U.S. Army 'Austere MICV' 1969-1970 Study

[Pioneer]

G'day gents

Just been reading an extract from The Bradley and How It Got That Way: Technology, Institutions, and the Problem of Mechanized Infantry in the United States Army by by W. Blair Haworth

I found it interesting that "The U.S. Army Tank Automotive Command (TACOM) conducted a 1969-1970 design study for an "Austere MICV". This will be a 17-ton vehicle (almost 2-tons less than projections for XM723) using much of the running gear of the M551 Sheridan and abandoning or deferring many of the XM723, such as night vision devises and gun stabalization. These economies realized significant cost savings. The "Austere MICV" was projected to cost $89,374, verses $151,575 for the XM723 as the design stood at the time."

So gents, does anyone have any more information on this "Austere MICV"?
Would be interesting to see artist impressions/drawings and specifications!!

P.S, as the article indocates, the "Austere MICV", being based on the M551 running gear highlights issues within itself. It also highlights that the 'Austere MICV' "performance and capability however would have been at best a marginal improvement over the even cheaper M113A1-derived XM765."

Regards
Pioneer

 

[Apophenia]

From: Acquistiion of Major Weapon Systems, B-163056, 18 March 1971, pg 17
http://www.gao.gov/assets/210/202320.pdf

"During the new review, completed in April 1970, the project manager established the concept of an "austere" MICV, which would have a lower cost because of deletion of features that the Army earlier had termed "essential." In July 1970, he and higher commands recommended its adoption. At the time of our review, the DA [Department of the Army] decision was still pending."

In Camp Colt to Desert Storm: The History of US Armored Forces by George F. Hofmann and Donn A. Starry (Eds), pg 406 http://www.amazon.ca/Camp-Colt-Desert-Storm-History/dp/0813121302

According to "Lethal beyond expectations": The Bradley Fighting Vehicle by Diane L. Urbina, the "austere" MICV suggestion came from the Assistant Chief of Staff for Force Development, Lt-Gen Arthur Collins. The vehicle was to have "a one-man turret, with teh commander located in the hull, in order to reduce its cost. The QMR [Qualitative Material Requirements] for the MICV was then revised to permit development of the one-man turret concept."

And from AD- A253 096 Transportability in the Defense Department: Research, Development and Acquisition Process, Benjamin Zycher & David Morton, Rand Corp, pp 22-23

" ... a Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle Alternatives Cost-Effectiveness (MICV ACE) study was conducted in 1969-1970, comparing the existing M113, a different MICV meeting the earlier Qualitative Material Requirements (the XM723), and an "austere" MICV. The definitions or algorithms that measure 'effectiveness" in such studies must carry weights reflecting the preferences of users. Indeed, in the available development histories of the Bradley, the only explicit reference to user input was concern expressed in 1969 by the Commander-in-Chief USAREUR about the level of protection provided by the MICV designed in the mid- and late 1960s, one of the early evolutionary models of the Bradley."

 

[Pioneer]

Thanks Apophenia
Some reading for me to do!

Regards
Pioneer