One of the ways to protect the coast from enemy amphibious assault forces is the organization of mine-explosive and engineering barriers. Accordingly, to overcome such obstacles, the advancing marines must use special demining installations and other engineering equipment. In the past, the US defense industry has tried several times to solve this problem with special multiple launch rocket systems. The second representative of this curious family was the self-propelled gun AAVP7A1 CATFAE.
It is worth recalling the events that preceded the start of the CATFAE project and became the reason for its appearance. By the mid-seventies, the command of the American army came to the conclusion that it was necessary to create a new engineering vehicle capable of making passages in minefields. It was proposed to destroy enemy ammunition using rockets with a volume-detonating warhead. The project of such a mine clearance facility was collectively named SLUFAE. The engineering vehicle itself was called the M130.
Amphibious transporters AAVP7A1 as standard. Photo by USMC
In 1976-78, the M130 prototype worked at the test site and showed its characteristics, in parallel going through the fine-tuning. Unguided rockets with a powerful charge coped with their tasks and made passages in minefields of all kinds. However, the firing range was limited, and the survivability of the vehicle and the protection of the crew left much to be desired. As a result, in its current form, the original demining installation could not enter service and was abandoned.
Nevertheless, the military did not stop work on the entire topic of demining equipment. It was proposed to continue development work and create new ammunition with sufficient characteristics. After such processing, promising weapons could enter service and find their place in the army, ensuring the safe passage of people and equipment through dangerous zones.
However, it was not possible to complete this work within an acceptable time frame. The SLUFAE project was initiated by the Army and Navy, which were later joined by the Marine Corps. Over time, the army and navy lost interest in this topic, as a result of which the role of the main customer and supervisor of work was transferred to the ILC. From a certain time, the development of promising demining installations with ammunition of a volumetric explosion was carried out only in the interests of the marines.
The transporter has a large troop compartment suitable for the installation of various equipment. Photo by USMC
It is worth noting that at that time the ILC already had means of remote mine clearance by an explosion. The M58 MICLIC complexes with an extended charge were in operation. A launcher for two solid-propellant exhaust engines and a charge container were mounted on different platforms, including AAVP7A1 amphibious transporters. All this equipment was installed in the troop compartment of the corps.
After a series of preliminary studies aimed at finding the best ways to develop existing ideas, a new program was launched. It was designated as CATFAE - Catapult-Launched Fuel-Air Explosive.
Soon, the technical appearance of the future engineering vehicle was determined, which was to pave the way for the troops in the enemy's minefields. As a basis for a self-propelled demining unit, it was proposed to use a standard floating transporter KMP - AAVP7A1. He should have lost a number of devices associated with the original transport role. In their place, it was proposed to place a new launcher and fire controls. A completely new ammunition was also proposed, which had significant advantages over the XM130 product from the previous program.
A prototype of the CATFAE demining installation. Photo Librascopememories.com
The amphibious carrier of the CATFAE system was supposed to retain all the main features and most of the units provided for by the basic configuration. At the same time, it was necessary to remove seats for soldiers and other equipment from the aft troop compartment, instead of which it was proposed to mount a launcher. As a result of this, the simple conveyor and demining installation should not have had any external differences.
Both in the basic configuration and in the updated form, the AAVP7A1 amphibian had a body with bulletproof and light anti-shell armor. The displacement hull of a recognizable shape was welded from aluminum armor plates with a thickness of no more than 40-45 mm. In the front part of the hull, with a shift to the starboard side, the engine compartment remained. To his left were a couple of seats for the crew, another one behind him. A large volume in the center and aft of the hull was originally given for the placement of paratroopers, but in the CATFAE project its purpose has changed.
The work of the CATFAE system as seen by the artist. Popular Mechanics drawing
In the AAVP7A1 project, a power plant was used, built on the basis of a General Motors 8V53T diesel engine with a capacity of 400 hp. With the help of the FMC HS-400-3A1 transmission, the torque was transmitted to the front drive wheels. In addition to the latter, the chassis received six road wheels with torsion bar suspension on each side. The idler wheels with a tensioning mechanism, respectively, were placed in the stern. Above the guide wheels on the sides, there were two water-jet propellers.
The amphibian had its own barrel armament. The full-revolving turret housed an installation with a large-caliber M2HB machine gun and a 40-mm Mk 19 automatic grenade launcher. A set of smoke grenade launchers was installed. There were no embrasures for firing personal weapons of the crew and the landing force.
The new project CATFAE provided for the release of the existing troop compartment with its transformation into a combat one. Now it housed a launcher for new missiles, which was not distinguished by a complex design. Within the available volume, it was proposed to mount 21 short-length guides. These devices had to fit in several rows of three or four in each. According to some reports, a hinged installation was used with the possibility of some change in the elevation angle. At the same time, due to the limited dimensions of the fighting compartment, firing could only be carried out "in mortar" - with large angles.
Prototype AAVP7A1 CATFAE on water. Shot from newsreel
In the stowed position, the launcher was covered with the standard doors of the upper hatch of the troop compartment. Having opened them, the crew could fire and make a passage through the minefield. The aft hinged door of the troop compartment remained in place, but now it had to be used only for servicing the launcher.
Control over the shooting was carried out from a special device installed in the control department. He was responsible for the operation of the electrical propellant ignition system. According to known data, the control device made it possible to shoot both single and volley. The fire mode should have been chosen in accordance with the existing tasks: unguided missiles could be used both to neutralize mines and as engineering ammunition to undermine various structures. A full salvo of 21 missiles should have taken about 90 seconds.
All modifications of the CATFAE project literally remained inside the body of the AAVP7A1 transporter. As a result, the dimensions and weight of the vehicle have not changed. Length still did not exceed 8 m, width - 3.3 m, height (in the tower, excluding open hatch doors) - less than 3.3 m. Combat weight remained at the level of 29 tons. Mobility parameters remained the same. The maximum speed on the highway exceeded 70 km / h, the cruising range on land was 480 km. Water-jet propellers made it possible to accelerate to 11-13 km / h with a cruising range of about 20 nautical miles.
The moment the shot is fired, you can see the flame of the rocket engine. Shot from newsreel
The XM130 unguided missile, developed under the SLUFAE program, showed unsatisfactory performance, and therefore a new ammunition was created for the CATFAE complex. The design of such a product was entrusted to Honeywell. Taking into account the experience of the previous project, a new appearance of the rocket was determined, which made it possible to obtain the required combat qualities with acceptable operational parameters.
The new rocket received a cylindrical body with a length of 1.5 m. Folding stabilizers were installed in the tail of such a body, which were deployed during flight. A warhead, a solid-propellant engine and a parachute were placed inside the body of such a product. According to some reports, a warhead of the BLU-73 / B FAE type was again used in the new project - a container with a flammable liquid, equipped with a remote fuse and a low-power spraying explosive charge. The CATFAE rocket assembly weighed only 63 kg, which, among other things, reduced the requirements for engine power.
As conceived by the authors of the new project, the combat work of the AAVP7A1 engineering vehicle was not very difficult. Having approached the enemy's minefield at a given distance, the crew had to open the hatch of the fighting compartment and fire rockets. With the help of their own engine, they accelerated and entered the calculated ballistic trajectory. The parachute was ejected at a given section of the trajectory. With its help, the warhead was to descend to its target. The detonation of the spraying charge was to take place at a low height above the ground. After the formation of an aerosol from a combustible liquid, an explosion should have occurred.
The rocket descends by parachute. Shot from newsreel
At the first detonation of the warhead, the flammable liquid was scattered over a certain distance, which increased the affected area of the subsequent explosion. In addition, the area of the ground increased, which was directly affected by the shock wave. According to calculations, a salvo of 21 missiles with charges of the BLU-73 / B FAE type allowed to hit mines in an area 20 yards (18 m) wide in front and 300 yards (274 m) in depth. Earlier it was shown that the warhead provides the defeat of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. The shockwave of the volumetric explosion caused the mines to detonate or break down mechanically.
In the mid-eighties, the CATFAE program reached the stage of construction and testing of experimental equipment. In 1986-87, Marine Corps research structures and contracting companies converted the AAVP7A1 production vehicle into a launcher carrier for special missiles. Obviously, the restructuring of the amphibian did not take long, and soon experts were able to start testing new systems.
The exact information on the progress of the tests has not been officially published. However, KPM has several times shared information about the project with the press and released some data. The public was told about the purpose and design characteristics of the mine clearance facility. At the same time, until a certain time, photographs of the experimental equipment were not published, and only her combat work appeared in the press as represented by the artists. Later, other materials appeared.
Explosion of space-detonating charge. Shot from newsreel
From the available information, it follows that within the framework of the first stages of testing, the authors of the AAVP7A1 CATFAE project managed to obtain the desired results and start new work. In 1990, a new contract appeared for the continuation of development work, this time with subsequent preparation for future serial production. Also, the required volumes of production of new equipment and methods of combat use were determined.
According to 1989 plans, the Marine Corps was to purchase a significant number of CATFAE systems and install them on parts of existing or newly built equipment. According to calculations, 12 AAVP7A1 CATFAE demining units were to be at the disposal of each Marine battalion. It was assumed that these vehicles during the landing would move ahead of the main forces and attack minefields or enemy fortifications. Other equipment and infantry were supposed to move along the passages they made.
Thus, the command of the ILC remained a fairly new development and began to draw up plans for the construction and operation of such equipment. However, the new plans were not implemented. Serial production of CATFAE with subsequent deployment in the army was supposed to start in the early nineties, but this did not happen. There is reason to believe that the promising program is yet another victim of the changing geopolitical environment. In connection with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the disappearance of a potential adversary, the United States sharply reduced military spending. A number of promising programs had to be closed or frozen. Probably, the CATFAE project was among such “losers”.
It is curious that in the early nineties, work on the mine clearing plant actually stopped, but the project was not officially closed. An official document from the Ministry of the Navy dated July 2008 is known, where the CATFAE project is listed in the list of active programs implemented in the interests of the Marine Corps. It is not known how this information should be interpreted. Only one thing is clear: even if the project was not officially closed, its real results have not yet been obtained. The US Army is armed with various means of demining, but systems based on volumetric explosion ammunition have not entered service.
Since 2008, the Catapult-Launched Fuel-Air Explosive project has not appeared in open sources. The self-propelled demining unit based on the AAVP7A amphibious never left the range. The original method of getting rid of mine-explosive obstacles could not be brought to practical use. Despite positive assessments and far-reaching plans, already the second program for the development of engineering technology did not lead to the desired results. As far as is known, in recent decades, the Pentagon has not attempted to "resurrect" the old idea and create a new model of engineering technology of this kind.
Since the mid-seventies, various structures of the US armed forces have tried to create a fundamentally new engineering vehicle with remote mine clearance equipment. The first project of this kind was developed in the interests of the army, navy and marines, but the resulting sample of equipment did not fully meet the requirements. Soon the army and navy abandoned new ideas, but the ILC continued to work. However, his attempt to get a self-propelled vehicle with unguided rockets to neutralize mines did not reach the stages of serial production and operation of equipment.
