the worlord is here

[General Pain]

great find....

[Abbott Shaull]

So if I read it correctly it is remote control Bradley?

[firewalker]

closse enuge for gov' work any way.

although there may (eventualy) be some abilty to self stear.

[natehale1971]

I still remember the group of gamers I was with in the Navy used some of the stuff from the Warlord and its complex from Twilight Nightmares to expand the "Damocles" complex from the Morrow Project campaign module of the same name. The pictures of the 'black knight' gives me some inspiration for the kinds of things i could use when i do damocles artwork when i'm able to draw again.

[cavtroop]

They say 'The Black Knight uses many automotive components from the Bradley to reduce costs and simplify maintenance.'

However, that's most definitely an M113 chassis it's sitting on - Bradley's have 6 roadwheels, 113's have 5. Having served on both, that's a 113 chassis.

From here:

http://www.baesystemspresskit.com/au...at_Vehicle.cfm

it looks like the weapon systems/targetting etc. are mostly Bradley-based, and that this unmanned vehicle is controlled back from a Bradley BC position:

"The Black Knight’s turret is equipped with operative components already fielded by the Bradley Combat Systems program, providing synergy between the current force and the future force"

and

"Gun and turret position, as well as information from the Commander’s Independent Viewer and the improved Bradley Acquisition System, can be viewed from the Bradley’s Commander’s Crew Station. As Soldiers dismount, they take the Dismounted Control Device (DCD) along to continue operating the Black Knight, receiving information on the single screen on the DCD"

Pretty neat concept, if an ugly vehicle

[Targan]

I mentioned in the LAV-75; Stingray; M8 AGS thread that the M8 contains drive train elements from both the M113 and the Bradley.

Originally Posted by Targan

The suspension and track system (of the M8) contains elements from the M113A3, the M2 Bradley and some M8-specific components. The hydromechanical transmission is from the Bradley but the engine, the 6V-92TA 6 cylinder Detroit Diesel, has 65% parts commonality with the 8V-92TA 8 cylinder Detroit Diesel used in the M977 HEMTT truck. The Cadillac Gage Stingray and Stingray II light tanks actually use the M977 HEMTT's 8V-92TA engine as well.

Seems like a similar situation with the Black Knight, although it uses a 300hp Caterpillar diesel engine rather than a Detroit Diesel. I bet that Black Knight's engine is also used in some other US military vehicles. Anyone have any guesses?

[cavtroop]

Originally Posted by Targan

I mentioned in the LAV-75; Stingray; M8 AGS thread that the M8 contains drive train elements from both the M113 and the Bradley.



Seems like a similar situation with the Black Knight, although it uses a 300hp Caterpillar diesel engine rather than a Detroit Diesel. I bet that Black Knight's engine is also used in some other US military vehicles. Anyone have any guesses?

yeah, thats the lower hull of an M113, for sure, but who knows what they are doing with the drivetrain/final drives/etc. No idea what other vehicles use the Caterpillar engine, though.

Sure is an interesting concept, expensive I'm sure

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Originally Posted by cavtroop

... However, that's most definitely an M113 chassis it's sitting on - Bradley's have 6 roadwheels, 113's have 5...

I have some more thoughts on this.

While I have no quarrel with the provable fact that some of the stats reported on the page are incorrect (you only have to watch the video for that), I don't agree that the similarity to an M113 is a good basis to declare it is made from an M113 chassis. Using the number of roadwheels idea by itself is dubious at best and wishful thinking at worst. Following that logic, the M109 should be a derivative of the Bradley because the M109 has 7 roadwheels, two more than the M113 but only 1 more than the Bradley.

Because the vehicle is a prototype, it's more likely they fabricated the chassis to meet the design specs rather than modified an M113 chassis which would involve some serious cutting down to make it thinner (the video states that the vehicle is 2.44m wide) and shorter (height 2m to the M113s 2.5m). And why waste a perfectly good M113 when there is an obvious need for that vehicle in some form other than to cut it down for a prototype?

I can't imagine them being able to fit a standard caterpillar diesel into the front of that thing, I believe it's in the rear. The exhaust possibly vents up from the rear deck in a manner similar to the radiator cooling fans on the Panther tank. Or it's even possible the exhaust vents underneath the vehicle which could help it mix with the cooler air being drawn in under the hull helping to reduce the thermal signature.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by StainlessSteelCynic

Or it's even possible the exhaust vents underneath the vehicle which could help it mix with the cooler air being drawn in under the hull helping to reduce the thermal signature.

Of course this option would also stir up dust reducing stealth capability.