General Dynamics ASCOD (Austrian Spanish COoperation Development)

History of General Dynamics ASCOD (Oce Cooperative Development)

Austria (Steyr-Daimler-Puch) and Spain (Santa Barbara Sistemas) co-produced the 2002 ASCOD (Austria-Spain Cooperative Development) Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV). The vehicle was established by each nation as a complement to existing mechanized brigades, replacing legacy systems such as the American-made M113 Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) with a similar operational role.

The chassis of the ASCOD later became the basis for other battlefield vehicles, including tank destroyers, command vehicles, anti-aircraft platforms, ATGM carriers, mortar carriers, and armored ambulances.

The Austrian Armed Forces refer to their ASCOD vehicles as "Ulan" and the Spanish version as "Pizarro". Another form, "Ajax", will serve in the British Army in a few years.

The ASCOD is a 29 ton (short) vehicle measuring 22 feet in overall length, 12 feet in width and 8 feet in height. Its general appearance is consistent with other infantry fighting vehicles of Western origin, such as the American Bradley series. There was a well-sloped armor plate in the front, and the turret was placed above the center of the stern of the hull.

The sides of the hull are plate-side, and the upper rail section is covered with armored skirts. The track wheel arrangement features seven twin-tire wheels mounted on either side of the fuselage, with the drive sprocket at the front and the track idler at the rear. The driver is seated in the front left, the engine is in the front right.

The turret is maneuver-assisted and accommodates a crew of two (gunner and commander).

The turret is armed with a 30mm Mauser MK-30-2 automatic cannon supported by a coaxially mounted 7.62mm anti-infantry machine gun. The gun mount allows an inherent elevation range of -10 to +50 degrees. The placement of the turret at the rear of the vehicle allows an unrestricted 360-degree traversal of the main gun. The main gun fires fully stably while moving and is fitted with a fully digital Fire Control System (FCS) to support day and night operations. The turret also houses two rows of six smoke grenade launchers (12 grenades in total), allowing the vehicle to create its own smoke screen.

Bolt-on Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) blocks enhance crew and system survivability against the latest armor-piercing measures encountered on the modern battlefield.

Inside, the vehicle comes standard with the NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) package. Onboard heaters improve crew comfort, especially in the cold weather conditions encountered throughout Europe.

Spain was the first of the two countries to commit to ordering ASCOD, which it did in 1996 through a batch of 144 orders that went into service in 2003. The Spanish strength ended with a total of 261 ASCODs, with final deliveries arriving in 2015 (the second 212-strong order was reduced to 117 units).

Austria ordered 112 cars, with the first deliveries in 2002 and the last in 2005.

The UK has contracted 598 ASCODs in the "Ajax" (formerly "Scout SV") configuration. General Dynamics is leading its development, tentatively scheduled to enter service in 2018.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

500 x 30mm bullet

2,000 x 7.62mm ammo

12 x Smoke Grenade

Changes