Armed Assault Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The AWC Nyx (full name: Armoured Weapons Carrier) is a multi-purpose Light Tank used exclusively by the AAF in ArmA 3. It was added with the release of the Tanks DLC.

Overview[]

  • Roles:
    • Armoured weapons carrier
    • Tankette
    • Low altitude anti-aircraft defence
    • Observation
    • Laser targeting
« The AWC 300 Nyx family consists of a number of light, fast and agile combat vehicles used by the AAF. While small and lightly armored, the Nyx can surprise enemies by striking from unexpected positions with its decent and accurate firepower. The anti-tank and air-defense variants are equipped with IR guided missiles and a 12.7mm HMG. The strike variant uses a 20mm autocannon and a 7.62mm coaxial machinegun. The recon variant is unarmed, but uses its radar and sensors to detect nearby threats and pass target data to friendly units via datalink. It can also paint targets with its laser designator, which is located on a telescopic mount.
Field Manual
»

Design[]

Premium content logo
This is a premium asset that requires ownership of the Tanks DLC.


The AWC Nyx is a modular tankette designed to fulfil a variety of battlefield duties ranging from combat reconnaissance, direct fire support, and short-range air defence (SHORAD).

Arma3-dlc-tanks-05

AAF troopers advance forward with the support of an Autocannon-armed/Recon Nyx platoon.

Features
Aside from the baseline Autocannon-armed direct fire and scout variant, it is available in three more configurations: a SHORAD variant that carries surface-to-air missiles, a dedicated reconnaissance model fitted with a compact radar, and lastly, an anti-vehicle weapons carrier.

Designed with modularity in mind, the Nyx is a highly versatile vehicle platform that can be categorised as both a light tank and fire support vehicle. The Nyx is able to assume almost any kind of role depending on its configuration, provided that right variant is chosen to be deployed into combat.

Mobility
Extremely fast and manoeuvrable for a vehicle of its size, the Nyx can easily dart from position to position without being noticed and can change direction extraordinarily quickly even at high speeds.

Notable Traits
Since its hull is quite small and the engine is fairly quiet to operate, this also makes it difficult to visually identify or hear from afar without the use of thermal sensors, which makes it an excellent reconnaissance vehicle in any variant.

Arma3-nyx-01

Even when they outnumber the enemy, no variant of the Nyx stands a fighting chance in a head-on battle with better protected AFVs.

Drawbacks
Its main drawback is its near-complete lack of effective armour plating. The Nyx itself cannot resist much damage from almost any kind of weapon, with heavy calibre fire being capable of disabling the turret and penetrating the hull.

A single round from any kind of tank cannon, shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon (e.g. the RPG-7), or a few autocannon shells (both armour piercing and high-explosive) can and will instantly destroy it. Simply put, staying alive with the Nyx is fairly straightforward: stay hidden and avoid getting spotted at all costs.

Without a slat cage attached, all variants of the Nyx are also quite prone to being damaged by the environment. Crashing into terrain obstacles like moderately-sized rock formations or large trees at moderate speeds can simultaneously damage the Nyx's hull/engine and injure both crew members.

Crew Capacity
Regardless of the variant, all models of the Nyx only have enough seats to transport a crew of two consisting of the driver and a commander who also doubles as a gunner (or radar operator in the case of the Recon variant). It is unable to transport any additional passengers.

Variants[]

Arma3-render-nyxautocannondigitalgreen
Baseline direct fire and scout variant.

Armed with a 20 mm autocannon and 7.62 mm coaxial MMG. The autocannon has 120 rounds worth of high-explosive (HE) and 120 armour-piercing (AP) shells, for a combined total of 240 shells. Each munition type feeds from 60-round belt "magazines". The coaxial MMG is pre-loaded with one 200-round belt and has a further two belts in reserve totalling 600 rounds.

Notably, the commander's optics on this model are the best out of all versions, which makes it quite efficient at providing long-range reconnaissance.

This variant has a gross weight of 4900 kg.

Arma3-render-nyxatdigitalgreen
Anti-vehicle variant.

The turret is armed with a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun and has a missile pod mounted adjacent to it that carries four infrared-guided FireFIST ATGMs. The HMG feeds from a 100-round belt box and has a further three belt boxes spare (for a total of 400 rounds).

The FireFIST missile pod on the other hand is pre-loaded with two missiles, and has four more missiles that it can reload with.

This variant has a gross weight of 4900 kg.

Arma3-render-nyxaadigitalgreen
Anti-aircraft vehicle variant.

It is also armed with a 12.7 mm HMG like the AT variant, but the adjacent missile pod carries eight SAAMI short-range, heatseeking, surface-to-air missiles instead (it should be noted that the AA missiles are loaded as 4-round "magazines"). The HMG carries the same total amount of belt boxes as the AT variant.

This variant has a gross weight of 4950 kg.

Arma3-render-nyxrecondigitalgreen
Dedicated scout vehicle variant.

This variant lacks a turret and forgoes any kind of armament in exchange for a compact radar. The commander has access to a laser designator that can be used to mark targets for friendly ground forces or aircraft, along with a retractable periscope fitted with a camera.

This variant has a gross weight of 4820 kg.

Camouflage[]

  • Digital Green: Digitised semi-fractal camouflage pattern used by all AAF vehicles and aircraft. Suited to forested and grassy environments, but otherwise useless in arid and desert terrain.
  • Digital Green (Desert Camo Net):* Identical to the standard Digital Green camouflage pattern but changes any applied camo nets to use a two-tone desert camouflage scheme.
  • Digital Green (Jungle Camo Net):* Also identical to the baseline Digital Green camouflage pattern, but changes any applied camo nets to use a two-tone woodland camouflage scheme instead.
  • Olive: Flat olive green paint scheme.

(*) Changes are only visible if the Nyx has the Camo Net component attached to it.

Protection[]

The Nyx has a base armour value of 150 and uses Composite Armour-based plating.

No variant supports being fitted with Explosive Reactive Armour blocks/panels, though eight individual slat cages can be attached onto any variant, shielding all sides of the hull. The turret is not covered by slat cages on any variant.

The following highlighted positions serve as weak points on all Nyx variants:

Arma3-nyx-hitpoints

LEGEND
Green = Hull
Orange = Engine
Violet = Fuel tank
Light blue = Treads
Maroon = Turret
Gold = Gun barrel

Note that only the Autocannon-armed variant is depicted here. With the exception of whether the Nyx is armed or not, hit zones remain completely identical on all other parts of the tank(s) regardless of variant.

In addition, to inflict actual damage on a component a munition must first penetrate through the surrounding armour plates and directly hit its weak point. Any strikes on non-highlighted parts will cause little (if any) noticeable damage.


Hull[]

The hull can resist up to 300 points of damage. Will cause a catastrophic kill if fully depleted.

Munition type Damage reduction (%) Velocity reduction (%)
Armour Piercing None 20
High-Explosive 80 50
High-Explosive Anti-Tank 80* 20
Tandem High-Explosive Anti-Tank 80* 10

(*) Reductions only apply to the explosive component of the munition i.e. Tandem HEAT explosive charge

If the hull has been compromised, no reductions will be applied to the velocity/raw damage of incoming projectiles.

Hull Slat[]

Arma3-vehiclearmour-nyx-slat

Slat cages protect all sides of the hull. They can resist up to 200 points of damage before failing.

Large calibre HE-based munitions or missile/rocket fire will always inflict twice as much damage on the cages and will almost always be destroyed in a single hit.

Engine[]

The engine can only incur a meagre 15 points of damage before failing.

20% of incoming damage onto the engine is always inflicted onto the Nyx's "health" pool. It will not however, cause a catastrophic kill if destroyed unless the Nyx is critically damaged.

If damaged: Reduces power output, acceleration is decreased, and it may become impossible to climb uphill.
If destroyed: Instantly immobilises the Nyx.

Fuel tank[]

The fuel tank can resist 75 points of damage before rupturing.

Only 10% of incoming damage onto the fuel tank is shared with the Nyx's main "health" pool. A destroyed fuel tank will not cause a catastrophic kill unless the Nyx is critically damaged.

If damaged: Gradually leak fuel over time but will stop at a threshold of 90% of the Nyx's remaining fuel capacity.
If destroyed: Rapidly lose its entire fuel capacity over several seconds.

Treads[]

Both treads can resist 250 points worth of damage. No amount of damage inflicted on them is transferred onto the Nyx's "health" pool.

Destroying either one of the treads will hamper the Nyx's handling but will not prevent it from moving. Destroying both will severely degrade the Nyx's handling and can prevent it from moving while on rough terrain.

Turret[]

The turret on all variants can only survive 120 points of damage. No amount of damage incurred is transferred onto the Nyx's "health" pool, however.

Munition type Damage reduction (%) Velocity reduction (%)
Armour Piercing None 20
High-Explosive 80 50
High-Explosive Anti-Tank 80* 20
Tandem High-Explosive Anti-Tank 80* 10

(*) Reductions only apply to the explosive component of the munition i.e. Tandem HEAT explosive charge

If the turret's armour has been compromised, no reductions will be applied to the velocity/raw damage of incoming projectiles.

Gun barrel[]

The gun barrels on both autocannon and HMG-armed variants are only capable of surviving 90 points of damage. No damage inflicted on this component is shared with the Nyx's main "health" pool.

Destroying the barrel will lock it and prevent the gunner from being able to adjust its elevation/depression. It should also be noted that unlike the turret, the barrel is only capable of reducing 80% of incoming damage from high-explosive (HE) munitions.

Commander periscope[]

The commander's optics can only withstand a mere 15 points of damage before failure. It is susceptible to small arms fire and has no resistance against explosives. Destroying this component does not affect the Nyx's "health" pool, however.

If disabled by enemy fire, the commander will no longer be able to utilise the periscope for viewing.

Components[]

  • Camo Net (Hull): Drapes most of the hull with camouflage netting. Note that the turret and radar module (in the case of the Recon variant) is not covered. Partially conceals covered sections from thermal sensors.
  • Slat Cage (Hull): Attaches slat cages around the hull except for the turret. Slat cages will protect the Nyx from non-AP munitions but can be destroyed after multiple hits.

Sensors[]

The Nyx is able to utilise two types of sensors that are of both active and passive types. However, only two specific models of the Nyx (AA and Recon) are outfitted with the ability to utilise them:

Sensor type Max range (Air/Ground) Min range (Air/Ground) Affected by environment? Target max speed (km/h) Azimuth coverage (°) Elevation coverage (°) Friendly identification range (m)
Active A: 8,000 m
G: 4,000 m
A: 8,000 m
G: 4,000 m
Terrain clutter (200 m) 2,500 km/h 360° 100° 4,000 m
Data Link A: 16,000 m
G: 16,000 m
A: 16,000 m
G: 16,000 m
Nothing 1e+10 km/h 360° 360° 0 m

Data Link[]

NOTE: Only the AA and Recon variants of the Nyx are data link-capable.

Receive and transmit capabilities vary depending on the Nyx variant:

  • AWC 302 Nyx (AA): Receive targets only.
  • AWC 303 Nyx (Recon): Receive and transmit targets acquired by its own radar as well as those from others.

Active Radar[]

NOTE: Only the Recon variant of the Nyx uses an active radar.

The radar provides full horizontal coverage and is not limited by the radar's facing direction. It has an elevation offset of 45 degrees.

Armament[]

NOTE: For specifics on the Cannon 20 mm's munitions, see its related section listed here.

The Nyx's commander/gunner position controls the remotely operated turret on all armed variants. For optics, they have access to three fields of view and can toggle a day, night or black-hot/white-hot thermal vision mode:

Cannon 20 mm[]

Arma3-vehicleweapons-awc304nyxautocannoncannon20mm

NOTE: Only available on the AWC 304 Nyx (Autocannon) variant.

20 mm autocannon. Can load either HE or AP-type rounds.

It can attain a fire rate of up to 300 rounds per minute. Accuracy-wise, the Cannon 20 mm will differ depending on the type of munition loaded; for AP rounds, it has a dispersion 0.0009 rad but for HE it is higher at 0.0018 rad instead. There is no delay for switching between munition types, but it requires at least 20 seconds to reload a fresh belt or to rearm from a supply truck if all of its munitions have been expended.

The Cannon 20 mm's Fire Control System takes at least 1 second to automatically calculate zeroing. Manual zeroing is also possible, starting from a minimum of 100 m up to a maximum of 3000 m (adjustments are made with decrements/increments of 100 m).

Coaxial MG 7.62 mm[]

Arma3-vehicleweapons-awc304nyxautocannoncoaxialmg762mm

NOTE: Only available on the AWC 304 Nyx (Autocannon) variant.

Base damage value Aerodynamic friction Initial velocity (m/s) Penetration depth (mm)
11.6 -0.001 860 20.64

Coaxial 7.62 mm medium machine gun.

It has a fire rate of 800 RPM and takes 20 seconds to reload a fresh belt. The Coaxial MG always has a fixed dispersion of 0.0016 rad regardless of range. The FCS can only zero against targets moving at speeds of up to ~ 110 km/h. It has an imposed delay of 1 second before it can finish adjustments.

RCWS HMG 12.7 mm[]

Arma3-vehicleweapons-awc301nyxatrcwshmg127mm

NOTE: Only available on the AWC 302 Nyx (AA) and AWC 301 Nyx (AT) variants.

Base damage value Aerodynamic friction Initial velocity (m/s) Penetration depth (mm)
30 -0.00086 910 35.49

General-purpose 12.7 mm heavy machine gun.

The RCWS HMG can attain a fire rate of up to 600 RPM and requires 20 seconds to reload a fresh box or to resupply from an ammo truck. Accuracy-wise, it has a fixed dispersion of 0.0012 rad regardless of distance.

The FCS requires 1 second to automatically zero onto a target. Manual zeroing is also possible, though only in 100 m increments/decrements starting from a minimum of 100 m up to a maximum of 2000 m.

FireFIST[]

Arma3-vehicleweapons-awc301nyxatfirefirst

NOTE: Only available on the AWC 301 Nyx (AT) variant.

Warhead Damage type Base damage value Penetration depth (mm)
Primary High-Explosive 150 N/A
Secondary High-Explosive Anti-Tank 750 900

Medium-ranged, infrared-guided anti-tank missiles.

FireFISTs are hard launched with an initial velocity of 19 m/s and can reach a top speed of 200 m/s in mid-flight (their motors require 6 seconds of flight time to attain this speed).

The missile's seeker is only capable of locking onto targets at distances of up to 4,500 metres away and are moving at speeds of 150 km/h or less. The seeker on both the launcher and the missile itself have a 70% chance to lose lock against smoke countermeasures.

The warhead is of a tandem high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) type. The initial shaped charge has a blast radius of 4 metres, while the kinetic submunition has a launch velocity of 1,000 m/s and a penetration depth of 900 millimetres.


Flight Profiles[]

The Nyx's FireFIST ATGMs can utilise two types of flight profiles:

Direct-attack[]

Missile uses a linear flight trajectory. This is the default flight mode.

Top attack[]

Once launched, the missile will transition between two phases:

  • Initial: Missile will continue to climb diagonally in a 30 degree angle until it passes a height of approximately 160 metres.
  • Seeking: Terminal phase of flight. Missile begins to descend onto the target once it hits an altitude of 160 metres above terrain level (ATL).

The missile has a minimum targeting range of 150 metres in this mode. If the target is not beyond this distance, it will default to direct-attack mode instead.

Should the missile's lock-on be broken in either phase, the FireFIST will usually default to striking the target's last known position. However, it is not possible to manually control the missile if it loses track of the target.


SAAMI[]

Arma3-vehicleweapons-awc302nyxaasaami

NOTE: Only available on the AWC 302 Nyx (AA) variant.

Damage type Base damage value Proximity fuse radius (metres)
High-Explosive 80 10

Short-ranged, infrared-guided, surface-to-air missiles.

Locks on exclusively via infrared. There is a 1 second delay in-between missile launches. The launcher pods require up to 50 seconds to rearm another batch of SAAMIs or from a supply truck if the Nyx no longer has any missiles left.

Missiles are always hard launched with an initial velocity of 120 m/s and take a further 2.25 seconds to reach a top in-flight speed of 850 m/s. The seeker has a maximum lock-on range of 8,000 metres and can only target aircraft flying at speeds of 900 km/h or less. The seeker's lock-on cone is limited to 4 degrees but has a maximum off-boresight limit of 75 degrees.

The launcher's seeker has a 50% chance to have its lock broken by flare countermeasures, but the seekers on the missiles themselves only have a 10% susceptibility to flares. The warheads are high-explosive (HE) based and have a blast radius of 6 metres.

Achievements[]

  • Arma3-achievement-sizedoesntmatter
    Size Doesn't Matter
    • Must spend a total of three hours playing as either the driver or commander of the Nyx (real-world time). Any variant will suffice and the time can be earned in singleplayer or multiplayer scenarios.
    • Does not have to be performed in a single seating. The hours can be accumulated over multiple sessions.

Trivia[]

  • All variants of the Nyx are based on slightly modified configurations of the real-world "Wiesel Armoured Weapons Carrier" (AWC), a German-made AFV designed by Rheinmetall Defence AG.
  • The AT variant's FireFIST missiles are based on the real-world "FGM-148 Javelin" anti-tank missile, while the AA variant's SAAMI missiles are based on the "FIM-92 Stinger".
    • In both cases, the missiles appear to be slightly smaller sized than their real-world counterparts.
  • Prior to Game Update Update 1.84, AI-controlled AT Nyx variants would tend to overuse their FireFIST ATGMs and fire both missiles in quick succession before waiting for their first missile to destroy the target (the weapon did not impose a firing delay for the AI).[1]
    • The patch also corrected the exhaust and fin animations on both the SAAMI and FireFIST missiles. Before the patch, neither missile would emit particle effects and did not extend their fins after launch.[1]
  • Nyx (νύξ) means "night" in Greek. Additionally, the name also refers to Nyx, the Chthonic goddess of darkness in Greek mythology.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Kovařič, V 2018, SPOTREP #00081, Arma 3, viewed 7 August 2023, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/spotrep-00081>.

External links[]

See also[]

Vehicles of comparable role and configuration[]

Vehicles of ArmA 3
Wheeled AFV-4 GorgonAMV-7 MarshallHatchbackHEMTTHunterIfritKartMB 4WDMSE-3 MaridOffroadProwlerQilinRhino MGS (UP) • StriderSUVTempestTractorTruckQuadbikeUGV StomperVanZamak (MRL)
Tracked 2S9 SochorAWC NyxBTR-K KamyshCRV-6e BobcatED-1D Mini UGV (ED-1E) • IFV-6a CheetahIFV-6c PantherFV-720 MoraM2A1 Slammer (A4 UP) • M4 ScorcherM5 SandstormMBT-52 KumaT-100 Varsuk (X Futura) • T-140 Angara (T-140K) • ZSU-39 Tigris
Rotor-wing AH-9 PawneeAH-99 BlackfootAR-2 DarterCH-49 MohawkCH-67 HuronDemining DroneMH-9 Hummingbird (M900) • Mi-48 KajmanMi-290 TaruMQ-12 FalconPO-30 OrcaUH-80 Ghost HawkUtility DroneWY-55 Hellcat
Fixed-wing A-143 BuzzardA-149 GryphonA-164 WipeoutCaesar BTTF/A-181 Black Wasp IIKH-3A FenghuangMQ-4A GreyhawkTo-199 NeophronTo-201 ShikraUCAV SentinelV-44X BlackfishY-32 Xi'an
Aquatic Assault BoatMotorboatRHIBSpeedboatSDVWater Scooter
(Parenthesis) denote variants.
Karts DLC | Helicopters DLC | Apex DLC | Jets DLC | Laws of War DLC | Tanks DLC | Contact DLC
Arma3-factionicon-aaf AAF - Vehicles (ArmA 3)
Wheeled AFV-4 GorgonQuadbikeStriderUGV StomperZamak (MRL)
Tracked AWC NyxED-1D Pelter (ED-1E Roller) • FV-720 MoraMBT-52 Kuma
Rotor-wing AR-2 DarterAL-6 PelicanCH-49 MohawkWY-55 Hellcat
Fixed-wing A-143 BuzzardA-149 GryphonK40 Abalil-3
Aquatic Assault Boat (Rescue) • Speedboat MinigunSDV
Parenthesis denote variants.
Jets DLC | Laws of War DLC | Tanks DLC | Contact DLC
Advertisement