Sandcat LAV
| Sandcat Light Armoured Vehicle | |
|---|---|
 Sandcat LAV variants (Clockwise from Top Left: Sandcat FSV A*, Sandcat SPAAG C**, Sandcat Chassis X*, and Sandcat MCV B**) | |
| Place of origin |  Estradia |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2005 (Mark X*) 2013-present (Mark X**) |
| Used by | UFRE Defence Force |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1989-2003 (Mark X*) 2005-2012 (Mark X**) |
| Manufacturer | UFRE Engineer's Conglomerate |
| Produced | 2004-present |
| No. built | 6,240 |
| Variants | see Variants |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 18.5 tonnes (Mark X*), 19.7 tonnes (Mark X**) |
| Length | 7.32m (without gun) |
| Width | 2.78 m |
| Height | 2.59 m |
| Crew | 4 |
| Armor | RHA - Frontal Armour resistant against 23mm API, 14.5mm AP from all sides. |
Main armament | 120mm L/45 smoothbore gun (32 rounds), or 90mm breech-loaded mortar (66 rounds), or 23mm ZU-23-2 twin autocannon (800 rounds) |
Secondary armament | 2x 7.62mm MG |
| Engine | SimbaCo V896 300 kW |
| Power/weight | 16 kW/t |
| Transmission | 6/N/4 Preselector |
Operational range | 800km on road |
| Speed | 90 kph on road |
Steering system | 4-wheel |
The Sandcat is the UFRE-DF's Light Armoured Vehicle. It succeeded the AMX-10RC in Estradi service.
In the late 80's, the UFRE came to realize that the in-use AMX-10RC was, while functional, beginning to show it's age, and so a replacement began development. While initially foreign suppliers were examined, it was quickly decided that a locally-designed, developed, and produced vehicle would be much more beneficial to the nation as a whole; and so the UFRE Engineer's Conglomerate was funded to create a new 8x8 armoured vehicle with performance similar to, or better than, the AMX-10RC.
By 2001, with more than a decade of off-shoot research and development, the Sandcat Mark X* finished development and, after another year of initial production, the system was brought into service. There were, however, a handful of areas that were identified in need of improvement, and many engineers were in need of new projects, and so almost immediately after entering service, a secondary upgrade program was initiated.
Variants
The Sandcat LAV has three primary variants divided into two "chalks" - the first iteration (*) and second iteration (**), the primary differences being in the electronics suite - where the Mark X* features three CSB mounts, a single
Sandcat Mark A* FSV
The primary armament of the Mark A* FSV is the 120mm L/44 smoothbore cannon.
Sandcat Mark B**
The Mark B package utilized the added capabilities of the Mark ** Chassis to mount a 90mm variable-charge high/low-velocity cannon/mortar with an extreme degree of elevation and depression, as well as a complete indirect fire coordination suite (included in the