Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Photographed around August 2024, a FV103 Spartan belonging to the 82nd. Air Assault Brigade traverses a muddy field. The FV103 is an armored personnel carrier (APC) and was part of the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) family of vehicles. The CVR(T) program was developed by the British company Alvis PLC and spawned a number of vehicles based around a common chassis of which the FV103 was one. The FV103 Spartan first entered British Army service in 1978 and was used as a armored transport for specialist combat teams (artillery spotter teams, anti-aircraft missile teams, etc.) which is why the passenger capacity is limited to 4 personnel, not including the 3 man crew of commander, driver, and gunner. As part of the British military aid to Ukraine, decommissioned FV103 vehicles were provided to Ukraine in 2022 while crowdfunding by Ukrainian charities have also seen the procurement of additional FV103 Spartans between 2022 and 2023.
The 9-ton FV103 was originally fitted with a Jaguar J60 4.2 litre, DOHC (Dual Overhead Cam), 6-cylinder, inline petrol engine but later, a Cummins BTA 5.9 litre diesel motor was installed. Assuming this is the primary engine used in Ukrainian FV103 APCs, the Cummins develops 190 to 195 horsepower. This is paired to a TN15X transmission made by the British company Self-Changing Gears. On roads, the FV103 can attain a top speed of 50 miles per hour and with 112 gallons of diesel fuel carried onboard, the FV103 has a maximum operational range of 300 miles.
The FV103 is protected with welded, aluminum alloy armor plating. From the front, the steep slope of the FV103 provides the equivalent of 60mm thick protection and this is enough to shrug off rounds of up to (and including) 14.5mm heavy machinegun ammunition. However, the rest of the FV103 is not as heavily armored nor has the slope angle to bolster defense. As such, the remainder of the FV103 is only proof against 7.62mm assault rifle ammunition at a maximum. It should be noted that as the engine is placed in the right front of the hull, this offers another layer of protection that might increase crew survival. The only other defensive system are two banks of smoke dischargers, each bank with 4 launch tubes, on the front of the FV103's hull.
Defensive armament consists of a single mount for a general purpose machinegun up to 7.62mm in caliber. In British service, this would have been a L43A1 FN MAG with 3,000 rounds of ammunition. The mount is attached to a No.16 cupola which allows for the weapon to be aimed and fired from within the FV103. The FV103 does not have gun ports for the personnel in the troop compartment to deploy their weapons.
It is likely that FV103 vehicles sent to Ukraine were demilitarized, especially those purchased from private dealers authorized to sell ex-British Army vehicles. The FV103 was retired from British Army service in 1985. The commander has a total of 8 periscopes and a single monocular sight that offers up to 10x magnification. The gunner has two periscopes while each passenger in the troop compartment has a periscope and there is one in the rear door. Systems likely removed from the FV103 upon sale to the civilian market include the ZB 298 battlefield surveillance radar (if fitted), the Rank Precision Industries built passive night sight, and military radio sets.
What the FV103 in the photograph is towing cannot be determined with certainty. The basis looks to be a single-axle dolly used for cargo box trailers but what is upon the dolly is not clear.
To date, the Ukrainian military has lost 35 FV103 vehicles with 28 of them be destroyed, 3 damaged, 2 abandoned, and the final 2 vehicles having been captured by Russian forces.
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