2026/04/03

On the issue of IFV and APC costs

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"Kraftfahrzeuge und Panzer" 1st Ed. by Werner Oswald (1970) has a nice list of the approximate prices of AFVs as of end-60's. I appreciate it as a look back at the price ratios of a time before electronics bloated the prices of AFVs.

M-113 (tracked APC, 11 dismounts, machinegun ): 250k DM 

HS 30 (tracked IFV, 5-6 dismounts, 20 mm gun): 350k DM

Marder (tracked IFV, 7-8 dismounts, 20 mm gun OWS): 800k DM

Leopard (MBT, 105 mm gun): 1,000k DM

 

Marder protection upgrade over M-113 and HS 30 was mostly resistance to 14.5 mm API, which was later cheaply realised for Israeli M-113 with add-on armour. The Leopard's protection (maximum 70 mm steel) was barely enough to protect against a T-34/85 and T-44, unsatisfactory even against a T-54. 

The only substantial electronics in these vehicles were a radio and a intra-crew communication system. The Leopard had a gyrocompass and main gun stabilisation. HS30 and M-113 had petrol instead of diesel engines at that time, but a diesel wouldn't have changed the price much.

Electronics got MUCH much expensive starting in the 1980's when thermal imagers (sometimes for gunner AND commander) and laser rangefinders were introduced in quantity. That is, except for APCs, which didn't need those because they had no weapon to "justify" the expense. Many IFVs (IIRC beginning with some Bradley upgrade in early 90's?) even receive full main gun stabilisation (Warrior being a notable Western exception).

So the cost multiplier between having a bullet-proofed and fragment-proofed box driving off-road with a strong infantry section and a full-blown IFV combat vehicle with a small infantry section systemically increased. 

The ability to provide high offroad mobility with protection to great many infantrymen thus vanished. Nowadays you may spend more than a million Euros per dismount seat if you stick with the IFV concept.

 

In this light I'm hoping for good success of the Trackx, a new tracked APC project by Patria - a company known for having the most affordable yet good 6x6 APCs  among Western countries.

 

It's more of a MT-LB successor than a M-113 successor, but it would be most promising with a mass-produced C-UAS RCWS (low price due to economies of scale, with machinegun).

 

S O

defence_and_freedom@gmx.de

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