LAV-AD
Contents
Description
In September 1982, the United States Marine Corps (USMC) adopted General Motors' submission in the LAV (Light Armored Vehicle) program as the LAV-25 in order to improve the strategic mobility of the USMC divisions. With enhanced mobility, there was a concern of these units out-speeding the anti-aircraft defense units, especially against short-range, low-altitude aircraft. As such, in 1991, the USMC sought for a low-altitude air defence system capable of supporting a rapidly moving LAV (also known as Light Armored Infantry (LAI)) battalion. The LAV-25 was chosen as the basis to keep pace with the unit, and configuration tests began in 1992 with a rapid-firing rotary cannon and Stinger missiles. By 1996, the Light Armored Vehicle - Air Defence (LAV-AD) was put into production and the USMC received 17 units by 1997.
Introduced in Update "Wind of Change", the LAV-AD meets the expectation set in its name. It is a lightly armoured vehicle intended for air defence. As such, the armour is basically non-existent, with even heavy machine guns having the capability of penetrating through the side armour. However, the LAV-AD has the provisions to provide close air defence with its Stinger missiles and rotary cannon. The Stinger missile helps reach out to far away enemy targets, ideally under 3 km away for the best effect of either hitting the target or tracking it enough that the enemy is forced to perform evasive manoeuvres that may break off their attack run. If the enemy closes within the Stinger's minimal arming distance, the rotary cannon could help provide the last-ditch effort to knock down the enemy aircraft before it can destroy the LAV-AD or its teammates. For a more ground-attack based role, the LAV-AD can also be equipped with M247 rocket pods in place of its Stinger missiles to complement its HVAP ammo belt that could help take care of lightly armoured targets.
General info
Survivability and armour
As the name of the vehicle implies, the LAV-AD is not very well armored in any area and can even be penetrated by heavy machine guns in the rear and side. To compensate, its mobility is excellent and it can travel across the battlefield very quickly; making it much more survivable.
Armour type:
- High hardness rolled armour (hull, turret)
- Aluminium alloy 7039 (front lower glacis)
- Bulletproof glass (windows)
- Wheel (tires)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 15 mm (45°) Lower glacis 7.31 mm (66°) Upper glacis |
7.31 mm (35°) Top 7.31 mm (0-20°) Bottom |
7.31 mm (15°) | 7.31 mm 5 mm Engine vents |
| Turret | 12.7 mm (49°) Turret front 60 mm (49°) Windows |
7.31 mm (9-10°) 60 mm (9°) Windows |
7.31 mm (0-31°) | 7.31 mm |
Notes:
- Belly armour is 7.31 mm thick.
- Wheels and torsion bars are 10 mm thick.
Mobility
The LAV-AD's mobility is rather superb. As a wheeled vehicle, it has good speed on roads. Despite being similar in appearance and having a weaker engine than the M1128, the LAV-AD accelerates much faster due to its lighter weight, resulting in a higher power-to-weight ratio, and it also has a slightly faster reverse speed. The engine is also relatively quiet, allowing for stealthy movements and ambushes.
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 109 | 20 | 13.4 | 391 | 525 | 29.18 | 39.18 |
| Realistic | 100 | 18 | 243 | 275 | 18.13 | 20.52 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
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Armaments
Main armament
The main armament of the LAV-AD is the 25 mm GAU-12U rotary autocannon. It functions similarly to the 20 mm M168 Vulcan found on the M163 earlier on in the tech tree, but with a reduced ammo capacity of only 1,000 rounds total (500 ready, 500 reserve instead of 1,100 ready, 1,100 reserve) and fire rate (1,800 rpm instead of 3,000 rpm) due to the limited room in the vehicle and larger calibre ammunition. The gun is also fully stabilized, with handling akin to that of the HSTV-L; slower than the M163 and M247 Sergeant York but still fast enough to react to most aerial targets at close range, particularly helicopters and slow, low-flying jets. Like most other AAs, it comes with a Default, AP, and HE belt. The Default belt has a 1:1 AP to HE ratio and is the only belt the vehicle has access to when stock. The HE belt has a 3:1 HE to AP ratio while the AP belt has a 3:1 AP to HE ratio. The former is more effective against aircraft while the latter is more effective against armoured vehicles. The AP round is the same across all belts, and can penetrate 66 mm of flat armour at point blank range. Combined with the relatively high fire rate, it can easily destroy barrels, tracks, and machine guns with ease as well as being able to shred light vehicles.
| 25 mm GAU-12U | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 1,155 (385) | 1,800 | -8°/+60° | ±180° | Two-plane | 50.2 | 69.5 | 84.4 | 93.3 | 99.2 | 26.00 | 23.00 | 21.20 | 20.00 |
| Realistic | 33.9 | 39.9 | 48.5 | 53.6 | 57.0 | |||||||||
Ammunition
- Default: HVAP · HEI*
- PGU-25/U: HEI* · HEI* · HEI* · HVAP
- PGU-20/U: HVAP · HVAP · HVAP · HEI*
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | ||||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| HEI* | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| HVAP | 66 | 62 | 46 | 33 | 23 | 16 | |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| HEI* | 1,085 | 0.19 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 54.4 | 79° | 80° | 81° | ||||
| HVAP | 1,036 | 0.21 | - | - | - | 66° | 70° | 72° | ||||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Additional armament
The LAV-AD also has access to Hydra 70 M247 rockets with a researchable modification. This modification gives the vehicle an additional weapon set-up, replacing the Stinger pod above the main gun with a Hydra 70 rocket pod with 19 rockets, similar to those found on AH-1 Cobras and AH-64 Apaches. The Hydras are fired as a secondary weapon.
| Hydra 70 rocket | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity (Belt) | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer |
| 19 (19) | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Ammunition
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| M247 | HEAT | 290 | 290 | 290 | 290 | 290 | 290 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| M247 | HEAT | 739 | 10.16 | 0 | 0.01 | 1.19 | 65° | 72° | 77° | |||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Additional armament
The LAV-AD also comes with FIM-92 Stinger missiles. The missiles are IR guided, meaning they require a lock-on before firing. The vehicle has FIM-92Es by default and can unlock FIM-92Ks as a later modification. These are the same Stinger missiles used by the Ozelot in the German tech tree and function the same way. The missiles are launched as special weapons.
| FIM-92 Stinger missile | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity (Belt) | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 16 (4) (12 with Hydra 70s) |
-8°/+65° | ±180° | Two-plane | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
| Realistic | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | ||||||||
Ammunition
| Missile details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Range (m) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Arming distance (m) |
Trigger radius (m) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| FIM-92E | SAM | 670 | 5,000 | 10.1 | 1 | 0.1 | - | - | 540 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| FIM-92K | SAM | 670 | 5,000 | 10.1 | 1 | 0.1 | 0 | 1 | 540 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
The FIM-92E detonates on impact while the FIM-92K has a proximity fuse.
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Usage in battles
In battles, the player can either use the LAV-AD as an AA or in a limited anti-tank role. By using the LAV's fast speed, the player can easily reach deep into enemy territory where enemies are less vigilant compared to when they're near the frontline. The player can use this advantage by either hiding and waiting for planes to be distracted on friendly tanks and shooting them down or used to attack unsuspecting SPAAs and IFVs/light tanks from mid range and then closing up close to killing MBTs. The rocket pod makes quick work of enemy armour if you can get on their flanks. Additionally, the LAV's fast speed makes for a decent distraction against enemies while your teammates destroy them.
Against Aircraft
The LAV's Stinger SAMs are a mixed bag. The Stingers have a decent maximum range of around 6 km, and once launched, powerful IRCCM (InfraRed counter-counter measures) makes it difficult for flares or IRCM to distract the missile. However, it has a mere 13G overload, meaning even basic defensive manoeuvres may defeat the missile. Upon launching, a conspicuous smoke trail makes the missile as well as your own position easy to notice. In addition, a small warhead makes for unreliable damage; more survivable aircraft may need two or more hits to bring down.
The Stinger's maximum range of around 6 km is usually sufficient to lock onto the hot engines of jet aircraft. It is useful against aircraft at 2-4 km altitude, where their manoeuvrability will be reduced, making it easier for the Stinger to hit. The Stinger is particularly useful against helicopters near the battlefield (1-3 km). Helicopters are slow and have a difficult time kinetically evading even the 10G Stinger, and the Stinger's IRCCM sees that IRCM and flares are useless against it. In an uptier, however, helicopters are actually the Stinger's worst nightmare. Helicopters do not have particularly hot engines, and with long-range air-to-ground missiles, the Stinger cannot even get a lock on helicopters at long ranges. In these cases, the LAV simply cannot do anything but hide from the helicopter.
The LAV's 25 mm cannon is sufficient against close aircraft and helicopters. However, it has poor long range accuracy, and thus should only be used within a absolute maximum of 3 km.
Against Tanks
The LAV is mobile, outpacing most light tanks at its BR, and can use this to its advantage by reaching the enemy territory and flanking SPAAs and light tanks. Against MBTs, the LAV's 25 mm cannon is insufficient to reliably penetrate any MBTs frontally. In addition, the 25 mm cannon has poor post-penetration damage against MBTs. Therefore, side shots are highly recommended to reliably penetrate them.
If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of facing an MBT head-on, aim for the gun mantlet. This will potentially damage their gun breech and/or cannon barrel and blind their gun sights with explosions. If you are lucky, these factors will have damaged their breech enough before they have a chance to fire, allowing you to then destroy the tracks and manoeuvre for a shot at the less protected side armour. However, considering the low post-penetration damage of the 25 mm gun, there is a very high chance you will simply be one-shot before you can do enough damage to the cannon, and therefore it is highly ill-advised to intentionally face an MBT head-on unless absolutely necessary.
Though side shots are recommended against MBTs, depending on the angle, the 25 mm gun may not be enough to penetrate and/or deal sufficient damage. This is especially true against commonly-faced Soviet MBTs, which often have more armoured sides that the 25 mm gun struggles to penetrate. In such cases, bringing the 70 mm Hydra rocket pod is a good choice. With 290 mm of HEAT penetration, the LAV-AD can knock out many MBTs from the side with a few rockets. However, the rockets have low velocity and do not work with the laser rangefinder, making precise shots difficult, especially at range. And, despite the increased penetration over the 25 mm gun, is still insufficient to frontally penetrate MBTs. Therefore, the rockets should be fired at the sides of MBTs and at close ranges. Make sure to make your rocket shots count, as the pod only holds 19 rockets.
Threats
In the LAV-AD, anything above a 12.7 mm calibre poses a big threat to the player. Therefore, the LAV's best defense is offense. You should aim to destroy enemy vehicles before they even have a chance to train any of their weapons (including heavy machine guns) on you. If taking hits cannot be avoided, your best bet is to first destroy autocannon-equipped vehicles that can shred the lightly armoured LAV (luckily, most autocannon-equipped vehicles are lightly armoured themselves and can be shredded by the LAV's 25 mm cannon or 70 mm Hydra 70 rockets). As for the main cannon of a MBT, it's all down to luck; hope that the MBT either misses or the armour-piercing shell overpenetrates and deals no damage.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Has access to Hydra 70 rockets for additional anti-tank firepower
- The 25 mm GAU-12U cannon shreds air vehicles
- The 25 mm GAU-12U has no tracers making it harder for enemies to notice your location when firing
- Highly mobile thanks to its light weight and is also amphibious
- Can carry up to 16 Stinger SAMs if you choose to not have Hydras
- Stinger SAMs have IRCCM that make them practically immune to flares once launched
- Has access to 2nd generation thermal sights for the gunner
- Has optical tracking which does not trigger RWR
- Comes with smoke grenades stock
- Access to laser rangefinder for the 25 mm gun
- Not equipping Hydras enables the Stingers to be fired in relatively quick succession with no reload
Cons:
- Stinger SAMs only have a maximum overload of 13G and have difficulty overcoming most defensive manoeuvres
- Long reload for the 25 mm gun
- Bringing the Hydra rocket pod reduces the number of available Stingers and gives them a lengthy reload time after 4 have been launched
- Penetrable by heavy machine gun fire and prone to overpressure damage
- Shorter missile range and lacks a search radar when compared to its contemporaries like the Roland 1, FlaRakPz 1, and XM975 at the same BR
- No proximity-fused ammunition
- Hydra rockets are hard to aim due to their low velocity and do not work properly with the laser rangefinder
- Low sight FOV and relatively high zoom levels makes it hard to use against multiple targets up close
- 25 mm gun is inaccurate at longer ranges
History
Devblog
Development of the LAV-AD began in 1987 after a contract was signed with both the FMC Corporation and General Electric to design a SPAA variant for the LAV-25 for the USMC. Both companies began developing a system based on the USMC requirements that it had to be armed with a 25 mm cannon and possess provisions for mounting Stinger missiles and Hydra-70 rockets. While the FMC company opted to outfit their design with the same M242 cannon used on the base model of the LAV-25, General Electric decided to go for the GAU-12 'Equalizer' Gatling style rotary cannon.
Having reviewed both prototypes, the USMC decided to procure General Electric's design, placing an initial order for 125 vehicles to be produced. By 1996, the LAV-AD had formally been adopted into service. Despite the initial plans to produce over 100 vehicles, only 17 were actually manufactured due to funding issues. In 1998, the final unit was delivered to the USMC and further development of the vehicle was discontinued due to high maintenance costs. Among other operations, the LAV-AD was used in combat action in Iraq.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the vehicles;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
| USA anti-aircraft vehicles | |
|---|---|
| M3 Half-track derivatives | M13 MGMC · M15 CGMC · M16 MGMC |
| M24 derivative | M19A1 |
| M41 derivative | M42 |
| Radar SPAAG | M163 · M247 |
| Missile SPAA | ADATS · Imp.Chaparral · LAV-AD · XM975 |
