M163
Contents
Description
The Gun, Air Defence Artillery, Self-Propelled: 20-mm, M163 is a rank V American self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with a battle rating of 7.7 (AB) and 7.3 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.63 "Desert Hunters".
General info
Survivability and armour
Armor is not on your side in the M163, as it is thin enough to be killed by 12.7s from the sides and rear, and any cannon sized armament from the front. The turret is partially open, leaving you vulnerable to enemy light arms fire. If attacked, your best bet for taking a hit is to point your engine towards the enemy and hope it absorbs the shot.
Mobility
Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability as well as the maximum speed forward and backward.
Armaments
Main armament
A 20 mm VADS, or Vulcan air defence system. Used initially during the Vietnam war, it was a 20 mm air-cooled minigun attached to a small turret on the M163. Dangerous to anything in the sky, it will lock on and rip through anything in its path.
Usage in battles
The M163 has an amazing rate of fire, thus it has amazing damage output. In an anti-aircraft role it is best used as a point defense SPAA, defending a group of allies/ cap zone from air attack. It's range isn't as good as the M247, so it's best to keep in mind the approximate 1km killzone of the M163.
The M163 wields about 60MM of penetration, and at 8.0 battle rating that's enough to mortally wound/destroy many axis vehicles such as the Leopard, AUBL, and Centauro.
The high rate of fire also allows the M163 a sort of CIWS(close in weapons system) type of role, as it can easily spray in the direction of an incoming bomb, thus destroying it and saving nearby allies. This is especially easy against the infamous FAB-5000 bomb from the russian PE-8, as the bomb is large and easy to track.
The M163 cannot lock on to aircraft in a third person view as it lacks search radar. You must line up the plane in sniper mode to lock on to the aircraft.
Radars
The M163 is equipped with an AN/VPS-2 tracking radar, with no search radar. The radar is fitted to the side of the turret.
|
In order to lock on you must be looking through your sight, position the crosshair over a target (within 7 km) and press the lock on key. The target must be within a 2° cone from the centre of the crosshair. |
| AN/VPS-2 - Tracking Radar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum Tracking Range |
Minimum Tracking Range |
Azimuth Tracking Angle |
Elevation Tracking Angle |
Minimum target speed |
| 7,000 m | 100 m | 360° | -20°/+85° (lock between -20°/+20°) |
15 m/s (54 km/h) |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Amphibious
- Quick acceleration
- Good traverse, especially when fully upgraded
- Insane rate of fire of 3000 rpm; can literally shred incoming enemy aircraft.
- Has a tracking radar
Cons:
- Light armour
- Not keen to climbing hills until performance modules are equipped
- Relatively slow for the rank
- Slow in water
- Inaccurate/wobbly in water
- One of the longest rearm/reload times in the game
- No search radar
History
The VADS was used during the Vietnam war and onwards and was based on the chassis of the M113 armoured personnel carrier. NATO used it as an anti-aircraft gun platform.
Media
See also
Other vehicles based off the M113 platform:
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum
- encyclopedia page on tank;
- https://weaponsystems.net/weaponsystem/EE03%20-%20M163%20Vulcan.html
| 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 |
