This article was originally published in the January 2023 issue of "Weapons" magazine, and was reprinted with the second content improvement, editing, and supplementing some illustrations to share with friends. Personally, I think that "Weapons" is a professional and objective military magazine, and it is recommended to subscribe continuously to enrich one's military and political knowledge. Although most of the articles that are digitally saved and reprinted at home magazines are older, they are enough to provide ordinary netizens with professional military knowledge, and second, they want readers to examine things and opinions from a more unique perspective.
In September 2022, Japan media photographed a new prototype of a wheeled infantry fighting vehicle in the Tomei Expressway Gotemba exit service area in Honshu, the country. After this information appeared on the Internet, for a time military fans from all over Japan rushed to the exits of the Tomei Expressway and the ro-ro cargo seaports in Kyushu and Kanagawa prefectures. Various media outlets have also made a lot of speculation about the performance of the two new vehicles.
What kind of vehicles are these two? Where are they in their development experiments?
Japan netizens photographed the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's new wheeled combat vehicle prototypes: infantry fighting vehicles (titled picture) and self-propelled mortars (this picture).
What troops to use
The combat vehicle photographed in the Tomei Expressway service area this time is a two-type wheeled infantry fighting vehicle prototype developed by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The family of vehicles in which the car is located is currently also known as the MAV series, which is the abbreviation of "Mitsubishi Armored Car". The MAV is one of the participating models in the selection of the next-generation wheeled armored combat vehicle family that began in 2019 by the Ministry of Defense of Japan. This selection project is a product of further promoting the construction of a mobile company and the overall lightweight reorganization of the army.
Japan's ongoing selection of next-generation wheeled armored combat vehicles dates back to 2017 or even earlier. Around 2013, Japan proposed the concept of establishing a "mobile company" on the mainland, which is a kind of lightly armed composite unit in common international military language. At present, although the army's own mobile companies are at the top of the brigade establishment, most of them are above the scale of reinforced battalions.
The organization of this type of unit has, on the one hand, enhanced the mobility of the troops, and second, it also conformed to the reality that it was difficult to recruit and expand the Self-Defense Forces under the policy of "exclusively defending and defending" in the later period of Heisei. It also reflects the attempt of the Japan government and the Self-Defense Forces to focus their limited forces on the surrounding areas far from Honshu or even from Japan proper.
Land self with armored transport vehicles
Before the advent of the imminent mobile company, the Army had long used the "ordinary section company" with the size of an infantry brigade/regiment and the "tank company" with an armored regiment as the basic infantry and armored unit establishment mode. In this mode, Lu Zi has also been equipped with four generations of different types of armored transport vehicles. The first generation model was an American-made M3 half-track introduced by the Self-Defense Forces at the beginning of its existence. The second generation is the Type 60 armored transport vehicle that entered service with Japan's first generation of self-developed armored vehicles after the war. The third generation is the Type 73 armored transport vehicle that entered service with Japan's self-developed second-generation main battle tank. The fourth generation is the Type 96 armored transport vehicle, which entered service in the late nineties of the last century.
American-made M3 half-track
The Type 60 armored transport vehicle is the first generation of tracked armored personnel transport vehicle designed and manufactured by Japan after the war imitation of the M-59 armored vehicle of United States.
Type 73 armored transport vehicle
Among the four generations of vehicles, the Type 60 and Type 73 are tracked armored transport vehicles developed by Mitsubishi. They are also essentially a by-product of the main battle tank R&D project. At one time, these two types of armored transport vehicles were fully equipped with the general division company of the army, but they were more similar to the vehicles of mechanized infantry units and armored service units that worked with tanks.
In the 80s of the last century, as Japan fully launched the research and development of the third generation of armored vehicles, Lu Zi also imitated the US military and developed special heavy tracked infantry fighting vehicles and large wheeled armored transport vehicles. The former is Type 89, and the latter is Type 96.
The Type 89 infantry fighting vehicle is the first infantry fighting vehicle developed by Japan and is also the third generation armored vehicle of Japan
Type 96 wheeled armored transport vehicle
Readers familiar with Japan's heavy industry system will know that there are two companies in modern Japan that have the ability to develop large military vehicles. One is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and the other is Komatsu Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Komatsu Corporation). The two companies were responsible for the development and manufacture of most of Japan's medium- and heavy-duty military vehicles in post-war Japan, and both have the production capacity of wheeled and tracked vehicles.
In the half century after the war, they have also been the "only" players in the selection of Japan's self-developed armored vehicles. The Type 60 and Type 73 armored vehicles mentioned above were finalized by Mitsubishi's proposal, but Komatsu, which participated in the bidding, also undertook the manufacture of some of the vehicles. When the fourth-generation armored transport vehicle was selected, due to the change of layout to wheeled, the winning bidder also became Komatsu.
Upgrades from armored carriers to infantry fighting vehicles
After the birth of Type 96, the new military revolution that accompanied the new millennium has put forward many new issues for the development of army vehicles and equipment. With the development of industrial technology, Italy introduced the "Centaur" wheeled tank destroyer with no less firepower than a tank. The development of the concept of digitalization of land warfare and strategic mobility capabilities has prompted the U.S. military to develop the Stryker family. For a time, large wheeled armored vehicles with an 8-wheel layout seemed to replace tracked infantry fighting vehicles as the "mainstream" of "infantry fighting vehicles".
In Japan, on the other hand, although the Ground Self-Defense Force has always emphasized the use of domestic highways or civilian shipping for long-distance mobile deployment, by the beginning of this century, Japan had only one type of infantry fighting vehicle in the true sense of the word. This type of infantry fighting vehicle is a Type 89 with very little equipment and a tracked layout. The Type 96, which entered service at the same time, was not considered an infantry fighting vehicle.
As of 2014, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force has purchased a total of 373 Type 96 armored vehicles at a unit price of about 120 million yen.
The reasons that led to the Type 96 "inadequate" infantry fighting vehicle are somewhat complicated. On the surface, the level of defense of this type of 8-wheeled armored vehicle is much lower than that of similar international models, and it is difficult to cover the infantry after they get out of the vehicle to confront the enemy's armored vehicles. The Type 96 vehicle armament is only an open arrangement of heavy machine guns and grenade launchers, although it can protect against 12.7 mm machine gun rounds on the front, but only 7.62 mm heavy bullets on the sides, and has not developed enhanced defense attachments for many years.
In a deep sense, this type of vehicle does not have a command system to command infantry squad operations, and the infantry uses their own communication equipment to carry out operations on or off the vehicle. This also shows that Lu Zi has been "not paying attention" to the construction and application of mechanized infantry units all year round.
The Type 96 wheeled armored transport vehicle once broke the front axle during a public event, which directly caused the vehicle to lie on its stomach and aroused discussion from the outside world.
In fact, as early as 2008, the Self-Defense Forces had already come up with a demonstration plan for wheeled armored vehicles. These include personnel transport vehicles, communication command vehicles, tank destroyers, wheeled mortars, wheeled combat vehicles equipped with machine guns, self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, etc. The wheeled combat vehicles equipped with machine guns in this scheme are actually wheeled infantry fighting vehicles. After the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan regained power, the reorganization of the Self-Defense Forces accelerated. With the formation of the mobile company and the entry into service of a new generation of wheeled armored vehicles represented by the Type 16 mobile combat vehicle, the need to develop a new generation of 8-wheeled infantry fighting vehicle family has become increasingly urgent for Lu Zi.
Luzi will develop a variety of sub-models of the next-generation general-purpose wheeled armored vehicle (click to enlarge)
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Type 16 Mobile Combat Vehicle
The current selection is underway
In 2017, the Ministry of Defense announced the development of Japan's next-generation 8-wheeled infantry fighting vehicle called "96 Reform". However, the project was soon halted. On the one hand, the Japan Diet could not come up with money (at that time, the priority was given to the purchase of large destroyers from Haizi), and on the other hand, it was also due to the fact that Komatsu, the original creator of the Type 96 armored transport vehicle, was not active in the project.
Due to Lu Zi's long-term dissatisfaction with the defensive function of the Type 96, it was difficult for Lu Zi's demonstration department and Komatsu to reach a consensus on the weight, width, and price of the new car when developing the "96 Reform". On the other hand, if the Type 96 completes the upgrade from an armored transport vehicle to an infantry fighting vehicle, the vehicle will have to develop a completely new body while expanding the hull.
Among them, the weight and size of the car body are the biggest problems. According to the equipment habits of the Self-Defense Forces, armored vehicles of the land self-defense forces must have the ability to transport them by road. Whether it is a tank or a wheeled vehicle, it must meet the standards of Japan's trunk highway transportation. In the case of tanks, the mode of maneuver is transportation using large wheeled trailers. In the case of wheeled vehicles, they must be able to complete wheeled maneuvers autonomously. This means that the basic requirements of height and weight must be met. It is said that during the demonstration period in 2017, the width of the "96 reform" proposed by Komatsu reached 3 meters. This is not good for the coordinated operation of the car with the Type 16.
The Ministry of Defense and Komatsu jointly developed the "96 Reform" program vehicle
Here we will again mention the rivalry between Mitsubishi and Komatsu in the defense contract. The Type 16 mobile combat vehicle is a product of Mitsubishi Corporation. Since Mitsubishi has won the "first place" in the competition of the land wheeled armored vehicle family, it has naturally made the company gain the initiative in the demonstration of follow-up equipment. Not only that, but due to the low profit margin of military special vehicles, the board of directors of Komatsu, which is in a state of weak competition, also expressed its intention to withdraw from the field of military products in 2019. At this point, in the field of armored vehicle research and development, Mitsubishi's "one dominant" situation in Japan is about to take shape.
This situation does not meet the expectations of Japan society. In fact, at the beginning of this century, Mitsubishi was deeply involved in a serious corporate reputation crisis because of the quality scandal of the Fuso series of civilian vehicles. This incident eventually led the company to gradually abandon the development of civilian vehicles in recent years. In the face of Komatsu's withdrawal, it is obviously not safe to allow Mitsubishi to "dominate" in the field of military vehicles.
To this end, the newly established Defense Equipment Agency of Japan introduced a foreign competitor model when it restarted the selection of the next-generation general-purpose wheeled armored combat vehicle in 2019. The foreign program includes three, namely the "Boxer" infantry fighting vehicle of the Germany ARTEC group; The LAV6 family of infantry fighting vehicles from GD in Canada, as well as the AMV infantry fighting vehicles from Patria in Finland. Mitsubishi's competitive scheme is the MAV family developed based on the chassis of the Type 16 mobile combat vehicle.
The "Boxer" infantry fighting vehicle of the Germany ARTEC group
At the 2024 Canada International Security and Defense Exhibition (CANSEC 2024), General Dynamics Ground Systems Canada demonstrated the LAV 6.0 technology demonstration vehicle
Mitsubishi Corporation launched a prototype of the MAV family
This time, Japan military fans witnessed two models of infantry fighting vehicles and self-propelled mortars in Mitsubishi's MAV family at the exit of Gotemba Expressway.
The development may not have been completed
In fact, long before the MAV infantry fighting vehicle appeared on the Tomei Expressway, Japan tank fans had already seen many prototypes of this new car selection appear all over Japan. In August 2022, some Japan military fans first saw the appearance of Finland's AMVXP armored vehicle personnel transport type at the Defense Equipment Agency station, and later witnessed the comparative test of a new generation of general-purpose wheeled combat vehicles by the development test team of the army at the Nisshodai exercise ground in Oita Prefecture, Kyushu.
Finland's AMV XP armored transport vehicle displayed by the Agency for Development and Defense Equipment of the Ministry of Defense of Japan
These tests took place in different places, both because of the location of the land development test team, and on the other hand, because the land was also testing the compatibility of the prototype vehicle with the existing roads and civil shipping facilities in Japan.
Due to the high price of the "Boxer" and the fact that the LAV6 armored vehicle has not yet appeared in Japan, it is widely interpreted that the next generation of wheeled infantry fighting vehicles from Lu Zi will be selected between AMV and MAV. According to preliminary analysis, the infantry fighting models of AMV XP and MAV must have reached the 20-ton weight level. But Mitsubishi's scenario may have slightly weaker engine power than the AMV. In fact, Mitsubishi has already launched the 16-style car family design many years ago. At the 2016 Sartori Defense Exhibition, the company demonstrated the Type 16 modular powerpack and powertrain design.
Mitsubishi Corporation's modular powerpack and drivetrain for MAVs
In the author's eyes, there are two main features worth paying attention to in the MAV prototype exposed this time.
The first is the bodywork of infantry fighting vehicles. As mentioned earlier, one of the shortcomings of the Type 96 in service is the lack of firepower at the level of infantry fighting vehicles. In order to meet the escalation of firepower, the MAV infantry fighting model exposed this time is equipped with a turret using the "Big Viper" cannon. The layout of the turret is similar to that of the Type 87 armored reconnaissance vehicle in active service, with no independent turret for the commander and a central hatch for the turret crew. This arrangement is intriguing, because if the vehicle has a single-man turret, it means that the turret crew is mainly focused on maneuvering the turret armament. Then the design obviously left the commander's observation equipment and conditions poor.
The MAV infantry fighting vehicle is equipped with a manned turret equipped with a "Viper" cannon, which is somewhat technologically backward compared to remotely controlled weapon stations where large-caliber cannons are widely used in United States
So it is also possible that this model is just an armored reconnaissance vehicle. The car was supposed to have a seat for the infantry squad leader, which was behind the driver. In addition, the turret should be able to carry anti-tank missiles, but the current prototype has not yet been equipped with this device.
Considering that the U.S. military is also currently developing a medium-caliber turret mounted version of the Stryker armored vehicle, it is entirely possible that the Self-Defense Forces will replace a turret similar to the "Dragoon" program at the later stage of development. At that time, it is worth paying attention to whether the chassis developed from the 16 type will face the problem of not being wide enough and not long enough.
The second is the layout of the car's body. At present, there are actually three types of MAVs that have been witnessed by military fans. They include command models with a large crew / load aft compartment, infantry fighting models, as well as self-propelled mortars. The bodies of these three models are similar, slightly taller than the Type 16, but the engine compartment and tail hatch layout are the same. They do not have a rear rifle muzzle and have few periscopes on the hull, which is different from traditional wheeled infantry fighting vehicles. The author believes that this shows that the MAV may still be in the technical demonstration stage, and the feasibility and driving function of the platform and bodywork are the main axes of the current test. Luzi's demonstration department may not have yet determined the demand plan for the specific model of the car family.
Japan's new self-propelled mortar uses a large hydraulic tailgate. The roof is designed with a large split hatch.
Considering that the outside world has only seen the personnel transport model of the MAV armored vehicle, which is only a real model of sports car testing in Japan, Mitsubishi is still in the selection of the next generation of general-purpose wheeled armored combat vehicles. No matter how the company and the Defense Equipment Agency solve the space dispute between the infantry squad leader's position and the turret gondola in the design, it is a foregone conclusion that Lu Zi will be equipped with an 8-wheeled infantry fighting vehicle that will be equipped with a vehicle family.
In addition to the development of infantry fighting vehicles, we should also pay more attention to the digital equipment of the infantry teams of the Self-Defense Forces and the matching of unmanned land equipment with this type of combat vehicles. The current example of the KF51 and the Abrams X has shown that the future army armored vehicles may move away from the traditional positioning of "having a cannon to fight". Whether Japan will follow the United States and Germany and other countries to reserve physical space for the combined use of traditional armored vehicles and unmanned digital equipment is an observation point for the outside world to observe the follow-up prototype of the project.
General Dynamics released a video screenshot of the United States next-generation tank concept "Abrams X".