This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2010) |
Stingray | |
---|---|
Type | Light tank |
Place of origin | United States |
Service history | |
In service | 1989–present |
Used by | Thailand |
Production history | |
Manufacturer | Cadillac Gage |
No. built | 106 |
Specifications | |
Mass | 22.6 tonnes |
Length | 9.3 m (30 ft 6 in) with gun forward |
Width | 3 m (9 ft 10 in) |
Height | 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) |
Crew | 4 (commander, driver, gunner, radio operator/loader) |
Armor | 23 mm |
Main armament | L7 LRF 105 mm rifled tank gun |
Secondary armament | 7.62 mm co-axial machine gun, 12.7 mm M2 Browning heavy machine gun [1] |
Engine | Detroit Diesel Allison 8V-92TA, [1] liquid cooled turbo charged 2-stroke V-8 diesel engine 535 hp (399 kW) at 2300 rpm [1] |
Transmission | SNT Dynamics/Allison Transmission XTG411-4A 4 forward, 2 reverse |
Suspension | Independent trailing arm torsion bar |
Operational range | 300 miles (480 km) |
Maximum speed | 70 km/h (43 mph) |
The Stingray, sometimes known as the Commando Stingray, [2] is a light tank produced by Textron Marine & Land Systems division (formerly Cadillac Gage). It was specifically designed to use as many existing components of other American armored fighting vehicles as possible to keep costs down. The Stingray was a private venture project aimed at foreign countries. [3] As of 2020, Textron has kept the Stingray name registered. [4]
It was exported for use by armed forces of Thailand, who remain the only user. [3]
The Stingray was developed in the 1980s as a private venture by Cadillac Gage Textron. The first prototype was completed in 1985. [5]
In 1988, the Royal Thai Army pressed the Stingray in service with 106 tanks purchased. [3] The contract was for $150 million. [6] [7] Cadillac Gage provided assistance in repairing some of them after they obtained reports of cracked hulls. [6]
In 1992, Cadillac Gage began the development of the Stingray II. [2] Its production was complete in 1994 with marketing promoted to friendly countries like Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Taiwan up until 2003. [2]
Cadillac Gage Textron submitted a version of the Stingray for the U.S. Army's Armored Gun System program. This was a Stingray hull mated to the former joint Army–Marine Corps LAV-105 turret. [8] [9] It had the fairly conventional layout with a four-man crew. [9] The AGS Stingray carried 36 rounds, with eight in ready storage. [1] In June 1992, Cadillac Gage lost to a proposal from FMC. [10]
In 2010, Federal Defense Industries announced that they entered into an agreement with Textron Marine & Land Systems in order to provide authorized aftermarket parts, support and other types of assistance for the Stingray since FDI maintains a technical library for spare parts. [11]
In 2011, Napco entered into an agreement with Textron to provide authorized aftermarket parts, support and other types of assistance for the Stingray. [12]
The Stingray has a 105 mm rifled cannon. [3] Its cruise speed is 44 mph (71 km/h). Maximum grade is 60%. The maximum vertical distance it can scale is 2.7 feet (82 cm). It can ford water up to 3.5 feet (107 cm). It is air transportable in a C-130 cargo aircraft. The original Stingray program was launched in 1983, with the first prototype vehicle ready in August 1984. The Stingray turret was also marketed separately for retrofit installation on the hull of the M41, M47 or M551 tank or on the V600 armored car. [13] Its armor was made from CG's Cadaloy armor. [2]
The Stingray can be upgraded with the CG Fire Control and Stabilization Upgrade Kit as an affordable solution to upgrade its fire control systems. [14]
The Stingray II is an upgrade version of the Stingray, developed by Cadillac Gage as a private-venture armored fighting vehicle (AFV) for the export market. The light tank's baseline armor, while thin, is adequate for a light cavalry, reconnaissance or light infantry fire support role; it protects its occupants from armor-piercing, heavy machine gun rounds up to 14.5 mm in size. Additional armor appliqué can be fitted to increase ballistic protection. Operational range is increased by about 25 miles (about 40 kilometers) if one assumes a travel speed of about 30 mph (48 km/h). In addition, the engine on the Stingray II has been upgraded to 410 kW (550 horsepower) at 2,300 rpm. [2]
The Stingray's main armament is a low recoil force (LRF) version of the British Royal Ordnance L7 105 mm rifled gun installed in a well-angled and electro-hydraulically powered turret having manual backup as is usually found on tanks, [2] together with duplicate turret controls for the gunner and the commander, providing redundancy. Dimensions of the turret were deliberately designed to allow it to be refitted to M41 Walker Bulldog and M551 Sheridan vehicles as an upgrade. The gun has optional stabilization in two axes, and eight rounds, with another 24 rounds stored in the hull. Complementing the main gun is a 7.62 mm co-axial machine gun with 2,400 rounds, as well as a 12.7 mm M2 Browning anti-aircraft machine gun with 1,100 rounds on the commander's hatch. The Stingray II is fitted with 16 protective smoke grenade launch tubes, with 8 of them on each side. [2] The optic system for the gunner is composed of a two-axis stabilized day/night thermal imaging system called 'Hughes Hire,' made by the company then known as Hughes Electronics, together with a laser rangefinder. For the commander, there is another optical system that has seven different periscopes, and there is also a repeater display for the same thermal image seen by the gunner.
The main improvements offered in the Stingray II are a more capable digital fire-control system, NBC equipment, enhanced mobility and superior target-engagement capabilities. [15] The Stingray II also improves the armor to provide protection from 23 mm rounds. [15]
Two Stingray IIs were made to showcase its weapons and equipment for demonstration to potential customers. [2]
The M551 "Sheridan" AR/AAV was a light tank developed by the United States and named after General Philip Sheridan, of American Civil War fame. It was designed to be landed by parachute and to swim across rivers. It was armed with the technically advanced but troublesome M81/M81 Modified/M81E1 152 mm gun/launcher, which fired both conventional ammunition and the MGM-51 Shillelagh guided anti-tank missile.
The Ford MGM-51Shillelagh was an American anti-tank guided missile designed to be launched from a conventional gun (cannon). It was originally intended to be the medium-range portion of a short, medium, and long-range system for armored fighting vehicles in the 1960s and '70s to defeat future armor without an excessively large gun. Developing a system that could fire both shells and missiles reliably proved complex and largely unworkable for the United States.
Textron Marine & Land Systems, formerly Cadillac Gage, is an American military contractor that manufactures armored vehicles, turrets, advanced marine craft, surface effects ships, and other weapon systems. It is owned by Textron, and was formed in the merger between Cadillac Gage and Textron Marine in 1994.
The LAV-25 is a member of the LAV II family. It is an eight-wheeled amphibious armored reconnaissance vehicle built by General Dynamics Land Systems and used by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army.
The Cadillac Gage Commando, frequently denoted as the M706 in U.S. military service, is an American armored car designed to be amphibious. It was engineered by Cadillac Gage specifically for the United States Military Police Corps during the Vietnam War as an armed convoy escort vehicle. The Commando was one of the first vehicles to combine the traditionally separate roles of an armored personnel carrier and a conventional armored car, much like the Soviet BTR-40. Its notable height, amphibious capability, and waterproofed engine allowed American crews to fight effectively in the jungles of Vietnam by observing their opponents over thick vegetation and fording the country's deep rivers.
The M8 Armored Gun System (AGS), sometimes known as the Buford, is an American light tank that was intended to replace the M551 Sheridan and TOW missile-armed Humvees in the 82nd Airborne Division and 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment of the U.S. Army respectively.
Tank development both evolved considerably from World War II and played a key role during the Cold War (1945–1990). The period pitted the nations of the Eastern Bloc and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO against each other.
The Cadillac Gage LAV-300, originally named the V-300, is a family of American light armored vehicles (LAVs) including up to 15 configurations. It was originally created and designed by CG as a private venture project.
The M1117 Guardian, also denoted Armored Security Vehicle (ASV), is an internal security vehicle based on the V-100 and V-150 Commando series of armored cars. It was developed in the late 1990s for service with the United States' Military Police Corps. The first prototypes appeared in February 1997 and serial production of the M1117 commenced between 1999 and early 2000.
The M1128 Mobile Gun System (MGS) is an eight-wheeled assault gun of the Stryker family, mounting a 105 mm tank gun, based on the Canadian LAV III light-armored vehicle manufactured by General Dynamics Land Systems for the U.S. Army.
The Cadillac Gage LAV-600, also known as the V-600, is an American light armored 6×6 wheeled vehicle, derived from the LAV-300. Developed by Cadillac Gage as a private venture project, the LAV-600 offers superior firepower and mobility to the LAV-300, normally being equipped with a 105mm main gun.
The Expeditionary Tank was a light tank developed in the 1980s initially by Teledyne Vehicle Systems. Later joined by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS), the companies entered the US Army's Armored Gun System (AGS) competition with the design. Since the tank never entered service, it did not receive an official designation. Alternative names for the Expeditionary Tank include the Teledyne Light Tank and the Slammer.
The United States has produced tanks since their inception in World War I, up until the present day. While there were several American experiments in tank design, the first American tanks to see service were copies of French light tanks and a joint heavy tank design with the United Kingdom.
This article deals with the history and development of American tanks from the end of World War II and during the Cold War.
The Armored Gun System (AGS) was a U.S. Army competition in the 1990s to design a light tank to replace the M551 Sheridan and TOW-equipped HMMWVs. It was the ultimate incarnation of several research programs run in the 1970s with the aim of providing air-mobile light infantry forces with the firepower needed to last in the battlefield.
The Cadillac Gage Scout was an American scout car designed for the export market that was first announced in October 1977 at the Association of the United States Army meeting in Washington D.C.
The Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) is a U.S. Army program to procure a combat vehicle that is capable of providing mobile, protected, direct fire offensive capability. The projected vehicle has been designated the M10 Booker, and will according to description essentially serve the role of an assault gun. The program is part of the Next Generation Combat Vehicle program.
The M35, known during development as the EX35 and XM35, is an American 105 mm caliber low-recoil tank gun.
The High Survivability Test Vehicle (Lightweight) (HSTV(L)) was a U.S. Army light tank manufactured by AAI Corporation. It was developed under the Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) Armored Combat Vehicle Technology (ACVT) program.