18 January 2001

United Defense LP developed the Mobile Tactical Vehicle Light (MTVL). The first prototype was completed in 1994.

The MTVL essentially is a stretched and improved M113 series armoured personnel carrier with a greater internal load capacity, more protection and greater mobility.

The baseline vehicle has a 12.7mm M2 machine gun on a simple pintle mount, but a wide range of other weapons can be fitted such as a one- or two-person turret armed with a stabilised 25mm cannon and 7.62mm co-axial machine gun or the complete turret of the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. The more heavily armed versions are called the Infantry Fighting Vehicle - Light (IFV-L).

United Defense can build brand-new MTVLs or convert existing M113 vehicles to this standard. Canada is converting some of its M113 vehicles to the MTVL for specialised battlefield support missions.

The baseline MTVL is not amphibious, but can be fitted with a wide range of options including an NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) protection system, air-conditioning system, passive night-vision equipment, additional armour protection and firing ports.

Specifications

Crew: 2+13

Armament: 1x 12.7mm M2 machine gun

Combat weight: 18,144kg

Power-to-weight ratio: 22.05hp/t

Power pack: Detroit Diesel 6V-53 TIA six-cylinder diesel developing 400hp at 2,800rpm coupled to Allison X200-4B hydrokinetic transmission

Length: 5.84m

Width: 2.69m; Height: 2.50m

Max speed: 66km/h

Range: 483km

Airportable: C-130 Hercules

Status

Development complete. Ready for production

Variants

None

Manufacturer

United Defense LP, San José, California, USA

United Defense LP developed Mobile Tactical Vehicle Light (MTVL) (Source: United Defense)