Armor: Katrina Kills ASV Production

Katrina Kills ASV Production

September 21, 2005: Hurricane Katrina has reduced production of armored vehicles used by troops in Iraq. The plant assembling the ASV (armored security vehicle) is in southern Louisiana, and was flooded by Katrina. About 85 percent of the 1,200 workers are still missing, having been displaced when their homes were destroyed by the hurricane. The Textron plant itself was damaged, but not destroyed. The workers who have returned are cleaning things up and getting ready to resume production by the end of October. The plant has orders for some 900 ASVs.

The ASVs, costing about $690,000 each, were originally developed in the 1990s for use by MPs in combat zones. But only a few were bought. It was found that for 1990s style peacekeeping, existing armored vehicles were adequate. In the narrow streets of Balkan towns, the vehicle was too wide to be very maneuverable. Then came Iraq, where the ASV turned out to be very useful, particularly for convoy protection. There are currently nearly 200 ASVs in Iraq, and the army wants lots more because military police like these vehicles a lot. The MPs originally wanted 2,000 ASVs, but before Iraq, were told they would be lucky to get a hundred. Now the MPs may end up with over a thousand.

The ASV is a 13 ton armored car that is built to handle the kind of crap terrorists are dealing out in Iraq. The ASVs are, unlike armored hummers, built from the ground up as an armored trucks. ASVs are 20 feet long and 8.5 feet wide, making them a bit larger than hummers. Usually, each ASV carries a .50 caliber machine-gun and a 40mm automatic grenade launcher. The ASV is heavy enough to survive most roadside bombs and keep going. The ASV is bullet, and RPG proof. The turret is the same one used on the U.S. Marine Corps LAV.