M1200 Armored Knight

Last updated
M1200 Armored Knight
M1200 Guardian "Armored Knight" (14794103335).jpg
Type Internal security vehicle equipped for fire support coordination
Place of origin United States
Service history
In service2007-present
Wars
Production history
Designer
DesignedBefore 2007
No. built465+
Specifications
Mass14.75 t [1]
Crew3
Armor Rolled hard homogeneous steel [1]
Main
armament
1x M240B or 1x M2 Browning machine gun
Engine Cummins 6CTA8.3 turbocharged diesel [1]
276 hp [1]
Transmission Allison MD3560 [1]
Suspension 4x4
Ground clearance0.45 m (1.5 ft) [1]
Operational
range
~440 mi [1]
Maximum speed 63 mph [1]

The M1200 Armored Knight is an armored vehicle used by forward observers in the U.S. military for precision targeting. Most Armored Knights were deployed during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. [2] The M1200 entered U.S. military service in 2007. [1] Several M1200s entered service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2025. [2]

Contents

Design

A fire support specialist looks through a laser range finder mounted atop an M1200 Knight armored vehicle A fire support specialist looks through a laser range finder mounted atop an M1200 Knight armored vehicle.png
A fire support specialist looks through a laser range finder mounted atop an M1200 Knight armored vehicle

The Armored Knight is based on the M1117 ASV, fitted with the equipment needed to coordinate precision guided munitions and indirect artillery fire. [3] According to the Strategy Page website;

The M1200 contains a laser designator, a laser range finder and GPS, plus radios and computers that take target position data and transmit it to distant artillery units, or bombers overhead, and get the firepower on the target within minutes. Previously, all this gear was mounted on an unarmored hummer. [4]

The Armored Knight evolved from the desire to provide enhanced protection to the fire support teams who perform the targeting mission in high threat environments.

Development

The Knight was developed in an effort to offer an armored vehicle capable of keeping up with COLTs (Combat Observation and Lasing Teams). The previous FiST-V (Fire Support Team-Vehicle) employed by the COLTs was the M707 Knight (a stripped-down variant of the HMMWV).

Components

Operational history

The M1200 was first deployed in combat operations with the United States Army in 2008 during the U.S. occupation of Iraq. [2] The M1200 was also deployed during U.S. operations in Afghanistan in 2010. [5]

In early September 2025 [5] , photos emerged online of a newly delivered group of M1117 ASVs in Ukraine, and multiple M1200s were observed among them. [2]

Operators

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "M1200 Armored Knight". afvdatabase.com. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Trevithick, Joseph (2025-09-02). "Afghan-Specific Version Of M1117 Armored Car Looks Bound For Second Life In Ukraine". The War Zone. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  3. 1 2 3 "M1200 Armored Knight". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  4. ↑ "The Armored Knights Keep Coming". Strategy Page. December 22, 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 "Afghan-Specific Version Of M1117 Armored Car Looks Bound For Second Life In Ukraine". THE WARZONE via Yahoo News. 2025-09-02. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  6. ↑ The Military Balance. International Institute for Strategic Studies. 2025. ISBN   978-1-041-04967-8.
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