M992 Field Artillery Ammunition Support Vehicle
Supporting the M109 Paladin howitzer, the M992 Field Artillery Ammunition Support Vehicle is built on a M109 chassis with fully enclosed rear hull to carry 155mm ammunition. During field operations, it accompanies the M109A6 and completes each the howitzer section.
The FAASV has a crew of five, and is a full-tracked, aluminium armored ammunition resupply vehicle with a hydraulic powered conveyor for single-round transfer of ammunition. In addition to ammunition handling equipment, the FAASV features projectile rack assemblies and storage compartments with the capacity to hold 90 complete conventional rounds and 3 Copperhead guided rounds; a diesel powered auxiliary power unit used to drive the hydraulic system and recharge vehicle batteries; and an automatic fire extinguisher system (AFES).[1]
The M992A2 is comparable to the M109A6 in terms of speed, mobility, and survivability. The M109 chassis has been suggested as the automotive basis of other support vehicles., such as ambulances, resupply and maintenance vehicles for which the M109's speed is adequate. A complaint about the M109 is that it is too slow to keep up with the M1 Abrams and M2 Bradley direct combat vehicles it supports.
References
- ↑ , Chapter 1: Mission, Organization, and System Description, FM 3-09.70 Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for M109A6 Howitzer (Paladin) Operations, 1 August 2000