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MT-LBu (IV12 series) ACRV M1974
Artillery Command and Reconnaissance Vehicle

The artillery command and reconnaissance vehicle (ACRV) Ml974 was first observed in 1974 and were introduced along with the 122-mm and 152-mm SP howitzers. Their high degree of mobility allows SP howitzers to operate closer to the FLOT and to the supported maneuver units, thus increasing their responsiveness. The automation of gunnery computations helps reduce mission times and gives greater flexibility in the deployment of firing batteries The centralization of fire mission computation and fire control at battalion level is consistent with the recent establishment of the battalion rather than the battery as the basic firing unit in Soviet artillery computer available to each battalion. Battery fire direction personnel probably will receive from the battalion FDC fully computed firing data that is ready to be passed to the SP howitzers.

The suspension consists of seven road wheels with no support rollers. The high, box-like hull has a steep glacis at the front and a flat, round turret on the rear half. The straight vertical rear of the hull contains a single exit door. A total of three or four antennas may be mounted on top of the hull. The ACRV M1974 (1) normally has a 12.7-mm DShK antiaircraft machine gun on a swivel mount atop the turret. The ACRV M1974 (2) turret mounts a laser rangefinder, optical observation devices, and associated fire-control equipment. The ACRV M1974 (3) may mount a 12.7-mm machine gun and probably contains a digital fire-direction computer. The ACRV M1974 (1) and (2) also vary from the ACRV M1974 (3) by having a rectangular box projecting from the right side of the hull, just below the turret.

The artillery command and reconnaissance vehicle (ACRV) Ml974 is known to be deployed in three versions. All three have the same basic chassis as the 122-mm self-propelled howitzer 2S1. The three versions of the ACRV are deployed in self-propelled howitzer battalions:

Specifications

Speed
Length
Weight

Sources and Resources



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http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/row/mt-lbu.htm
Maintained by Robert Sherman
Originally created by John Pike
Updated Saturday, August 21, 1999 7:14:40 AM