M113AS4 AF Australian Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) with Hiab Crane

M113AS4 AF armored fitted, fitted with a Hiab crane. A total of 38 of these vehicles will be delivered. The M113AS4 is an Australian-made upgrade of the old M113AS1 and M113AS3 which are based on the American M113A1 tracked armoured personnel carrier (APC), one of the most popular light tracked APC in the world. The project of Australian M113 upgrade was leaded by BAE Systems. The decade long project to upgrade 433 M113 vehicles began in 2002, with the first completed vehicle delivered to the customer in January 2007. While the upgraded Australian M113s look similar to how they would have in the 1970’s, they are ‘a generational leap ahead’ with improved firepower, protection and habitability from the original M113 A1 vehicle. The finished vehicles are also more reliable and faster following the upgrade. The Australian Army operates a fleet of some 800 members of the M113 series of full-tracked armoured personnel carriers in different variants including ambulance, fire support, command post, mortar carrier, recovery and load carrier vehicles. The M113AS4 is currently the standard tracked APC of Australian armed forces. The M113 Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) is an all-terrain vehicle designed to protect and transport its crew and up to ten Infantry personnel. In September 1996, the Australian Department of Defence selected the now Tenix Defence Systems Pty Ltd, Australia to upgrade 364 of the Australian Army's fleet of M113A1 series of full-tracked Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) to extend their operational life through to the year 2010.