M113 HVMS

BACKGROUND HISTORY - The M113 HVMS was an Israeli upgrade of the American M113 armored personnel carrier that was intended to satisfy that country's want for a highly mobile, lightly armored fire-support vehicle rather than a pure troop carrier. During the late 1970s and through the 1980s, Israel had thousands of M113s in service but faced an evolving battlefield threat, in particular enemy armor and fortified positions, which required much better firepower without the cost or weight of a full main battle tank. For this purpose, Israeli engineers fitted the M113 with the HVMS 60 turret carrying a high-velocity, 60 mm smoothbore cannon that could fire advanced APFSDS ammunition against light armored targets or against softer targets. The project reflected mobility and low silhouette, ease of maintenance corresponding to Israeli doctrine, with preference for systems that were adaptable and rapidly deployable. Although it never saw large-scale adoption in the Israel Defense Forces, this served as a technological demonstrator and was offered on the export market, very much influencing further Israeli light armored vehicle and gun-system development.