Thursday, October 21, 2010

APCs and IFVs in Alcovia

Much more diverse than Alcovia's tanks, APCs and IFVs in service Alcovia's armed forces are a varied lot, sourced from several nations and used throughout the country. The primary role of Alcovian troop carriers is to carry troops and nearly anything with wheels or tracks will be employed for this purpose. Still some vehicles are held in reserve for specific formations as much as possible to maintain readiness as well as cut the cost of maintenance and repairs. Many of the older but simpler designs date back to the 50s or 60s and have been maintained with their original engines and drive trains or retooled with new, domestic equivalents or upgrades.


BTR-152
Alcovia still has 55 of these vehicles in its arsenal. They have been re-engined and given new drive trains, increasing their power and efficiency beyond their original design. These vehicles are used mostly by military police and internal security units much in the same way that modern Humvees and VABs. Alcovian BTR-152s are armed with 12.7mm DHSK machine guns. 12 of the BTR-152s in Alcovia are in service with civil authorities. These are painted in police colors and armed with air cannons and high pressure water guns.


BTR-113 (M113)
One of the rare non-soviet vehicles used by Alcovia, 36 M113 APCs were purchased in 1973 from the United States. These vehicles, designated BTR-113, were part of America's bid to keep Alcovia from slipping entirely under the umbrella of the Soviet Union. Alcovia has since re-armed their M113s with 12.7mm DHSK machine guns. All 36 of Alcovia's M113s are in service with units based along the Borka and are equipped with amphibious floatation kits. these APCs also carry man-portable ATGMs, allowing these frontier regiments to operate as early deterrent to invading armor, often being deployed preemptively across the river.


BTR-70
Alcovia's main APC is the BTR-70. A total of 124 BT-70s were purchased between 1977 and 1986. Some 120 of these vehicles were were purchased. All of them were deployed among regular army motorized infantry forces. These BTR-s have been updated and upgraded through license agreements with Russia and are currently rated at BTR-80 standards. At the time of the civil war, Alcovia had produced a handful of homegrown variants of the BTR-70/80. It should be noted that these upgraded BTR-70s still retain their original firing ports and do not have the forward-facing firing ports found on true BTR-80s.

One of these variants is a weapons carrier variant designed to carry a 105mm gun in a remote turret. This was being developed as a low-cost alternative to tanks and guided missiles. At present there are only four of this variant in the prototype stages all of which were pressed into service with NAA forces.




BMP-1
Alcovia has purchased 36 BMP-1s all of which were deployed to elite Lifeguard motor infantry units. Since their initial purchase in 1978 they have been well maintained and upgraded throughout the decades leading up to the civil war. The current versions of the Alcovian BMP-1 is uparmored and carried a modern 30mm autocannon. Though not up to the standards of the BMP-2 they are as close as they can be without a redesign.



BMD-2
The Apa Sirviciul Alcovia (ASA) or River Marines have been provided with a dozen of the BMD-2 after they insisted on a light vehicle with amphibious capabilities. These vehicles are used only by the ASA and have been used in several operations on and across Alcovia's borders. BMDs are used by ASA troops for scouting and support of small operations.





BTR-50
Another vehicle used almost exclusively by the ASA, the BTR-50, though an aged design, allows the River Marines amphibious capability in mass. With each vehicle carrying up to twenty armed men, these vehicles can move large numbers of assault troops into position to help secure a beachhead or exploit a break in the lines. ASA BTR-50s are often uparmored with additional armor plates, sandbagging, and anti-RPG cages. They are often used as mobile firing positions, having additional machine guns and sometimes even anti-aircraft guns mounted on the back. The ASA maintains 24 BTR-50s with upgraded electronics and newer, more powerful powerplants.

2 comments:

Game Master Rob Adams said...

I like that picture of the BTR 133. I think that is the apc that the guy online converted to a Space Marine Rhino.

As far as Alcovia goes though that particular APC is not a bad choice.

Anonymous said...

you could use Somalian style technicals for the militant faction i decided on them for my militants and because you only need civilian trucks there cheap to get hold of mine have a mixture of mortars and dshk mgs