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Alvis FV102 Striker

1976 COLD WAR MODERN

History of the Alvis FV102 striker

The Alvis Striker of the CVR(T) series of tracked vehicles in service with the British Army is a missile delivery vehicle dedicated to anti-tank missions. The vehicle uses "Swingfire" anti-tank guided missiles, which enable the striker to counter the threat of modern enemy tanks at ranges of up to 4,000 meters (2.5 miles). Missiles are guided by direct optical sights or thermal sights. The vehicle can also be combined with separate optical sights up to 100 meters away, allowing the Striker hull to remain safely under cover while attacking with its missiles via a top-mounted launcher.

The Striker served in the British Army as part of the Royal Artillery in 1976 before being placed under the control of the Royal Armoured Regiment.

All Striker vehicles have five primary ready-to-fire Swingfire missiles deployed and five reloads in tow. Missiles were initially managed through a manual line-of-sight control interface, then a semi-automatic line-of-sight function (SACLOS) was added.

The manual process sends heading corrections based on operator input to the cable connected to the launching missile. The semi-automatic procedure simply lets the operator keep the target in his crosshair while the missile corrects its own flight path.

Externally, the vehicle is similar in appearance to the FV103 Spartan armored personnel carrier of the CRV(T) family of tracked vehicles. The vehicle is compact, with progressively sloping forward-leaning panels, front engine and central fighting compartment. The launch system is mounted on the rear of the top of the fuselage. The driver managed a position in the front left of the hull with hatches and sights.

The running gear consists of five twin tire wheels on one track side, the drive sprocket at the front and the track idler at the rear. Eight smoke grenade launchers are mounted in groups of four on each side of the front of the fuselage. Self-defense is provided by a 7.62mm L7 General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), a British standard GPMG based on the Belgian FN MAG. This enables the vehicle to support infantry, light vehicles and low-flying aircraft.

The standard operator of the vehicle is three people, including the driver, commander and weapons specialist.

Power is provided by a 190 hp Cummins BTR diesel engine. This brings the vehicle to a top speed of 80 km/h, giving it the speed it needs to keep up with the British Army's mechanized units.

Forward vehicles were stationed in the bay, where they proved to be active elements of British armour. However, the Striker Missile Carrier is no longer active in the British Army's inventory, and it was finally abandoned in 2005 with the arrival of the American Javelin man-portable anti-tank missile (ATGM).