MLVM (, meaning "infantry fighting vehicle of

vânători de munte The ''vânători de munte'' (, ) are the elite mountain troops of the Romanian Land Forces. They were first established as an independent Army Corps in 1916 during World War I, and became operational in 1917 under ''Corpul de Munte'' designati ...

") is a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

. The vehicle was designed and used as an

infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...

for the ''vânători de munte'' (mountain units) of the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Forc ...

, though technically it is a tracked armoured personnel carrier according to UN classification because of its light armor and armament.

Description

MLVM is a specialized vehicle designed breasted mountain. The hull is inspired from

SU-76 The SU-76 ('' Samokhodnaya Ustanovka 76'') was a Soviet light self-propelled gun used during and after World War II. The SU-76 was based on a lengthened version of the T-70 light tank chassis and armed with the ZIS-3 mod. 1942 76-mm divisional ...

tank destroyer but is substantially modified for rough terrain. The turret is the same as that installed on the Romanian

TAB-71M The TAB-71 (''Transportorul Amfibiu Blindat model 1971'') is the Romanian license-built version of the BTR-60PB. It was produced between 1970 and 1990 by RATMIL (now Romarm). It is the only other license manufacture of the BTR-60PB. Design and De ...

(8 × 8) APC. This turret is recognisable by the large day sight mounted on the left side, which is provided with a protective cage.. The vehicle has been designed specifically to be used in mountainous areas. Armament consists of a 14.5 mm caliber

KPVT The KPV heavy machine gun (, an initialism for ) is a Soviet designed 14.5×114mm-caliber heavy machine gun, which first entered service as an infantry weapon in 1949. In the 1960s, the infantry version was taken out of production because it was ...

heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or ...

, and a co-axial 7.62 mm PKT machine gun. The hull is made of welded steel plates and ensures protection against bullet caliber 7.62 mm and artillery splinters. The suspension is torsion bar. Road wheels (six from each drive sprocket) have holes to reduce weight. MLVM is fully amphibious, being propelled with a maximum speed of 5–6 km/h in water. Prior to the crossing of rivers or lakes (although the MLVM is amphibious, it is not designed for marine infantry use), a trim vane must be erected at the front and bilge pumps turned on, taking no more than 5 minutes. Suspension is torsion bar type with six rubber-tyred spoked road wheels either side, drive sprocket at the front, idler at the rear and track-return rollers. Some vehicles have been observed with five - not six - road wheels. Regarding internal arrangement, in front, on the left, stands the driver's hatch. It has at its disposal three periscopes for observation during day time and central one can be replaced by a night vision block during night-time. Behind the driver's hatch is located the commander. Both can use the hatch from the ceiling, in the front left side. Commander has at its disposal an IR night vision system and has a hatch with two wide-angle vision blocks to his sides and a periscope/vision block which can be raised and rotated to allow the commander to view the area around the vehicle from under armor. The troop room is at the rear, have two roof hatches, six firing ports (three in each side) each with an associated day periscope and a door in the rear which has two firing ports and two day periscopes as well as containing some diesel fuel and which is used as fuel reservoir. The troops are seated three each side, with the seventh manning the turret.

Modernization

A similar modernization package with MLI-84M has been proposed for MLVM and included the OWS 25R turret (Oerlikon KBA automatic Cannon-07 25 mm caliber coaxial machine gun PKT and can equip with a guided anti-tank missile launcher Spike), laser/IR illumination warning system, smoke grenades launchers, more advanced optical system, automatic transmission, Mercedes-Benz diesel engine or Deutz (approximately 400 horsepower), automatic fire extinguishing systems and improved command and control and the ability to mount additional armor plates. The weight of the new vehicle was 11.3 tons, but the maximum speed, power and autonomy were improved due to better engine performance. As a result of improvements in weaponry, the vehicle can be classified as an infantry fighting vehicle. The result of the modernization program was a vehicle that is compatible with NATO standards. A prototype was shown at the exhibition of arms and military technical Expomil 2005.

Variants

* MLVM AR-Version fitted with a 1982 120 mm mortar, installed in troops room. During firing the two shutters are opened in the side. A baseplate and bipod are carried externally on the vehicle to enable the 120 mm mortar to be deployed away from the vehicle if required by the tactical situation. The vehicle has been observed with two types of road wheel, one spoked and similar to that of the standard MLVM mountaineers combat vehicle and a second of stamped metal similar to that used on the Romanian MLI-84 infantry combat vehicle. This new variant is called the M1989, which also has a reworked superstructure with a firing port and periscope in each side, and a new rear door. Additionally, the M1982 mortar now fires forward and is directed by servomotors. This appears to be the standard type in service today. * MLVM ABAL-vehicle intended for the transport of ammunition (2.1 tons). The turret is missing and the armament consists of a machine gun PKT. Standard equipment: NBC protection, firefighting and communications equipment. * MLVM MEDEVAC-medical evacuation Vehicle and the granting of first aid. Superstructure and armament are similar version ABAL.

References

* Cristopher F. Foss, ''Jane's Armour and artillery 1997-98'', {{ISBN, 0-7106-1542-6 Armoured personnel carriers of Romania Tracked armoured personnel carriers