Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1528235
The tests between the RV90 and M88A1E1 were held in June 1988, and after reviewing the results, the US Army decided to award the contract to BMY and procure the less advanced but cheaper M88A1E1 instead of the more advan- ced and better-performing, but more expensive, RV90. The US Army planned to purchase 849 vehicles under the de- signation M88A2 HERCULES (Heavy Equipment Recove- ry Combat Utility Lifting Extraction System) by 1994, but due to the then-Secretary of Defense's decision to allocate funds to higher-priority programs, the program was delay- ed. Nevertheless, around 698 vehicles were eventually de- livered. Despite these challenges, BMY merged with FMC Corporation (Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation) in 1994 to form United Defence Industries (UDI), which was acquired by British BAE Systems in 2005. Thus, BAE Sys- tems became the manufacturer of M88 as well as M2 IFVs and M109 self-propelled howitzers. The serial production M88A2 does not differ significantly from the M88AX and M88A1E1. The main distinction of the M88A2 is the additional armor on the hull, consisting of high-hardness rolled homogeneous steel plates applied to the cast vehicle shell and side skirts about 38 mm thick, providing protection against 30x165 mm anti-armor ammu- tember 1986, General Dynamics Land Systems offered to build an RV90 prototype with its own funds on the condition that the US Army would conduct comparative tests between the RV90 and the M88A1E1. The Army reportedly declined, but politicians interve- ned, demanding fair comparative tests. The RV90 prototype was completed in January 1988 at the Detroit Army Tank Plant. The vehicle differed slightly from the initial designs, with the rotating crane relocated to the left side of the hull. The RV90 had a crew of three soldiers and space inside for the entire four-person crew of an M1 tank. The vehicle weighed 60.78 tons, with a top speed of 64.37 km/h and a maximum range of 482.80 km, similar to the M1A1. The RV90 was also equipped with a system to protect against WMD, using an integrated 200 SCFM. Not only does this system purify the air but also pumps 5.6 cubic meters of clean air into the tank under high pressure (2.4 bar) to create an overpressure inside, preventing gases, biological thre- ats, or radiation from entering. It can also function as a type of air conditioning, allowing temperature regulation of the incoming air between 6.1°C and 48.8°C. The system is equipped with an auto- mated M8A1 contamination analysis subsystem that can react to threats within just 0.5 seconds. The crew also had cooling vests worn under their suits, and the vehicle was equipped with an au- tomated fire suppression system using halon 1211 extinguishers. VEHICLES