U.S. airborne troops will make airdrop test with modified LAV-25 8x8 light armoured vehicle 13004171

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Military Defense Industry Technology - LAV-25 airdrop
 
U.S. airborne troops will make airdrop test with modified LAV-25 8x8 light armoured vehicle.
According to the military website MilitaryTimes, the U.S. Army's 82nd airborne will make for the first time an airdrop of a modified LAV-25 8x8 light armoured vehicle. The LAV-25 is one of the backbone armoured vehicle of the U.S. Marine Corps but it could be used in the future by airborne troops of U.S. Army.
     
According to the military website MilitaryTime, the U.S. Army's 82nd airborne will make for the first time an airdrop of a modified LAV-25 8x8 armoured vehicle. The LAV-25 is one of the backbone armoured vehicle of the U.S. Marine Corps but it could be used in the future by airborne troops of U.S. Army.
U.S. Army 1st Lt. William McCollum, platoon leader of 1st platoon, Bravo Troop, 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, provides instructions to other Light Armored Vehicle-25 crews during a live fire training exercise. (Source photos U.S. MoD)
     
Last year, soldiers from the 82nd Airborne's 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment conducted simulator training with Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, hands-on driver training at Camp Pendleton, California, and maintenance training at Fort Lee, Virginia.

In March 2017, U.S. soldiers from the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division performed live fire training exercise at Fort Bragg in United States. The event was part of an Army’s pilot program to test the capabilities of the LAV-25s.

The 82nd is part of the Global Response Force, ready to be quickly deploy around the world on short notice. Under the mission, a battalion-sized element must be able to deploy within 18 hours, with others following soon after.

The LAV-25 is an 8x8 armoured vehicle designed and manufactured by the American Company General Dynamics. The LAV-25 is air-deployable by current US Air Force cargo transports, but he was never air dropped.

The LAV-25 entered service with the U.S. Marine Corps in 1983. The vehicle is fitted with a two-man turret armed with an automatic M242 25 mm chain gun. A 7.62mm machine gun is mounted to the right of the main armament, another 7.62 mm machine gun is mounted on the top of the turret.

The LAV 25 has a maximum weight of 13,400 kg and can carry a total of 9 military personnel including driver, commander and gunner. The LAV-25 is fully amphibious and propelled in the water at maximum speed of 12 km/hr by two propellers mounted one either side at the rear of the hull.

General Dynamics Land Systems has already delivered one of the modified LAVs and expects to have the other LAVs ready in the next few months for a scheduled air drop, likely at Fort Bragg, in November, according Michael Peck, director of the company’s Enterprise Business Development.

The LAV-25 will be upgraded to keep them in service until 2035 while it searches for a next-generation replacement. For the future, U.S. Marine Corps will upgrade only half of its 800 LAV-25 fleet, doubling their service lives, and use the rest to develop a replacement.
     
According to the military website MilitaryTime, the U.S. Army's 82nd airborne will make for the first time an airdrop of a modified LAV-25 8x8 armoured vehicle. The LAV-25 is one of the backbone armoured vehicle of the U.S. Marine Corps but it could be used in the future by airborne troops of U.S. Army.
Light armored vehicles (LAV-25s), with 1st Light Armored Reconaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, drive off the range during a field exercise aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Oct. 25, 2016. (Source photos U.S. MoD)