Russo-Ukrainian War: The M1117 Guardian ASV

Source: B-AREV on X™.

     Beginning in March 2024, the M1117 Guardian ASV (Armored Security Vehicle) began to appear in service with the Ukrainian Army. Some 400 M1117 ASVs were part of  U.S. aid packages starting in December 2022 and as of January 31, 2026, 19 M1117 vehicles have been lost. Of these, 17 were completely destroyed while the remaining 2 were damaged and subsequently abandoned. The M1117 was developed by Cadillac Gage and was derived from their successful M706 Commando. Prototypes were completed in 1997 and following trials and acceptance by the U.S. Army, production commenced in 1999 with large numbers entering service by 2001. In 2019, the M1117 was placed on the MDL (Master Divestiture List), to be removed from the equipment inventory of units as they receive the new Oshkosh M-ATV. This Ukrainian vehicle was photographed sometime in April 2025.

     Power for the 13-ton M1117 comes from a Cummins 6CTA8.3 turbocharged, 6-cylinder diesel engine that generates 276 horsepower. This is paired to a Allison MD3560 transmission with a 7-speed gearbox (6 forward, 1 reverse). The motor provides the M1117 with a top road speed of 63 miles per hour and with 50 gallons of onboard diesel fuel, the maximum cruise range is 441 miles on roads at a speed of 50 miles per hour.

     For weapons, the M1117's Cadillac Gage UWS (Upgunned Weapons Station) turret is typically armed with a Browning .50 caliber M2HB heavy machine gun and a 40mm Mk.19 automatic grenade launcher. In this photograph, however, the turret carries no armament. The turret provides the armament with 360 degrees of traverse while the gun mounts offer 45 degrees of maximum elevation and a maximum of 8 degrees of depression. While the turret has both electro-mechanical traverse and manual traverse, the gun mounts are only manually controlled. With an operable traverse, the turret can turn 45 degrees per second. Total ammunition carried for the M2HB is 800 rounds of which 200 rounds are ready for use. The Mk.19 is provided with 600 rounds of which 100 are ready use. For aiming, the gunner is provided with either a M36E2 or M36E3 day/night periscope sight. There is the option to mount a M249 7.62mm machine-gun on a pintle mount fitted to the turret. As a note, the forward metal component seen on the left side of the turret is the protective cover for the Mk.19's ammunition feed system. There are firing ports for the crew's small arms in the left and right side doors.

     For the protection of the two man crew and up to eight passengers, the exact thickness and composition of the M1117's welded, hardened rolled homogeneous armor isn't available. However, from some performance metrics, educated assumptions can be made. The top deck of the M1117 can survive fragments from a 155mm shell at 15 meters which puts the protection to either STANAG 4569 Level 4 or STANAG 4569 Level 5 defense. The rest of the vehicle is said to be capable of surviving a 4 pound explosive detonation while the wheels (and one can imagine the underside of the hull) can take a 12 pound explosive detonation. On this information, the hull front, rear, and sides are STANAG 4569 Level 1 which provides armor protection against 5.56x45mm NATO up to 7.62x51mm NATO ball ammunition. The underside would be STANAG 4569 Level 2 defense against mines. The hull shape of the M1117 also helps mitigate some of the blast forces. This relatively weak armor against projectiles is why the M1117 can be fitted with IBD Deisenroth Engineering MEXAS 2C (Modular Expandable Armor System) applique armor. These composite armor ceramic tiles are composed of nylon covering the ceramic (whose composition can vary) behind which is a Kevlar backing. In conjunction with the MEXAS 2C, an interior spall liner can be fitted as well as a mine protection kit. MEXAS 2C increases the hull armor to STANAG 4569 Level 4 which can defeat up to 14.5x114mm API (Armor Piercing Incendiary) ammunition at 200 meters. Other defensive equipment include two M257, four-tube smoke grenade launchers on the turret, a central tire inflation system (CTIS), run-flat tires, and an optional overpressure NBC protection system.

     Other equipment includes a Braden 7.5 ton self-recovery winch in the front (this capacity can be increased using block and tackle), a rear clam-shell door to allow crew and passenger egress (or entrance), HVAC unit for crew comfort, an optional GPS system, and a AN/VVS-501 passive night vision periscope for the driver.

     This particular Ukrainian M1117 has been fitted with anti-drone cage armor and still supports its U.S. Army camouflage paint. The former Army unit the M1117 belonged to would have been told in the rectangular markings visible on the front of the vehicle's nose but they have been painted over. It appears the front port on the right side of the vehicle has suffered impact damage as the glass looks to be cracked.

Russo-Ukrainian War: Captured Russian KamAZ-53949 Linza

Source: Natalia Kravchuk, ArmyInform

     A former Russian KamAZ Linza ambulance now in service as a command vehicle by the 117th. Mechanized Brigade. The Linza (“Lens”) had actually been captured in April 2022 in Kyyanytsia, Suny Oblast after its Russian crew caused the vehicle to overturn during a sharp turn (due to the high center of gravity of the vehicle). For a time, it was used as an ambulance by the Ukrainians until it was refitted as a command vehicle and provided to the signal company of the 117th. Mechanized Brigade late in 2024.

     The 15.5-ton Linza is a variant of the KamAZ-53949 4X4 Typhoon-K MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle. Power comes from a KamAZ built Cummins 6ISBe 350 P-6 diesel engine paired to an automatic mechanical transmission with a 6-speed gearbox. Maximum road speed is 62 miles per hour with enough fuel carried to provide for a maximum cruise range of 621 miles. The Linza can be upgraded with a more powerful 450 horsepower engine. Off-road performance is enhanced with a CTIS (Central Tire Inflation System) and terrain depending, up to 25 miles per hour can be achieved.

     The crew of 3 (driver, commander, and medic) and up to 10 wounded are protected by the equivalent of STANAG 4569 Level 4 defense. This is made possible by a sandwich-type armor comprised of steel alloy armor plating with an external ceramic layer. As such, the Linza can shrug off up to 14.5x114mm API (Armor-Piercing Incendiary) ammunition at 200 meters and can shed 155mm artillery fragments from as close as 25 meters. Against mines, the Linza has a V-shaped bottom hull and the protection is on par with STANAG 4569 Level 3 defense. This means it withstand blasts from up to 22 pounds of explosive. Crew are provided with blast resistant seats. Run-flat tires permit the Linza to travel up to 31 miles with a blown out wheel. Further protection comes from a automatic fire suppression system.

     The Linza is primarily for immediate first aid and transport out of the battle area to rear area triage locations. It is not normally armed. As such, it is fairly limited in standard onboard medical equipment. It does, however, have a small crane at the rear of the vehicle to assist with loading stretchered casualties. Enough room is available for four stretchers and up to six seated wounded. Up to 2.2 tons of supplies and equipment can be carried if no casualties are present.

     The Ukrainians modified this Linza by creating five workstations for personnel with each station equipped with a laptop, small desk, monitor, and a radio. Two Starlink satellite systems are utilized, one being the Starlink Mini for communication while the Linza is on the move and the standard Starlink equipment which is deployed when the Linza is stationary. Communication transmissions are encrypted. Typically, the workstations (except for the communication unit commander's station) are manned by personnel from units within the brigade such as drone operations (mainly reconnaissance), air defense, EW (Electronic Warfare), and artillery in order to coordinate actions and forward data up to higher echelon units as well as to subordinate units within the brigade.

Primary Sources:

https://armyinform.com.ua/2025/01/09/shtab-na-kolesah-zatrofeyena-rosijska-linza-stala-brygadnoyu-komandno-shtabnoyu-mashynoyu/

https://roe.ru/eng/catalog/land-forces/armored-vehicles/kamaz-53949/

Russo-Ukrainian War: The Oncilla IFV

Photograph via the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

     A pair of Oncilla armored vehicles belonging to the 13th. Khartiia Brigade, a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine. The Oncilla is derived from the Dozor-B, an IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) designed by KhMDB (Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau) with the first prototype appearing in October 2004. However, production issues resulted in only ten vehicles being delivered by 2016. To overcome both the production issues and also concerns with the initial Dozor-B design, Lacenaire Limited was contracted to take over Dozor-B development in 2013 in league with the Polish armored vehicle manufacturer Mista Ltd. and after finalizing a license deal, the new version entered production as the Oncilla. As of February 2024, some 100 Oncilla vehicles have been delivered to the Ukrainian military and to date, 5 have been lost (3 destroyed, 2 abandoned after being damaged).

     Power comes from a Deutz BF4M 1013 FC turbocharged diesel engine that develops 190 horsepower. The Oncilla can also be fitted with a more powerful Iveco NEF 4 turbocharged diesel motor that can generate 210 horsepower. Either engine is paired to a Allison S1000 automatic transmission with a 2-speed transfer case and a 6-speed gearbox (5 forward, 1 reverse). Maximum road speed is 65 miles per hour and enough fuel is carried to provide for a maximum cruise range of 466 miles. Off-road performance is enhanced by independent suspension and a CTIS (Central Tire Inflation System). Michelin tires with Hutchinson run-flat inserts permit the Oncilla to travel up to 31 miles with all four tires punctured.

     For protection, the Oncilla sports STANAG 4569 (NATO Standardization Agreement) Level 2 armor which is proof against 7.62x39mm API (Armor-Piercing Incendiary) ammunition at 30 meters. Against mines, the Oncilla can weather charges up to 13 pounds with additional crew protection against detonations provided by a rounded bottom hull to deflect blast forces and blast resistant crew seats. Add-on armor packages can beef up the ballistic defense to STANAG 4569 Level 3 which defeats 7.62x51mm tungsten carbide core AP (Armor-Piercing) rounds. Other protective systems include an automatic fire extinguishing system for the engine compartment and a NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical) filtration system.

     The main armament is a RWS (Remote Weapon Station) fitted to the roof of the Oncilla. The usual weapon is a 12.7mm NSV heavy machine-gun. However, neither vehicle's RWS in the photograph sport the NSV. The gun mount provides for 68 degrees of elevation and 3 degrees of depression with the RWS having 360 degrees of traverse. Firing is done using a joystick, the operator using a 12” monitor with the view coming from a box on the left side of the RWS that contains a color camera, thermal imager, and a laser rangefinder. To the right is a ammunition box that holds up to 450 rounds for the NSV.

     Other systems include a satellite navigation system, internal communication suite, radio suite, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning) system for crew comfort, and a front mounted 6.8-ton winch for self-recovery tasks.

Primary Source:

https://www.army-guide.com/eng/product5107.html

 

Armored Autocar: 1st. Canadian Motor Machine Gun Brigade

     World War One was a conflict that saw rapid advances in terms of military technology. This surge is especially noticeable in aviation but the land war also saw many advances in small arms, dedicated anti-tank and anti-aircraft artillery, chemical weapons, and of course, the birth of tanks and wide spread usage of armored cars. Prior to the start of World War One, armored cars were more or less a curiosity. Perhaps one of the first armored cars which featured an armored body with a rotating armored turret was the 1904 Austro-Daimler Panzerwagen. It was the Italians that took the armored car to war during the Italo-Turkish War which lasted from September 29, 1911 to October 18, 1912 where they deployed the Fiat Arsenale which was built on a Fiat 15bis truck chassis. When World War One broke out, armored cars were used to good effect, in part due to their mobility. Unfortunately, as the war started to bog down into static warfare on the Western Front, the terrain became all but impassible for armored cars to get to where they were needed. Thus, their main advantage of speed was no longer an asset.

     However, one Major Raymond Brutinel of the Canadian Army felt that the armored car had much potential, especially if it was utilized within a fully mechanized unit. A former Captain of the French Army Reserve, Brutinel immigrated to Canada prior to the war and amassed a sizable fortune as an entrepreneur. He went to the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defense, Sam Hughes, and pitched his concept with a large carrot...that being Brutinel would finance the entire endeavor. While this was not an unusual practice, what Brutinel wanted to do certainly was. Checkbook in hand, Brutinel ordered twenty Colt Model 1914 machine-guns, bought truck chassis from the Autocar Company located in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and obtained armor plate from Bethlehem Steel (also in Pennsylvania). Once all of the purchases arrived back in Canada, work commenced on what would simply be called the Armored Autocar. The vehicle was, in the basic sense, an armored box on top of the Autocar chassis. The front and rear of the box were angled and the flat sides and rear had drop-down panels. Armor thickness was 5mm on every facing except the rear which was only 3mm thick. There was no overhead protection, the box being open topped. Situated inside the box were two pedestals, each one mounting a single Colt machine-gun which could be rotated 360 degrees. The weapons were capable of firing over the sides but if need be, could be removed from the pedestals and deployed on the ground. Both guns were fed from a generous onboard ammunition supply of 20,000 rounds. Fully loaded, the Armored Autocar weighed 3 tons and the 22hp engine could move the vehicle on roads at a top speed of 25mph. A total of eight men crewed a single Armored Autocar. In combat order, the Armored Autocar, in addition to the ammunition, carried enough rations for fourteen men along with additional stores of gasoline.

     On August 24, 1914, the Automobile Machine Gun Brigade No. 1 was established though in short order, the name was changed to Canadian Automobile Machine Gun Brigade of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) on September 15, 1914. The initial compliment of vehicles was composed of eight Armored Autocars, six to eight unarmored Autocar trucks as support vehicles, four automobiles for the unit staff, and an ambulance. This force was broken down into two batteries, the 1st. and 2nd. Sifton Batteries. Within a year, private funding authorized three more batteries, the Eaton, Borden, and Yukon Batteries. In October 1914, the unit was sent overseas to England where it was renamed the 1st. Canadian Motor Machine Gun Brigade CEF (1st. CMMG Brigade). The brigade had five batteries (A through E) with each battery having eight Armored Autocars and twelve trucks. Each battery was broken down into four Sections which contained two Armored Autocars each. In addition, the brigade had a motorcycle unit whose 51 men served as signalers, scouts, and dispatch riders. Unfortunately, the situation on the Western Front had stagnated to the point that the brigade was, more or less, sidelined and had no opportunity to prove it's worth. This situation stretched into 1916 and 1917 (by this time, the unit was now in France) but the brigade was able to retain unit integrity and not have their equipment and men bled off into other units. During this time, the Colt machine-guns were switched out with Vickers .303 caliber machine-guns and some of the Armored Autocars carried a loose Lewis light machine-gun. 1918, however, saw the start of Kaiserschlacht (Kaiser's Battle) which was better known as the 1918 Spring Offensive. Beginning on March 12, 1918, the Germans launched widescale offensive attacks on the Western Front, seeking to defeat the French, British, and other allied countries before the United States could fully deploy troops into the theater.

     At this time, the 1st. CMMG Brigade was able to highlight its capabilities. While not able to participate in offensive operations, the brigade excelled in the defense where its rapid deployment capability allowed it to act as a “fire brigade” and shift to wherever it was needed to stem German advances. The latter capability was due to the firepower the brigade could project as each battery contained sixteen machine-guns plus an additional 8 light machine-guns. The Armored Autocars, though, were not invulnerable. The 5mm of armor was only effective against some small arms and only at distances of 180 feet or more. In addition, with no top cover, the vehicle was vulnerable to grenades if the enemy was able to close with it. Against artillery or anti-tank guns, the Armored Autocar had no chance of survival if struck. With at least six men manning the weapons, hits by the enemy against the Armored Autocar was sure to cause casualties and so injuries and fatalities among the crews were high. Despite the losses, the 1st. CMMG Brigade proved its worth and in May 1918, the 2nd. CMMG Brigade was stood up. In addition, a Canadian Corps Cyclist Battalion was attached to the unit which brought 300 infantrymen (whose mobility came from bicycles) to be utilized defensively to protect the Armored Autocars or to conduct offensive operations. Finally, a trench mortar section was added that had their mortars mounted on trucks and thus had the same mobility advantage as the Armored Autocars and brought even more firepower to bear on the enemy. Following World War One, the two brigades were eventually stood down. However, the concept of the fully mechanized nature of the brigades was a first (and only) such force during the war and would prove an influence to later military planners and theorists.

     Only one Armored Autocar remains today and is on display at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Ontario.

Homemade Chinese AFV: Liu Shijie's U.N. 4X4 "Armored" Car

Liu Shijie taking his homemade "armored" car out for a spin in Huaibei, Anhui. (Photograph via Reuters)

      It is a bit difficult to tell what actual armored car(s) inspired farmer Liu Shijie to construct this homemade "armored" car, let alone why he decided to make it in the first place. Likely, he took ideas from several armored cars to design his. Assuming he took some inspiration from Chinese produced armored cars, Shijie's vehicle has a very passing resemblance to the Qingdoa Dawnshine Model VN3 4X4 export armored car.

     In China, it is illegal for citizens to build weapons of any form so I suspect he was paid a visit by government officials to inspect his vehicle just to be sure all was well. Certainly the "armor" is mild steel and neither the cannon or turret machine gun are real or even capable of firing. The greenish paint and the yellow U.N. insignia would not be too accurate. Typical U.N. armored vehicle coloration was all white with black lettering. Also interesting is that the front wheelbase is wider than the back. The vehicle has a weight of 3 tons. Little else is known about the "armored" car concerning what chassis it was built upon or how large it is.

     All told, Shijie spent 30,000 Chinese Yuan, equivalent to a little over 4,600 U.S. dollars, and six months of construction time to create his vehicle. To illustrate his commitment to building his vehicle, the typical Chinese farmer between 2015 to 2019 had between 8,000 to 12,000 Yuan of disposable income (1,234 to 1,852 U.S. dollars) to use after meeting all other financial spending. Thus, to collect the needed funds to build the vehicle, Shijie had to save for several years. Of course, this is not to say others did not contribute to the funding.