The M1200 Armored Knight is an armored vehicle used by
forward observers in the U.S. military for precision targeting. Most of the Knights were used for operations in
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
. The M1200 entered service in 2008.
Design

These are wheeled
armored vehicles
Military vehicles are commonly armoured (or armored; see spelling differences) to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, shells, rockets, and missiles, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include armoured fighti ...
, designed using the
M1117
The M1117 armored security vehicle (ASV; nicknamed Guardian) is an internal security vehicle based on the V-100 and V-150 Commando series of armored cars. It was developed in the late 1990s for service with the United States' Military Police ...
Guardian ASV as the base, that carry the equipment needed to quickly bring in
precision guided munitions
A precision-guided munition (PGM), also called a smart weapon, smart munition, or smart bomb, is a type of weapon system that integrates advanced guidance and control systems, such as GPS, laser guidance, or infrared sensors, with various ty ...
and indirect artillery fire. According to the ''Strategy Page'' website;
The Armored Knight evolved from the desire to provide enhanced protection to the fire support teams who perform the targeting mission in high threat environments.
Development
The Knight was developed in an effort to offer an armored vehicle capable of keeping up with COLTs (Combat Observation and Lasing Teams). The previous FiST-V (Fire Support Team-Vehicle) employed by the COLTs was the
M707 Knight (a stripped-down variant of the Humvee).
Specifications
*Standard Crew: Three
*Combat Loaded Weight: Approximately 15 tons
*Maximum Speed: 63 Mph
*Cruising Range: 440 Miles
*Targeting System: Fire Support Sensor System(FS3)
*Target Location Accuracy: 1 Meter
*Armament: 1
M240B or 1
M2 Browning
The M2 machine gun or Browning .50-caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed near the end of World War I by John Browning. While similar to Browning's M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered ...
Components
*FS3 Mounted Sensor
*Targeting Station Control Panel
*Mission Processor Unit
*Inertial Navigation Unit
*Global Positioning System Receiver
*Power Distribution Unit
*Stand Alone Computer Unit
Operators
* : 465 M1200 Armored Knight (OP) as of January 2025
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See also
*
M981 FISTV
The M981 FISTV (Fire Support Team Vehicle) is a United States Army armored vehicle designed to house an artillery observer team in mechanized units. It was based on the M901 Improved TOW Vehicle (ITV) – itself based on the ubiquitous M113 armo ...
*
List of U.S. military vehicles by model number
The following is a (partial) listing of vehicle model numbers or M-numbers assigned by the United States Army. Some of these designations are also used by other agencies, services, and nationalities, although these various end users usually assig ...
References
External links
*http://www.drs.com/Products/TS/m1200.aspx
*https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/wsh2007/42.pdf
*http://www.textronmarineandland.com/products/land/asv_armored_knight.htm
Armored fighting vehicles of the United States
Military vehicles of the United States
Military vehicles introduced in the 2000s