The British Army has just taken delivery of these vehicle in Irag. The first unit to be equipped is the 2nd Battalion The Rifles. An excellent modelling subject.



However, spot the difference;



Ross

The British troops in Basra having been using the uparmoured Bulldog since the beginning of January, 2007.

Photos can be found on Getty Images.

Interesting, is the 113 chassis a prototype? I was unaware the British operated any.

Ian

No, I'm unaware of the Brits using the 113 in any form; they seem to have quite enough of their own armor designs

It's more than likely just a shot of a production variant prototype that just happens to utilise similar ideas as the FV430. A case of convergent technology brought on by experiences over the last decade in the various theaters of operations.

Erik and Ian,

The second photo is of an Israeli M113 with EAAK (Enhanced Applique Armour Kit) Generation 5 add-on armour...not British. Hong Kong Creation Workshop makes a resin conversion for the M113.

I think Ross was just showing the comparison of the armour packages.

Like Gary stated, the top photo is the updated British FV432.

Hmm. Apart from the different chassis, wheels and tracks and the engines and crew being on opposite sides....

I bet Accurate Armour is on the case...

Cheers,
Christophe

Is this an M113 with EAAK? It looks like the stock photo of the IDF's CLASSICAL M113 (Reactive armor). I thought that EAAK was a passive armor system. Or is the EAAK Gen 5 the new name for the CLASSICAL system?

Mike,

Good question, I don't really know. HKCW says it is EAAK and Goffy Models says it is reactive.

Even in the article in Tamiya Model Magazine in issue 117, John Murphy refers to the armour as both EAAK and reactive.

The M113 with this armour package is known as the "Classical". HCKW calls it "Generation 5".

Internet sources say it is reactive but it was too heavy and reduced performance of the M113A2s and it has been withdrawn from service...I don't know for sure.

Anyway, the top photo is an FV432 and the bottom one is an M113.