"The LAV-25: What You Need to Know About the U.S. ..." Topic

…Marines' Little 'Destroyer'.

"The LAV-25, the U.S. Marine Corps' main armored reconnaissance vehicle, has its origins in an effort to develop a new, highly mobile strike force for the Middle East. Fast, lightly armored and armed with a Bushmaster chain gun, the LAV acts as the marines' cavalry, scouting ahead of other friendly forces and seeking out the enemy. Over the past thirty-five years the nearly 1,000 LAVs have served from Panama to Iraq, where it earned the nickname "The Destroyer."

In 1980 it was clear the political situation in the Middle East was deteriorating. Citing the Iranian revolution and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Carter administration established the so-called Rapid Deployment Force (RDF). Designed to quickly deploy U.S. air, sea and land forces across the world into the Middle East, the RDF (which later evolved into U.S. Central Command) demanded strategic mobility and firepower.

The U.S. Army and Marine Corps examined a new generation of light armored vehicles that could be used to equip their contributions to the RDF, including the AAI RDF/LT, or Rapid Deployment Force Light Tank, equipped with the ARES 75-millimeter automatic cannon, dune buggies armed with TOW missiles and heavy machine guns, and the new M1047 LAV. Based on the GM Canada Light Armored Vehicle, itself based on the Swiss Mowag Piranha, the M1047 was an eight-by-eight wheeled armored vehicle with a turret armed with a 25-millimeter Bushmaster automatic cannon and a 7.62-millimeter medium machine gun…"
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Armand

The US amrny was big on the intial testing but turned it down.
Strangely enough, the Stryker is a development of this a generation or so later and lover by the army.

I wonder how long the USMC intends to keep them going? or maybe even adopt a few Strykers?

Marines never throw anything away…

USMC uses the LAVs for a totally different role than the Strykers. The Stryker is a basic troop carrier. The LAV is a recon vehicle.

I was in 1st Recon when the Marines first tested this back in 1980 & 81 at 29 Palms. They 'asked' us to take a pair 'out for a spin' to evaluate it as a reconnaissance vehicle. Since our modus operandi at the time was based upon swift, silent, and deadly, all of us gave it a hardy thumbs down. We didn't like the idea of recon by drawing fire. I remember Barney (one of my buddies) saying "since we all hate it you know the shiny assed Marines in Quantico will want it." It was of case of us being the wrong people to evaluate a piece of equipment for the wrong job.

I now know several Marines in 2nd LAR and they talk highly of their rides when they aren't broken down. The especially love the pop gun.