For over a century, the military tank has remained the cornerstone of ground forces and combined arms
combat. Still, others such as the M1150 Assault Breacher mine- and explosives-clearing vehicle
have also proved essential for breaking through enemy lines.
Capable of crossing over the most challenging terrains, such as the Southern Afghani desert,
the relatively new M1150 has become a key asset in the US Army's fight against terrorism.
Known as the Breacher or the Shredder, the vehicle can be armed with up to 7,000 pounds
of improvised explosive devices, quickly becoming an Army favorite by seamlessly
digging and blasting safety lanes through dozens of minefields set up by the Taliban.
Still, there are more plans to evolve this wonder vehicle,
with a planned robotic unmanned version that could save countless lives in the way…
Clearing Obstacles
In the late 1990s, the United States Army decided to end the Grizzly program,
a Combat Mobility Vehicle developed to breach enemy obstacles and clear safe
pathways for vehicles over minefields, obstacles, roadside bombs, or Improvised Explosive Devices.
The decision was blamed on budget restraints and
the complex and maintenance-heavy nature of the vehicle. Ultimately,
Grizzly never made it to the production lines, and only one prototype was developed.
Still, the Marine Corps believed that such a vehicle would be of great use to them
and refused to abandon the concept, eventually funding their own development and testing.
From 2002 to 2006, the Marine Corps developed and built six vehicles,
prototypes, and pre-production models.
One of them was the M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle, an American military mine- and
explosives-clearing vehicle based on the M1 Abrams main battle tank's chassis.
This model finished development in 2008 and was simply known as ‘The Breacher.’
The AVB
Also nicknamed ‘The Shredder,’ the M1150 features a front-mounted 15-foot-wide plow supported by
metallic skis that glide on the dirt and notably completed with the M58 Mine Clearing Line Charge.
The designing process was influenced mainly by
America's actions and intervention in the Middle East during the early 2000s.
Thus, the 72-ton, 40-foot-long vehicle with a 1,500-horsepower engine was designed to clear
safe pathways for troops and other vehicles via nearly 7,000 pounds of explosives.
Despite its primary role as a highly mobile and heavily armored platform,
the Breacher's offensive assault capabilities are also top-notch.
Instead of the commonly used Abrams turret with cannon,
the M1150 features a turret equipped with two Linear Demolition Charge Systems.
The vehicle also has rockets filled with C4 explosives that can be launched up to 500 feet
ahead of the Assault Breacher Vehicle, allowing hidden bombs to be safely detonated at a distance.
The Breacher also has an Integrated Vision System that allows the two-person crew,
commander and driver, to remain buttoned up inside the steel-made
hulk while the commander controls the single Browning M2 .50-caliber heavy machine gun.
For cover while the vehicle gets out of harm's way,
the M1150 is fitted with 16 smoke grenade launchers.
And despite being lightly armed, the Assault Breacher Vehicle provides exceptional protection
for the crew, while its speed and mobility allow it to keep pace with an ever-maneuvering force.
Afghanistan and Korea
The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicles operate with the Marine Corps as
part of Combined Arms task forces and are crewed by Combat Engineer Units.
While the ABVs weigh 55 tons, the mine-and-explosives clearing vehicles
are highly mobile and can keep up with the other mobiles in the task force,
such as gun tanks and Infantry Fighting vehicles.
The vehicles were deployed for the first time in combat in December of 2009 as part of Operation
Cobra's Anger, a United States-led offensive in the Helmand province of southern Afghanistan.
The operation’s goal was for the Marines to take Now Zad valley,
disrupt and destroy Taliban communication and supply lines,
and effectively rescue Forward Operating Base Cafferetta, a blockaded Marine Corps
and Afghan National Army outpost that was completely cut off, barring aerial transport.
While exact statistics are unknown, at least five Breachers were used in the
mission and for the remainder of the year. The Americans specifically chose the vehicle due to
the Taliban's frequent use of roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices in the area.
The first large-scale use of the Assault Breacher Vehicle was in the prelude of Operation Moshtarak.
The largest joint forces operation of the War in Afghanistan by that point,
Moshtarak was an International Security Assistance Force pacification offensive
launched in the town of Marjah, also in the Helmand Province.
On February 11, 2010, two of the deployed vehicles
launched M58 Mine Clearing Line Charge rocket-projected explosive lines.
When the actual offensive took place two days later, ABVs belonging to the United States
Marine Corps 2nd Combat Engineer battalion dug and blasted through multiple heavily
saturated Taliban minefields, allowing coalition forces to safely and successfully push through.
The vehicle also took part in Operation Black Sand in August of 2011.
Lamar Bazaar was a known storage area for explosive devices that was stolen from the locals,
and previous infantry-led attempts to take or destroy it had failed
due to the threat of explosives and strong resistance.
The Shredders were then summoned, and in a joint effort between the Marine Corps 2nd Combat
Engineer Battalion and the Republic of Georgia's 33rd Light Infantry Battalion, they launched 35
M58 Mine Clearing Line Charge rockets into the Bazaar, detonating 31 tons of C-4 explosives.
After the buildings were destroyed by the munition,
local civilians rebuilt the area with help from the Marine Engineers and Georgians.
Then, after several successful raids and combat operations with the Marine Corps,
the United States Army started to show interest in the platform.
And in 2013, the Army deployed six M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicles to South Korea.
The vehicles were sent to support the Army in
deliberate and in-stride breaching of minefields and complex obstacles.
It was intended that the ABVs would allow the 2nd Infantry Division to pass through
the heavily mined Korean Demilitarized Zone after another vehicle failed to work in the terrain.
However, despite the vehicle's attributes,
North Korea has never publicly responded to the ABVs' deployment on the peninsula.
Robotic Variant
In 2019, the US Army unveiled its plans to transform the M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle
into an unmanned robotic armored vehicle to breach even the most complex minefields and obstacles.
In early April, the Army and Marines tested a robotic variant of the M1150 for the first time
at a Training Center, marking the first steps to pull more troops out of the dangerous breach.
According to a statement by ABV Platoon Commander 1st Lieutenant David Aghakhan,
these new robotic variants give the United States
Armed Forces: [QUOTE] "The option to take the operator out of the vehicle,
and still push that vehicle through the lane, creating that mobility for follow-on forces."
The robotic vehicles used in the test were supported by an automated Polaris MRZR
ultra-light combat vehicle and were operated by one person in either a
stationary or mobile command and control center.
While it is still unclear when the robotic ABVs will be deployed,
the Army hopes to field six of them per brigade.
Still, despite its promising future, the vehicle could face serious challenges
such as jamming technology countermeasures from the enemy.
Another concern revolves around the protocol to follow if the vehicle fails mid-breach,
inadvertently becoming an obstacle such as the ones it was built to destroy.
However, in April of 2021, the M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle went international
when the Department of State approved the sale of 29 vehicles to the Australian Army.
The ABV Breacher's full deployment potential remains to be seen,
but so far it remains one of the most advanced vehicles to have ever been built.
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