges up to five miles (8.0 km). Also using an all-optical firing system, the Chaparral nevertheless required the operator to "settle" the missiles on the target for

1617-628: The Royal Siamese Army , a SPAAG based on the chassis of the Dragon, Medium, Mark IV artillery tractor ( Vickers Mk.E 6-ton light tank derivative), mounting a revolving Vickers 40 mm QF 2 pounder pom-pom autocannon in an open fighting compartment. About 26 were sold to Siam in 1932 and saw action as infantry support guns and AA guns during the Franco-Thai war (1940–1941) along with 30 Vickers Mk.E Type B 6-ton tanks. Despite being

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1694-577: The Vietnam War when its replacement never arrived. The first proposed replacement for the Duster was the Sperry Vigilante , which referred to the six-barreled 37 mm Gatling gun proposed as the basis for a new SPAAG. Although the gun was extremely powerful, at some point in the late 1950s the Army decided that all gun-based systems were out of date. The next proposed replacement for

1771-784: The "Carrier, SP, 4x4, 40 mm AA"), a Bofors 40 mm AA gun mounted on a chassis derived from the Morris "Quad" Field Artillery Tractor truck. Similar types, based on 3-ton lorries, were produced in Britain, Canada and Australia, and together formed the most numerous self-propelled AA guns in British service. The U.S. Army brought truck-towed Bofors 40 mm AA guns along with truck-mounted units fitted with mechanized turrets when they sailed, first for Great Britain and then onto France. The turrets carried four .50 inch (12.7 mm) machine guns, which were designed to be adjusted to converge at

1848-542: The "Chaparral-Vulcan Air Defense System". The M163 VADS combined the M61 Vulcan cannon, the M113 chassis, and an all-optical fire control system with a simple lead-computing gunsight. Suitable for "snap shots" against nearby targets, the VADS system was equipped only with a small ranging radar for the gunsight, its firing range being too small to justify a larger tracking radar. VADS was intended to operate in concert with

1925-680: The 29-month Phase One trial, Ford's entry was selected as the winner of the DIVADs contest on 7 May 1981, and given a fixed-price $ 6.97 billion development and initial production contract for deliveries at various rates. The system was officially named M247 Sergeant York when the contract was awarded. The decision was controversial, as the General Dynamics entry had "outscored" the Ford design consistently in testing, nineteen "kills" to nine by most accounts. Ford's prototype vehicle started demonstrating problems almost immediately. The main concerns had to do with

2002-557: The 3,000 to 5,000 metres (3,300 to 5,500 yd) range of the 9K114. While the Chaparral had enough range to engage the "Hind", its lengthy lock-on period meant the Hind would have hit its target and hidden behind terrain again before the Sidewinder would reach it. Additionally, the older Sidewinder missiles used on the Chaparral homed in on exhaust, and had limited capability against helicopters faced head-on. The limited effectiveness of

2079-726: The A7V Flakpanzer. Between the two World Wars, the United Kingdom developed the Birch gun , a general-purpose artillery piece on an armoured tracked chassis capable of maintaining formation with their current tanks over terrain. The gun could be elevated for anti-aircraft use. The first tracked SPAAG-design to be manufactured in series was most likely the British/Siamese Vickers Armstrong "Type 76" (per Buddhist year 2476 = 1933 CE), as named by

2156-856: The AAF Museum in Danville, VA , one at the Fort Snelling Military Museum in Minneapolis, MN (now closed), and one located at the Arkansas National Guard Museum at Camp Robinson , North Little Rock, Arkansas . The M247 Sergeant York was referenced in the movie " Pentagon Wars ", where it, along with other Army projects, such as the Paveway Laser Guided Bomb, is severely criticised for its lack of success in testing, despite

2233-482: The Army developed the "Advanced Radar-directed Gun Air Defense System" (ARGADS) requirement for a new weapon system combining the reaction speed of the Vulcan with the range of the Chaparral, and placing them on a chassis that could keep up with the new tanks in combat. They also worked in the earlier FLIR/laser requirement. The system was later renamed "Division Air Defense" (DIVAD). At the time, most U.S. military policy

2310-516: The Army started to become concerned about developments in sensor technologies that would allow attacks by fixed-wing aircraft at night or in bad weather. They developed a requirement for a weapon system able to operate using FLIR and a laser rangefinder in order to counter these threats. However, the rest of the military establishment disapproved of the idea; even the US Air Force was able to carry out only limited operations in bad weather, and

2387-402: The DIVAD's problems, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger ordered a $ 54 million series of battlefield-condition tests. Congress authorized production money to keep the program alive through a test-fix-test cycle but with a caveat; the funds would be released only if Weinberger certified that the gun "meets or exceeds the performance specifications of its contract." The tests were monitored by

M247 Sergeant York - Misplaced Pages Continue

2464-408: The Duster was the ambitious MIM-46 Mauler missile system. Mauler mounted a nine-missile magazine on top of an adapted M113 Armored Personnel Carrier chassis, along with detection and tracking radars. Mauler featured a completely automatic fire control system, with the operators simply selecting targets and pressing "OK". It would be able to respond to low-flying high-speed targets at any angle out to

2541-696: The M24 and vehicles on the same chassis were retired, the turrets were taken from the M19s, modified and mounted onto the M41 Walker Bulldog light tank chassis to produce the M42 Duster . While capable for the era it was designed in, by the time it reached widespread service in the late 1950s it was clear that it was ineffective against high-speed jet-powered targets. The Duster was completely removed from service by 1963, only to be re-introduced briefly during

2618-455: The Pentagon's new Director, Operational Test and Evaluation Office (DOT&E), mandated by Congress in 1983 to serve as an independent watchdog. The tests were carried out late in 1984. The results were abysmal. When the gun proved unable to hit drones moving even in a straight line, the tests were relaxed to hovering targets. The radar proved unable to lock even to this target, as the return

2695-958: The Soviet/Russian Tunguska-M1 , which supplanted the ZSU-23 in service, the newer versions of the Gepard, the Chinese Type 95 SPAAA , and the British Marksman turret , which can be used on a wide variety of platforms. Some forces, like the US Army and USMC have mostly forgone self-propelled guns in favor of systems with short-range infrared-guided surface-to-air missiles in the AN/TWQ-1 Avenger and M6 Linebacker , which do not require radar to be accurate and are generally more reliable and cost-effective to field, though their ability to provide ground support

2772-652: The Soviets had a considerably less capable force in this regard. The idea gained little traction and died. During the late 1960s the combination of the helicopter and anti-tank missiles improved to the point where they became a major threat to armoured operations. The U.S. led the field with their TOW missile on the UH-1 Iroquois , demonstrating this powerful combination in combat in the Vietnam War's 1972 Easter Offensive . The Soviets initially lagged behind

2849-570: The Soviets were widely introducing the ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" SPAAG, which was cause for some concern after it appeared in the Middle East. Israeli pilots attempting to avoid fire from Syrian SA-6 batteries would fly low, directly into the Shilka's envelope. Several aircraft were lost or damaged. The Shilka proved that a modern SPAAG was effective against modern aircraft. For all of these reasons,

2926-559: The U.S., but the introduction of the 9K114 Shturm missile on the Mil Mi-24 (called the "Hind" by NATO) in the 1970s offered the USSR a level of parity. Unlike fixed-wing aircraft, attack helicopters had the ability to loiter near the front behind cover and pick their targets. They would then "pop up", launch a missile, and return to cover as soon as the missile hit its target. Using fast-reacting wire-guided or radio-command missiles meant

3003-537: The Vulcan/Chaparral was not the only problem the US Army was facing in the late 1970s. At the time they were also in the process of introducing the new M1 Abrams and M2 Bradley vehicles, which had dramatically improved cross-country performance. The M113-based Vulcan and Chaparral could not keep up with them on the advance, which would leave the new vehicles open to attack in a fast moving front. Finally,

3080-718: The XM246 and XM247 respectively, to be delivered to Fort Bliss in June 1980. On schedule, both companies delivered their prototypes to the North McGregor Test Facility and head-to-head testing began. The shoot-off was delayed for two months "because the prototypes which arrived at Fort Bliss test range were too technically immature." In the DT/OT II test series they shot down two F-86 Sabre fighters, five UH-1 Huey helicopters and twenty-one smaller drones. After

3157-572: The ability to be folded down to reduce the vehicle's height during travel. The tracking radar was a modified version of the Westinghouse AN/APG-66 from the F-16 Fighting Falcon . Like the General Dynamics entry, it also mounted a complete optical sighting and ranging system. The radar was a modified AN/APG-68 with an AN/APG-66 transmitter. Some critics claim that Ford's use of the 40 mm Bofors appears to have been

M247 Sergeant York - Misplaced Pages Continue

3234-496: The aircraft will have moved hundreds of meters during the flight time of the shells, greatly complicating the aiming problem to the point where close passes were essentially impossible to aim using manual gunsights. This speed also allowed the aircraft to rapidly fly out of range of the guns; even if the aircraft passes directly over the SPAAG, it would be within its firing radius for under 30 seconds. SPAAG development continued through

3311-403: The early 1950s with ever-larger guns, improving the range and allowing the engagement to take place at longer distances where the crossing angle was smaller and aiming was easier. Examples including the 40 mm U.S. M42 Duster and the 57 mm Soviet ZSU-57-2 . However, both were essentially obsolete before they entered service, and found employment solely in the ground-support role. The M42

3388-406: The early models was reported to have locked onto a latrine fan, mistaking its return for a moving target of low-priority. Reporting on the incident in another article on the vehicle's woes, Washington Monthly reported that "Michael Duffy, a reporter for the industry publication Defense Week , who broke this aspect of the story, received a conference call in which Ford officials asked him to describe

3465-683: The first tracked SPAAG en masse, the open-top design of the Vickers Type 76 made it outdated even by the early 1930s. The first modern SPAAG to be produced was most likely the Swedish Landsverk L-62 Anti in 1936, featuring a tracked armoured body with a revolving turret, a so-called anti-aircraft tank . It was based on a widened chassis of the Landsverk L-60 light tank and was armed with a Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60 in an open-top revolving turret. The design

3542-432: The gun to acquire a target and start firing within five seconds (later extended to eight) of it becoming visible or coming into its 3,000 m range, and had to have a 50% chance of hitting a target with a 30-round burst. In addition to all-weather capability, it also needed to have optical aiming capabilities, including a FLIR and laser rangefinder. Several companies responded to the DIVADs contest. Sperry Rand entered

3619-434: The guns at the review stands, causing several minor injuries as members of the group jumped for cover. Technicians worked on the problem, and the system was restarted. This time it started shooting toward the target, but fired into the ground 300 metres (980 ft) in front of the tank. In spite of several attempts to get it working properly, the vehicle never successfully engaged the sample targets. A Ford manager claimed that

3696-400: The helicopters would often be within range of the guns for a rapid counterattack. Notable among these later systems is the German Gepard , the first western SPAAG to offer performance equal to or better than the ZSU. This system was widely copied in various NATO forces. SPAAG development continues, with many modern examples often combining both guns and short-range missiles. Examples include

3773-544: The long and expensive efforts put forth. Non-NATO: Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun Specific weapon systems used include machine guns , autocannons , larger guns, or surface-to-air missiles , and some mount both guns and longer-ranged missiles (e.g. the Pantsir-S1 ). Platforms used include both trucks and heavier combat vehicles such as armoured personnel carriers and tanks , which add protection from aircraft, artillery, and small arms fire for front line deployment. Anti-aircraft guns are usually mounted in

3850-412: The most surprising problem was that the 30-year-old M48 chassis with the new 20-ton turret meant the vehicle had trouble keeping pace with the newer M1 and M2, the vehicles it was meant to protect. In February 1982 the prototype was demonstrated for a group of US and British officers at Fort Bliss, along with members of Congress and other VIPs. When the computer was activated, it immediately started aiming

3927-421: The pipeline to replace it. To add to the problems, another generation of Soviet helicopter and missile designs was pushing their envelope out to 6,000 metres (6,600 yd), rendering DIVADs ineffective at long range. In response, the Army announced it would consider adding the Stinger missile to the DIVAD system, leading to even more cries about its ineffectiveness. As Washington became increasingly fed up with

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4004-410: The presence of SAMs forced aircraft to fly low to avoid their radars, placing them within range of the ZSUs. The success of the ZSU-23 led to a resurgence of SPAAG development. This was also prompted by the introduction of attack helicopters in the 1970s, which could hide behind terrain and then "pop up" for an attack lasting only a few tens of seconds; missiles were ineffective at low altitudes, while

4081-444: The problems were due to the vehicle being washed for the demonstration and fouling the electronics. In a report on the test, Easterbrook jokingly wondered if it ever rained in central Europe. In February 1984 the Defense Department sent a "cure-notice" censuring Ford Aerospace for numerous "totally unacceptable" delays in the program. In March 1984 the Army took delivery, six months late, of the first production model for testing. One of

4158-412: The required 90%. On 27 August 1985, Weinberger killed the project after about 50 vehicles had been produced. He said, "the tests demonstrated that while there are marginal improvements that can be made in the York gun, they are not worth the additional cost-so we will not invest any more funds in the system." Noting that canceling the project did not imply a lack of need, he started the process of studying

4235-410: The shelf technologies that were intended to allow rapid and low-cost development, a series of technical problems and massive cost overruns resulted in the cancelation of the project in 1985. The first effective SPAAG in U.S. Army service was the all-manual M19 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage , which consisted of twin 40 mm L60 Bofors guns based on the same chassis as used for the M24 Chaffee . When

4312-500: The single point where enemy aircraft were expected to appear at low altitude in conduction of strafing runs directed at large infantry and field artillery units. Interest in mobile AA turned to heavier vehicles with the mass and stability needed to easily train weapons of all sizes. Probably the desire, particularly in German service, for anti-aircraft vehicles to be armoured for their own protection also assisted this trend. The concept of using armored SPAAG (anti-aircraft tanks) en masse

4389-459: The subsequent rough doubling of aircraft speeds greatly reduced the effectiveness of the SPAAG against attack aircraft. A typical SPAAG round might have a muzzle velocity on the order of 1,000 metres per second (3,300 ft/s) and might take as long as two to three seconds to reach a target at its maximum range. An aircraft flying at 1,000 kilometres per hour (620 mph) is moving at a rate of about 280 metres per second (920 ft/s). This means

4466-402: The target as a 'building fan' or 'exhaust fan' instead." Nevertheless, the program's manager within the Army was cautiously positive. Major General Maloney said, "The DIVAD battery-eight systems plus one spare-activated 1 November 1984, at Fort Bliss to prepare for tests, has been demonstrating 90% reliability for full systems capability. The systems have been able to operate in a degraded manner

4543-441: The tests also showed that the system had considerable reliability problems, many as the result of trying to adapt a radar system developed for aircraft to the ground role. Initial production tests run from December 1984 to May 1985 turned up a continued variety of problems, failing 22 of 163 contract requirements, and 22 serious failures in operational readiness. Contrary to the Army's earlier reports, OT&E Director Jack Krings said

4620-405: The tests showed, "the SGT YORK was not operationally effective in adequately protecting friendly forces during simulated combat, even though its inherent capabilities provided improvement over the current [General Electric] Vulcan gun system. The SGT YORK was not operationally suitable because of its low availability during the tests." They measured the availability of the system at 33%, as opposed to

4697-422: The time of the war, they fielded the Sd.Kfz. 10/4 and Sd.Kfz. 6/2 , cargo half-tracks mounting single 20 mm or 37 mm AA guns (respectively). Later in the war similar German half-tracks mounted quadruple 20 mm weapons . Larger guns followed on larger trucks, but these mountings generally required off-truck setup in order to unlimber the stabilizing legs these guns needed. One exception to this rule

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4774-497: The total engagement time was kept to a minimum, as there was little or no "lock-on" time required; the operator simply fired as soon as they were clear of the terrain, and then adjusted the missile's flight path onto the target while it flew. Against these aircraft, the Vulcan/Chaparral combination was effectively useless. The Vulcan could react quickly enough to the fleeting targets, but its 20 mm gun had an effective range of only about 1,200 metres (1,300 yd), far shorter than

4851-442: The tracking radar, which demonstrated considerable problems with ground clutter. In testing, it was unable to distinguish between helicopters and trees. When the guns were pointed upward to fire on high-angle targets, the barrels projected into the radar's line of sight and further confused the system. Additionally, the reaction time was far too slow; against hovering helicopters it was 10 to 11 seconds, but against high-speed targets it

4928-439: The turret as in the Gepard. They could be fired in either the automatic or semiautomatic mode, and their combined rate of fire was 1,100 rounds per minute from a 600-round magazine. The radar and fire control systems were derived from their Phalanx CIWS system, with the tracking radar mounted on the front of the turret, beside the guns, and the search radar on top. The turret also included independently stabilized optical sights and

5005-418: The twin 35 mm Oerlikon KDA cannons, but used Hollandse Signaalapparaten radars and an Oerlikon Contraves fire-control computer. Raytheon demonstrated that the turret, although designed for the Leopard 1 , could be mounted on the M48 with some adaptation. General Dynamics ' entry also mounted twin Oerlikon KDA cannons, but mounted them side by side in a new aluminum turret, as opposed to either side of

5082-461: Was based on the US Air Force quickly gaining air superiority and holding it throughout a conflict. In keeping with this, the Army had previously placed relatively low priority on anti-aircraft weapons. This gave them time to mature through testing and shakedowns. In the case of DIVADs the threat was considered so serious and rapidly developing that the Army decided to skip the traditional development period and try to go straight into production by using

5159-414: Was bought by Hungary just prior to the war and Finland ordered a refined model in 1941, known as the Anti II . By the late 1930s, the British had developed a version of the Mk.VI Light Tank armed with four machine guns that were known as Light Tank AA Mk.I, and also a twin 15 mm version based on the Light Tank Mk.V was built. Among early pre-war pioneers of self-propelled AA guns were the Germans. By

5236-449: Was claimed that this would cut up to five years from the development cycle, although it would require problems to be found in service and fixed on the operational vehicles. Colonel Parker unveiled the DIVAD plan to 49 industry representatives on 18 May 1977. The DIVAD's requirement demanded that the entrants be based on the M48 Patton tank chassis, provided by the Army, which were held in large quantities in surplus depots. DIVAD called for

5313-586: Was from 11 to 19, far too long to take a shot. The RAM-D (reliability, availability, maintainability and durability) tests ran from November 1981 to February 1982, demonstrating a wide range of operation concerns. The turret proved to have too slow a traverse to track fast moving targets, and had serious problems operating in cold weather, including numerous hydraulic leaks. The simple electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) suite could be defeated by only minor jamming. The used guns taken from U.S. Army stock were in twisted condition due to careless warehousing. Perhaps

5390-448: Was generally held by many forces, and the anti-aircraft role turned almost exclusively to missile systems. The Soviet Union remained an outlier, beginning the development of a new SPAAG in 1957, which emerged as the ZSU-23-4 in 1965. This system included search-and-track radars, fire control, and automatic gun-laying, greatly increasing its effectiveness against modern targets. The ZSU-23 proved very effective when used in concert with SAMs;

5467-412: Was intended to fight alongside the M1 Abrams and M2 Bradley in the U.S. Army , in a role similar to the Soviet ZSU-23-4 and German Flakpanzer Gepard . It would replace the M163 Vulcan Air Defense System SPAAG and MIM-72 Chaparral missile, ad hoc systems of limited performance that had been introduced when the more advanced MIM-46 Mauler missile failed to mature. Despite the use of many off

5544-507: Was introduced to the Vietnam War to counter an expected North Vietnamese air offensive, but when this failed to materialize it was used as an effective direct-fire weapon. The ZSU-57 found similar use in the Yugoslav Wars , where its high-angle fire was useful in the mountainous terrain. By the late 1950s, the US Army had given up on the SPAAG concept, considering all gun-based weapons to be useless against modern aircraft. This belief

5621-463: Was mounted on a boom that extended upward from the rear of the Gama Goat's trailer. It is a pulse doppler radar that operates in the D band and has a range of about 20 km. Data from the radar was generally not used at the radar site itself, but broadcast over FM radio to the "Target Alerting Data Display Set" (TADDS), a small battery-powered receiver and display unit. Field units, including

5698-579: Was mounted on trucks for use on the Western Front . The British also had a first dedicated anti aircraft weapon, the QF 1-pounder pom-pom . Mounted on an armoured truck titled the Pierce-Arrow armoured AA lorry , which was produced in limited numbers and only seeing service throughout 1915. Towards the end of the war Germany produced three prototype SPAAGs with AA guns mounted on A7V chassis known as

5775-591: Was pioneered by Hungary during World War II with the production of the 40M Nimrod , a license-produced version of the previously mentioned late 1930s Landsverk L-62 Anti I SPAAG. Germany followed later with their " Flakpanzer " series. German World War II SPAAGs include the Möbelwagen , Wirbelwind , Ostwind and Kugelblitz . Other forces followed with designs of their own, notably the American M16 created by mounting quadruple M2HB Browning machine guns on

5852-490: Was the Italian Cannone da 90/53 which was highly effective when mounted on trucks, a fit known as the " autocannoni da 90/53 ". The 90/53 was a feared weapon, notably in the anti-tank role, but only a few hundred had been produced by the time of the armistice in 1943. Other nations tended to work on truck chassis. Starting in 1941, the British developed the "en portee " method of mounting an anti-tank gun (initially

5929-416: Was too small. The testers then started adding radar reflectors to the drone to address this "problem", eventually having to add four. Easterbrook, still covering the ongoing debacle, described this as being similar to demonstrating the abilities of a bloodhound by having it find a man standing alone in the middle of an empty parking lot, covered with steaks. The system now tracked the drone, and after firing

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