Designation: | FV103 Spartan |
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Manufacturer: | ALVIS PLC | |
Product type: | Armoured Vehicles | |
Name: | Tracked armoured personnel carrier |
The Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) —or CVR(T)—is a family of armoured fighting vehicles (AFV)s in service with the British Army and others throughout the world. They are small, highly mobile air transportable armoured vehicles designed to replace the Alvis Saladin armoured car.
First designed by Alvis in the 1960s, the CVR(T) family includes Scorpion and Scimitar light reconnaissance tanks, Spartan armoured personnel carriers (APC)s, Sultan command and control vehicles, Samaritan armoured ambulance vehicles, Striker anti–tank guided missile vehicles and Samson recovery vehicles. All members of the CVR(T) family were designed to share common automotive components and suspension; aluminium armour was selected to keep the weight down. By 1996 more than 3,500 had been built for British Army use and export.
Scorpion and Striker have now been withdrawn from British Army service. Scimitar and Spartan are expected to be replaced by newer vehicles from the Future Rapid Effect System programme and the Panther Command and Liaison Vehicle.
The FV103 Spartan is a small APC; it can carry seven men in all, the crew of three and four others in the rear compartment. In the British Army it is used to carry small specialised groups such as engineer reconnaissance teams, air defence sections and mortar fire controllers. In mid-2006 the British Army had 478 Spartans in service, which from 2009 were being replaced by the Panther Command and Liaison Vehicle in some roles.
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