The FV103 Spartan armored personnel carriers based on the same Scorpion chassis as the rest of the squadron. These give them the speed and protection to get into position ahead of the enemy in time to prepare a hot reception.
The Spartan's light aluminium armor actually provides better protection for its passengers than the heavier, though thinner, steel armor of the infantry's standard FV432 APC.
The FV102 Striker provides the armored reconnaissance regiment with long-range heavy anti-tank capability. Mounting five Swingfire missiles on the Spartan chassis, the Striker punches far above its weight.
Like the armored regiment's FV438 Swingfire, the gunner of the Striker can dismount and move away from his hidden vehicle to fire. Combined with a very low profile, this makes the Striker hard to counter. Often avoiding its field of fire is the safest solution, but with such a long range, that isn't easy to do.
The Blowpipe man-portable anti-aircraft missile is somewhat unique in that it is not self-homing. The operator pilots, the missile until it intercepts the target. This requires a lot of skill to do successfully, but does make it immune to countermeasures like jamming, chaff, and flares.
This method of operation has another benefit too. With a bit of cleverness, the operator can also engage ground targets with the missile, as demonstrated when they were used against bunkers in the Falklands War.
As well as FV432-mounted Milan sections, the battalion anti-tank platoon has a mobile Milan section mounted in modified Spartan armored personnel carriers. The mobile Milan section gives the infantry a useful anti-tank reserve with the speed to get where it is needed to bolster the unit's anti-tank defenses.
The Spartan MCT (Milan Compact Turret) is based on Spartan, an armored personnel carrier based on the light Scorpion reconnaissance tank chassis, mounting a small turret with a Milan missile launcher on each side.
Designed by Tim Adcock
Painted by Aaron Mathie
