CASR

Canadian
American
Strategic
Review

Armoured Vehicles - NATO/ISAF - Southern Afghanistan  –  January 2006 For Cooler Heads To Prevail, the CF/DND is Moving Briskly: Climate Control Systems for  Leopard Tanks in Afghanistan Stephen  Priestley ,  CASR   Researcher / Illustrator Cool  Moves  –  Kudos to Major Trevor Cadieu  for Quick Thinking on  Hot Cats The Officer Commanding B Squadron Lord Strathcona’s Horse (the unit operating Leopard tanks in Afghanistan) has managed to grab press coverage (CBC TV then Canadian Press) for the requirements of his vehicles and the crews under his command.  Kandahar is hot, hotter still inside a steel box under a baking sun.  Unfortunately, as the CBC reports,  Leopard C2  tanks lack air conditioners to protect crew and systems  from  heat stress.  As a result,  DND “is urgently seeking a cooling system for Leopard tanks”. Quite right. “Without a cooling system, [heat] will endanger the crew,” says Maj Cadieu. This can’t wait. Ottawa is calling for tenders by February at the latest and intends to have cooling equipment installed in the Afghanistan-based Leopards by May. Admirable goal, but climate control of  spinning tank turrets and bouncing hulls is not  that simple. Fortunately, other operators of  Leopards have already been down this road.  Tanks in Australian Army service are exposed to conditions similar to Kandahar [1] and the Australian Leopard  AS1s were equipped with an air conditioning system after they entered  service.  This seems to suggest a quick solution to Major Cadieu’s problem. Heat Stress and  Cooling the Big Cat  –  the Australian Leopard AS1 Experience The Australian solution was their  Leopard  Crew Climate Control System (LCCCS),  an air conditioner designed  by Booyco Engineering ,  the South African mine ventilating specialists. Prime contractor  Tenix Defence Systems was awarded a  $2.74M (AUS $3M) contract in 1997 to design and install the system.  Subcontractor Booyco advertises this system still  but  LCCCS development wasn’t smooth (the prototype was initially rejected). Eventually the bugs were all worked out  and LCCCS was accepted. The point of  the story is that installing our new air conditioner may be trickier than it seems. Rather than reinventing the wheel, DND should  be contacting their opposites in Australia. LCCCS  might  not  have been trouble-free but installation was simple - the air conditioner is mounted externally in one of  the ‘bustle’ bins at the rear of the turret (right, stowage being restored by adding new mesh bins to the turret ). Since Australia has begun phasing out its Leos, a question arises: could surplus LCCCS  be quickly adapted to CF tanks? It should be noted that adapting the LCCCS to Leopard C2s would be more than a ‘bolt-in’ operation. The original CF Leopard C1 and  the Australian AS1 were both Leopard 1A3 variants but  CF  Leopard C2s  have a completely different turret. [2] Passive Aggressive –  Taking the Heat Off  of  the New Air Conditioning System Prior to embarking on the LCCCS, Australian Army Leopards had  their interiors insulated and camouflage matting added  (this ‘Mobile Camouflage System’ consisting of  layers of cloth which reduce absorption of solar heat). MCS was designed [3]  to reduce a vehicle’s infrared signature but  the Australians apply the mats only to crew areas. Stationary tanks can also have camouflage ‘umbrellas’ erected  above  their  turrets  to radiate heat. [Update: Both the MCS covers and umbrellas have been adopted for the Leopard 2A6M. Deployed Leopard C2s now also have heat covers but of different design.] The Australians take thermal strain of their tankers very seriously. Dehydration is a major concern (LCCCS chills drinking water for the crew). Air conditioning might be sufficient for cooling down a tank’s electronics and hydraulics but not its crew. Australian risk analysis suggests that ‘Individual  Cooling Systems’ [4] are the way to go  –  fans, ice vests (right), or chilled gel packs slipped into chest pockets. Items such as these likely dispel any notions of  tank crews travelling in air conditioned comfort. At best, the air conditioner keeps the electronics from frying while that ‘chilled’ interior may be no cooler than the outside air temperature. Kandahar in the summer months hits 50°C.  Tank interior temperatures, according to that CBC article, may reach a punishing 65°C. Urgency is indeed required, +65° Celcius isn’t uncomfortable, it’s life threatening. Update: a Notice of Proposed Procurement was published on MERX for 15  x  air- conditioners with armour protection to be delivered by 6 July 2007. However, this may all be moot with a decision to lease Leopard 2 A6Ms, then buy Dutch tanks. [1] Most Australian Leopards are based at Darwin in the ‘Top End’ –  also known as the ‘Deep North’ or just the ‘troppo’ for its hot, steamy tropical climate. Darwin average daily tempuratures are lower  than Kandahar’s  but with tropical humidity. [2] The Canadian Leopard C2 upgrade involved fitting refurbished surplus turrets from  German Leopard 1A5s  to original  Leo C1 hulls. Turret rings are unchanged. [3] MCS originated with Sweden’s Barracuda Engineering (now part of Saab). The system was devised to break up a vehicle’s outline while also reducing its thermal signature. Australia dispensed with track and engine coverings, focusing on crew. [4] ‘Chill suits’ are already in CF service. The Med-Eng BCS-3 suit goes inside the Mine Clearance Suit, circulating cold water from a  reservoir bottle.  ‘Ice vests’ are also available.  Esquimalt dockyard devised cooling vests and suits for Gulf War I stokers and  there are also commercial  products such as the Thermoblazer vests.