LAV-AD

LAV-AD

LAV-AD

Description

The LAV-AD is a rank American SPAA with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). It was introduced in Update "Wind of Change".

General info

Survivability and armour

Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.

Armour type:

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	___ mm	___ mm Top ___ mm Bottom	___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Turret	___ - ___ mm Turret front ___ mm Gun mantlet	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Cupola	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm

Notes:

Mobility

The LAV-AD's mobility is rather superb. As a wheeled vehicle, it has good speed on roads. Despite being similar in appearance and having a weaker engine than the M1128, the LAV-AD accelerates much faster due to its lighter weight, resulting in a higher power-to-weight ratio, and it also has a slightly faster reverse speed. The engine is also relatively quiet, allowing for stealthy movements and ambushes.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade				391			__.__
Realistic				243			__.__

Armaments

Main armament

The main armament of the LAV-AD is the 25mm GAU-12U rotary autocannon. It functions similarly to the 20mm M168 Vulcan found on the M163 earlier on in the tech tree, but with a reduced ammo capacity of only 1000 rounds total (500 ready, 500 reserve instead of 1,100 ready, 1,100 reserve) and fire rate (1,800 rpm instead of 3,000 rpm) due to the limited room in the vehicle and larger caliber ammunition. The gun is also fully stabilized, with a similar handling akin to that of the HSTV-L; slower than the M163 and M247 Sergeant York but still fast enough to react to most aerial targets at close range, particularly helicopters and slow and low flying jets. Like most other AAs, it comes with a Default, AP, and HE belt. The Default belt has a 1:1 AP to HE ratio and is the only belt the vehicle has access to. The HE belt has a 3:1 HE to AP ratio while the AP belt has a 3:1 AP to HE ratio. The former is more effective against aircraft while the latter is more effective against armored vehicles. The AP round is the same across all belts, and can penetrate 91mm of armor at point blank range. Combined with the relatively high fire rate, it can easily destroy barrels, tracks, and machine guns with ease as well as being able to shred light vehicles.

25 mm GAU-12U						Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	1,000 (500)	1,800	-8°/+65°	±180°	Two-plane	33.9	__._	__._	__._	__._	26.0	_.__	_.__	_.__
Realistic						__._	__._	__._	__._	__._

Ammunition

• Default: HVAP-T · HEI-T*
• PGU-25/U: HEI-T* · HEI-T* · HEI-T* · HVAP-T
• PGU-20/U: HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HEI-T*

Penetration statistics
Belt	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Default	91	85	64	45	32	22
PGU-25/U	91	85	64	45	32	22
PGU-20/U	91	85	64	45	32	22

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
25 mm HVAP-T	HVAP-T	1,036	0.21	N/A	N/A	N/A	66°	70°	72°
25 mm HEI-T	HEI-T	1,065	0.19	0	0.1	54	79°	80°	81°
25 mm HEI-T PGU-20/U	HEI-T	1,100	0.19	0	0.1	54	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
2	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Additional armament

The LAV-AD also comes with FIM-92 Stinger missiles. The missiles are IR guided, meaning they require a lock-on before firing. The vehicle has FIM-92Es by default and can unlock FIM-92Ks as a later modification. These are the same Stinger missiles used by the Ozelot in the German tech tree and function the same way. The missiles count as special weapons.

FIM-92 Stinger missile					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity (Belt)	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	16 (4)	-8°/+65°	±180°	Two-plane	__._	__._	__._	__._	__._	_.__	_.__	_.__	_.__
Realistic					__._	__._	__._	__._	__._

Ammunition

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Range (m)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Trigger Radius (m)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
									0%	50%	100%
FIM-92E	SAM	1,000	6,000	10.1	1	10	N/A	540	79°	80°	81°
FIM-92K	SAM	1,000	6,000	10.1	1	10	1	540	79°	80°	81°

The FIM-92E detonates on impact while the FIM-92K has a proximity fuse.

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
16	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Additional armament

The LAV-AD also has access to M247 Hydra 70 rockets with a researchable modification. This modification gives the vehicle an additional weapon set-up, replacing the Stinger pod above the main gun with a Hydra 70 rocket pod with 19 rockets, similar to those found on AH-1 Cobras and AH-64 Apaches. The Hydras act as a secondary weapon.

Hydra 70 rocket
Capacity (Belt)	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer
19 (19)	N/A	N/A	N/A

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Belt	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
M247	290	290	290	290	290	290

Belt details
Belt	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
M247	Rocket	739	10.16	0	0.01	1.19	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
1	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Has access to Hydra 70 rockets
• The 25 mm GAU-12U cannon shreds any air vehicles in its range
• Highly mobile thanks to its light weight and is also amphibious
• Can get two SAM launchers if you choose to not have Hydras on the vehicle
• Has access to 2nd generation thermal sights for the gunner
• Has optical tracking meaning air targets will not receive RWR pings when locked onto
• Comes with smoke grenades stock
• Laser rangefinder automatically adjusts the sights, unlike on the M247 and ADATS

Cons:

• The SAM has only a maximum overload of 10G which may prove difficult against planes with high maneuverability.
• Long reload for the 25mm gun
• Cannot use two Stinger pods and Hydra rockets at the same time; one of the two setups must be chosen
• Turret crew easily die to heavy machine gun fire and is prone to overpressure
• Shorter range when compared to its contemporaries like the Roland 1, FlaRakPz 1, and XM975 at the same BR
• MAW detects missile launches and Stingers are prone to being diverted by flares
• No search radar
• No proximity ammunition unlike the preceding M247
• Hydra rockets are hard to aim due to their low velocity and do not work properly with the laser rangefinder

History

Devblog

Development of the LAV-AD began in 1987 after a contract was signed with both the FMC Corporation and General Electric to design a SPAA variant for the LAV-25 for the USMC. Both companies began developing a system based on the USMC requirements that it had to be armed with a 25 mm cannon and possess provisions for mounting Stinger missiles and Hydra-70 rockets. While the FMC company opted to outfit their design with the same M242 cannon used on the base model of the LAV-25, General Electric decided to go for the GAU-12 ‘Equalizer’ Gatling style rotary cannon.

Having reviewed both prototypes, the USMC decided to procure General Electric’s design, placing an initial order for 125 vehicles to be produced. By 1996, the LAV-AD had formally been adopted into service. Despite the initial plans to produce over 100 vehicles, only 17 were actually manufactured due to funding issues. In 1998, the final unit was delivered to the USMC and further development of the vehicle was discontinued due to high maintenance costs. Among other operations, the LAV-AD was used in combat action in Iraq.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] LAV-AD: Revolving Firepower

USA anti-aircraft vehicles
M3 Half-track derivatives	M13 MGMC · M15 CGMC · M16 MGMC
M24 derivative	M19A1
M41 derivative	M42
Radar SPAAG	M163 · M247
Missile SPAA	ADATS · Imp.Chaparral · LAV-AD · XM975