M104 Wolverine

The M104 Wolverine Heavy Assault Bridge is an armored military

engineering vehicle created by General Dynamics Land Systems,
designed to provide deployablebridge capability for units engaged in
military operations.

Contents
Background
Description
Future plans
M104 Wolverine Heavy Assault Bridge from 59th
See also Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Battalion,U.S.
References Army.
External links

Background
Since the 1960s the United States Army has made use of armored bridge-laying vehicles based on the M48 Patton/M60 series of
tanks. In recent years, however, the Army discovered that the aging M60 AVLB (Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge) was too slow to
keep up with the M1 Abrams' top speed of roughly 70 km/h during field maneuvers. Additionally, the Abrams was so heavy that it
could safely cross the AVLB's bridge only at a very slow speed.

Program development for a new armored bridge-laying vehicle began in 1983, and by 1994 General Dynamics Land Systemsand the
German MAN Mobile Bridges GmbH (since 2005 Krauss-Maffei Wegmann) had been awarded a contract. The first prototype
vehicles were being tested by 1996, and the first production models were delivered by 2003.

Description
Because the Wolverine is essentially anM1A2 SEP tank with Leguan[1] bridge-laying gear instead of a turret, it shares virtually all of
the parent vehicle's speed, mobility, survivability, and automotive components. This commonality was a key design factor in the
Wolverine's development. The Wolverine also features an advanced communications package designed to keep it in contact with local
field commanders. However, the underlying vehicle is unarmed.

The Wolverine is operated by two crewmen who sit within the hull. Both crewmen have access to the bridging controls, while the
bridge is carried in two sections, stacked above the hull. Once a bridging site is chosen the vehicle securely anchors itself in place
with a spade. The two sections of the bridge are joined together, and then the entire bridge is extended across the obstacle and
dropped into place. The crewmen have the ability to make minor corrections during launch, if needed. Once operations are complete,
the Wolverine drives across the bridge and retrieves it from the other side simply by reversing the process. The bridge can be
launched in under five minutes or retrieved in less than ten minutes, all without the crewmen ever leaving the safety of their vehicle.

The bridging controls are a basic push-button system, while the computer assembles the bridge and deploys it. This limits the crew in
their ability to make corrections based on slight misalignment of the chassis before deployment. The bridge must be fully extended,
then recovered before corrections in chassis placement can be done. The M60 AVLB (Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge) system
was completed by levers and buttons the operator must operate manually, thus giving them the ability to stop bridge deployment and
make minute chassis adjustments without having to completely stow the bridge.

Once launched, the 26-meter Leguan bridge[1] can support a 70-ton vehicle moving at 16 km/h, or 10 miles per hour.[2] The
Wolverine thus allows the heaviest of vehicles to cross craters, ditches, and damaged bridges at combat speed. This mobility is a
decisive advantage forarmored units.

Future plans
To date the United States Army has received 44 W
olverines, which have been distributed to a few eslect engineer units. The army had
originally intended to purchase 465 vehicles; however, budget cuts and the recent shift in philosophy toward a lighter fighting force
have cast the future of the program in doubt. The army does not plan to purchase any more oW
lverines, but it has reserved the right to
restart production if necessary.

The United States Army and Marine Corps are planning to replace the W
olverine with the Leonardo DRS Joint Assault Bridge (JAB),
which also has an Abrams tank chassis, but is combined with an 18.3-metre (60 ft) scissor bridge. While the M104 was intended to
replace the AVLB, it was found to be too expensive and complicated to maintain and operate. While the JAB's bridge is shorter, it has
a faster deployment time of three minutes, compared to the Wolverine's 3-5 minute set-up time. On August 23, 2016, DRS
Technologies, Inc., announced that the U.S. Army had awarded it an indefinite quantity contract worth up to $400 million to build the
new Joint Assault Bridge (JAB) system to carry, deploy and recover a heavy “scissor” bridge.[3] First deliveries are planned in mid-
[4]
2017, with low-rate initial production expected to be reached in 2019.

See also
List of U.S. military vehicles by model number
Titan
Armoured vehicle-launched bridge
AM 50 automatically launched assault bridge
M60A1 AVLB
List of land vehicles of the U.S. Armed Forces

References
1. Bridge laying system LEGUAN(http://www.kmweg.com/news-stories/stories/bridge-laying-system-leguan.html)-
KMW
2. "Wolverine (Heavy Assault Bridge)"(http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/wolverine.htm). fas.org. Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20150415062820/http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/wolverine.htm) from the original on 15
April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
3. DRS Technologies Awarded Up To $400 Million U.S. Army Contract To Build New Joint Assault Bridge System(htt
p://www.leonardodrs.com/news-and-events/press-releases/drs-technologies-awarded-up-to-400-million-us-army-con
tract-to-build-new-joint-assault-bridge-system/)- August 23, 2016
4. Army, DRS Set To Integrate New Bridging System on T
anks (http://www.defensenews.com/articles/army-drs-set-to-in
tegrate-new-bridging-system-on-tanks)- Defensenews.com, 6 September 2016

External links
Image of M104 Wolverine

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olverine&oldid=822394156"

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