LAV-25

Look at it! Isn't it adorable?

The LAV (Light Armored Vehicle) is a interesting toy of the USMC. Built by GMC Canada and based on the Swiss MOWAG Piranha, the LAV sports a M242 25mm Auto Cannon, coaxial M240 MG, and an additional M240 on the roof.

In Team Yankee

The Stat Card

IRL

BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!

The LAV-25 is an armored fighting vehicle used by the US Marines Corps for reconnaissance and light fire support. If it wasn’t for the fact that its armor is only designed to handle small arms fire (later variants improve survivability up to 14.5mm and small explosives), you might WOULD classify this as a proper Infantry Fighting Vehicle, as it sports a mean 25mm autocannon in addition to the real life 6 man passenger capacity. The idea of having IFVs with truly effective armor would only become widespread later on in the 21st Century with the push to vehicles capable of surviving in an urban environment. The purpose of an IFV is to support the infantry in combat, with armor packages compromising the priority of speed. This is especially relevant to forces like the Marine Corps who require lightweight vehicles for their seaborne transportation.

The LAV-25 has many variants that used by the Marines Corps, some represented in Team Yankee (LAV-AT, LAV-M), and some that are not (LAV-AD, which was basically like a hybrid of the M163 VADS and M48 Chaparral but was retired due to budget constraints. The US Army uses another MOWAG Piranha derived variant, the more advanced Stryker. Although that variant was only armed with a machine gun until recently and wasn’t adopted until more or less a decade after the Cold War. Other Stryker variants match LAV variants, with the exception of the M1128 MGS which mounts a 105mm cannon.