Description

Italeri 1:35 LAV-AT

The LAV-AT is a modern American wheeled missile tank destroyer. The vehicle is powered by a single engine Detroit Diesel 6V53T with a power of 279 hp . It is armed with a single Emmerson 901A1 launcher that fires TOW-2 ATGM missiles. The secondary armament is usually a single 7.62 mm M240B machine gun.

LAV-AT has been developed by General Dynamics based on the LAV-25 wheeled armored personnel carrier for use primarily by the US Marine Corps. The basic change compared to the LAV-25 was the addition of a TOW missile launcher to the rear of the hull and the appropriate electronics to enable its use. LAV-AT has the ability to drive in difficult terrain and is capable of negotiating water obstacles. It also provides its crew with protection against small-caliber fire with a caliber of up to 12.7 mm at the front of the vehicle and 7.62 mm on the sides, as well as against fragments of artillery shells. The LAV-AT can carry up to 16 TOW missiles. Despite the fact that the US Army was equipped with a vehicle with very similar characteristics to the LAV-AT (M1134 Stryker), in 2012 the Marine Corps decided to start work on modernizing its LAV-AT to the LAV-ATM standard. The modernized vehicles are to have a modernized missile launcher, much more modern electronics and a modernized steering system. The first vehicles modernized in this way hit the line in 2017.