The 'Piranha Project' - a return to an odyssey.

Good afternoon chaps,

Another complete build in the shoal of Piranhas; The LAV-AD 

An original requirement for an air defence system for the USMC was 125 vehicles but it was dramatically cut when Congress would only agree funding for 17 systems. It was brought into service between 1995 – 1997 and the final one was delivered to the USMC in 1999. The mission of the USMC LAV-AD was to provide air defence 

Status of the LAV-AD was difficult to confirm, but research indicated that they were taken out of service in 2004 probably due to maintenance costs, with the deactivation of the 4th LAV (Air Defence) Platoon. Subsequently the Avenger and LAV-AD programs were discontinued.

The LAV-AD system consisted of the Blazer air defence turret, developed by General Dynamics Armaments Systems and Thales Air Defense (formerly Thomson-CSF Airsys) of Bagneaux, France. It was mounted on the chassis of a light armored vehicle (LAV)-25 and its primary mission was to provide low altitude air defence for the light armoured vehicle battalion, operating forward of the fire support coordination line, with a secondary role to defend against ground threats.

Designed to defend against airborne threats capable of speeds of up to 500 NMPH, at ranges within the envelope of the Stinger Missiles and the 25mm ammunition, the turret includes a forward-looking infrared targeting sight, a laser rangefinder, and the option of employing either Stinger missiles or the rapid-fire GAU-12/U 25mm Gatling gun. It has 360° rotation and has the same standard vehicle-mounted launcher configuration as Avenger. The .50 caliber machine gun was replaced by a chain gun that provides anti-air capability against aircraft within the inner launch boundary of a Stinger and a significant ground target engagement capability.
Each of the two standard vehicle-mounted launcher carried four Stinger missiles that could be fired in rapid succession. The LAV-AD can shoot on the move at speeds up to 30 miles per hour and can operate amphibiously. The crew compartment inside the LAV allows two operators with separate windows in the turret to search and scan the air from inside the vehicle. The crew consists of a vehicle commander, two Stinger gunners, and a driver. The crew can communicate within the vehicle by intercom and externally via HF, VHF/FM, and UHF communications nets.

Armament stats:
25mm Ammunition - 990 Rounds (385 Ready to Fire) cyclic rate 1800rpm
Stinger Missiles - 16 (8 Ready to Fire)



I had both the Italeri and Trumpeter version but this Trumpeter one seemed a better kit, so that's the one I've done first

with the change over of laptops and cameras I lost most of the pictures but here's a few in the later stages. The last three are the extra bits I added to the sighting system that are missing from the kit.