The LAV-25 is an 8x8 APC (Armored Personal Carrier) used by the US Marine Corps. It is capable of carrying 9 men and is equipped with an M242 Bushmaster 25 mm chain gun and two M240 7.62 mm machine guns.
The LAV-25 is an air-deployable 8x8 amphibious armoured reconnaissance/personnel carrier designed to ferry troops to and from combat on contested shorelines.
Armament
Armament for the LAV-25 varies depending on its configuration:
The baseline LAV-25 APC is equipped with a 25 mm autocannon that can load and fire armour-piercing (AP) or high-explosive (HE) shells, as well as a 7.62 mm coaxial medium machine gun[A2CfgV 6]
Loadouts also differ depending on the LAV-25's configuration. The baseline APC variant's M242 25mm autocannon has access to 240-round belt magazines for both AP and HE-type shells (for a combined total of 480 shells). Its coaxial M240 on the other hand, feeds from 1,200-round linked belt and has no spare belts to reload from.[A2CfgV 10]
Meanwhile, the M240 MMG fitted onto MHQ LAV-25s feed from 100-round belts stored in cloth boxes. One belt box is always pre-loaded while a further 4× belts are left in reserve for a total pool of 500 rounds.[A2CfgV 11]
Lastly, defensive smoke launchers are available on both the baseline APC LAV-25 and its MHQ configurations. There are enough charges for 2× volleys worth of smoke screens.[A2CfgV 8][A2CfgV 9]
Features
The LAV-25 is available in two configurations: the baseline APC and a deployable mobile headquarters (MHQ) designed specifically for setting up Forward Operating Bases (FOB) on the battlefield.[A2CfgV 12]
Amphibious-capable and highly mobile, the LAV-25 is a prime example of the Marine Corps' focus on maintaining a high speed, low drag doctrine. It is (relatively) easy to handle, retains decent acceleration, and thanks to its 25 mm autocannon is able to provide fire support against most types of ground threats.
Protection-wise, the LAV-25 is also fairly resilient for an APC of its class thanks to its armour plating being evenly distributed across the entire hull and the turret. Compared to the likes of the Army'sStryker, the LAV-25 can actually take a direct hit from an RPG-7V. So long as it isn't hit by one of the more powerful grenade rounds (i.e. PG-7VRs), the LAV-25 will remain intact with moderate hull damage. In stark contrast, the Stryker will consistently take heavy damage and usually explode catastrophically a few seconds after being struck.
Mobility
The LAV-25 is fully amphibious and can ford across any body of water.[A2CfgV 13] Speed-wise, it is identical to the Russian military'sBTR-90 Infantry Fighting Vehicle and caps out at a top speed of 92 km/h on land and 11 km/h over water (with turbo activated in both cases). This also applies to handling; both the LAV-25 and BTR-90 share the exact same turn rates and off-road handling.[A2CfgV 14][A2CfgV 15]
Drawbacks
The LAV-25 is not without weaknesses however, and suffers from several drawbacks which make it comparatively inferior to the BTR-90 in several aspects. For starters, it is still just an APC and lacks the diverse weaponry of the BTR-90, the latter of which ranges from a 30 mm autocannon to surface-to-surface missiles, 30 mm automatic grenade launchers, and a 7.62 mm coaxial MMG.[A2CfgV 16] The LAV-25 doesn't have an auxiliary AGL that could otherwise be used to deal with massed infantry threats (LAV-25s only have access to a 7.62 mm coaxial MMG in lieu of their autocannons). Not possessing ATGMs of any kind means that the LAV-25 cannot engage heavily-armoured ground vehicles like Main Battle Tanks head-on, since its 25 mm APDS shells are simply not strong enough to punch through their frontal armour.
Although the LAV-25's armour plating is durable enough to allow the crew to walk away from an RPG hit alive, the same cannot be said for the RPG-7V's PG-7VR grenades and longer-ranged, more powerful ATGMs like the 9K115. Both of these can inflict critical damage or outright destroy the LAV-25 in just a single hit. Likewise, its armour won't stop armour piercing shells fired by 30 mm autocannons punching through and striking the LAV-25's hitpoints directly.
Furthermore, when it comes to troop capacity the LAV-25 only allows for a maximum of six passengers to be carried at once which isn't even sufficient for half of a full-sized USMC squad (13).[A2CfgV 1] In stark contrast, the AAVP-7A1 can carry not just an entire squad (13) but also one more fireteam (4) and two extra members, whether that be ammo bearers and/or HQ personnel.[A2CfgV 17]
Crew Capacity
The LAV-25 has a seating capacity of nine personnel including the crew. The crew includes the driver, gunner and commander. The six passengers sit in the rear compartment just below the turret and enter via the rear hatches.[A2CfgV 1]
Stripped down version of the baseline LAV-25 with its turret removed.
The turret has been replaced with a single hatch in the front that is fitted with a fixed (but rotatable) M240 medium machine gun.[A2CfgV 7] The M240 is loaded with a single 100-round belt box and has a further four boxes in reserve for a combined total of 500 rounds.[A2CfgV 11]
This variant cannot transport any passengers and is restricted to carrying its driver and commander only, who doubles as the vehicle's gunner.
(*) The LAV-25 (HQ) is completely non-functional in normal gameplay, and serves only as a deployable command vehicle in Capture The Island (CTI) scenarios created with the Warfare module.
Protection: Hitpoints[]
Both variants of the LAV-25 have a base armour value of 150.[A2CfgV 18]
Successful strikes to any of the following highlighted sections will inflict full damage to the component:
LEGEND Green = Body Orange = Engine Violet = Fuel tank Maroon = Turret (APC only)
Note that with the exception of the turret, component hitzones remain identical on the LAV-25 (HQ) variant.
Body[]
The LAV-25's hull can withstand up to 150 points of damage.[A2CfgV 19][Formula 1] Depletion of its integrity will always result in the vehicle's destruction.[A2CfgV 20]
Engine[]
The LAV-25's engine can take up to 300 points of damage before it suffers from failure.[A2CfgV 21][Formula 2] Only 20% of incoming damage will be shared with the vehicle's main "health" pool. The LAV-25 can potentially explode if it is at critical "health" status at the time of the engine's destruction.[A2CfgV 22]
Fuel tank[]
The LAV-25's fuel tank can withstand a maximum of 150 points of damage before it ruptures.[A2CfgV 23][Formula 3] No damage inflicted upon the fuel tank is shared with the LAV-25's main "health" pool.[A2CfgV 24]
Wheels[]
All eight of the LAV-25's wheels can only take 60 points of damage before their tyres burst.[A2CfgV 25][A2CfgV 26][A2CfgV 27][A2CfgV 28][Formula 4] Up to 40% of incoming damage to any of the wheels will be shared with the LAV-25's main "health" pool. The LAV-25 can potentially explode if the vehicle is at critical "health" status after one or more wheels are destroyed.[A2CfgV 29][A2CfgV 30][A2CfgV 31][A2CfgV 32]
Turret: Traverse[]
Traverse mechanisms for the main turret on APC configurations of the LAV-25 can take up to 120 points of damage before they fail.[A2CfgV 33][Formula 5] 100% of incoming damage to the main turret will always be shared with the LAV-25's main "health" pool. Destruction of the main turret's mechanisms can potentially result in the LAV-25 exploding if it is at critical "health" status.[A2CfgV 34]
Turret: Elevation[]
Elevation mechanisms for the main turret on APC configurations of the LAV-25 can take up to 60 points of damage before they fail.[A2CfgV 35][Formula 6] Only 10% of incoming damage to the main turret will be shared with the LAV-25's main "health" pool.[A2CfgV 36]
LEGEND Green = armour.bisurf Maroon = metalplate.bisurf
The majority of the baseline APC's hull and turret are protected by metal armour plates.[rvmat 1][bisurf 1] On the other hand, the autocannon is made out of unarmoured metals and has a thickness of just 2 millimetres.[rvmat 2][bisurf 2]
HQ[]
LEGEND Green = armour.bisurf Maroon = metalplate.bisurf
Most of the HQ variant's hull is protected by metal armour plates.[rvmat 1][bisurf 1] For the rest of the vehicle's components (mounted machine gun, mid-rear hull roof, antennae), they are made out of unarmoured metals and have a thickness of only 2 millimetres.[rvmat 2][bisurf 2]
Thermal signature[]
Armament[]
NOTE: For specifics on the M242's munitions, see its related section listed here.
The gunner position controls all weapon systems on the regular LAV-25 variant (M242 25 mm autocannon/M240 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun). On the HQ variant however, the commander position is the only crewman that can control the externally fitted, turret ring-mounted M240.
Control over the smoke launchers varies depending on the LAV-25's configuration. On the baseline APC, it is the commander who controls the launchers[A2CfgV 8] while on the HQ variant it is the driver who has access to them instead:[A2CfgV 9]
M242[]
NOTE:Only available on the baseline APC variant.
General-purpose 25 mm autocannon. Can load and fire either AP or HE-type shells.
Muzzle velocity varies depending on the type of munition loaded:[A2CfgW 1]
It can attain a fire rate of up to 200 rounds per minute.[A2CfgW 2][Formula 7] Accuracy-wise, the M242 has a dispersion value of 0.0003 rad.[A2CfgW 3] There is no delay for swapping between munition types.[A2CfgW 4] It is not possible to manually adjust the M242's zeroing.
The M242 can be freely rotated in any direction horizontally[A2CfgV 37][A2CfgV 38] but vertical rotation limits are restricted to a maximum elevation of 74 degrees[A2CfgV 39] and a depression of just 4.5 degrees.[A2CfgV 40]
7.62 mm medium machine gun. Is fitted either as a coaxial weapon or as a standalone pintle-mounted weapon.
It can attain a fire rate of up to 800 RPM[A2CfgW 5][Formula 8] and has a muzzle velocity of 834 m/s.[A2CfgM 3] Accuracy-wise, the M240 has a dispersion of 0.0012 rad.[A2CfgW 6] It takes at least 5 seconds to reload the M240 with a fresh belt after rearming from a supply truck/ammunition crate.[A2CfgW 7] Every fourth round fired will emit a visible red tracer.[A2CfgM 4]
Manual zeroing is only available on the LAV-25's HQ variant (the baseline APC variant does not have have the ability to zero). Zeroing limits start from a minimum of 100 metres up to a maximum of 800 metres (100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800).[A2CfgV 41] By default, the M240 is set to a zeroing of 300 metres.[A2CfgV 42]
For turret rotation limits, coaxial M240s on the baseline LAV-25 share the same horizontal (360 degrees)[A2CfgV 37][A2CfgV 38] and vertical rotation limits (74 elevation/4.5 depression)[A2CfgV 39][A2CfgV 40] with the M242 autocannon. Rotation limits for the HQ variant are different; horizontal rotation is restricted to a maximum of 90 degrees in either direction[A2CfgV 43][A2CfgV 44], while vertical rotation is limited to a maximum elevation of 34.3775 degrees[A2CfgV 45] and a depression of just 28.6479 degrees.[A2CfgV 46]
Optics[]
Driver[]
The driver's periscope does not have the ability to toggle enhanced vision modes. However, the driver can wear their own night vision goggles whilst they looking through it.
Gunner[]
The gunner's Thermal Imaging Sight (TIS) has the ability to freely adjust magnification with a minimum of 1.25x zoom[A2CfgV 47][Formula 9] up to a maximum of 5x zoom.[A2CfgV 48][Formula 10] It can toggle between three vision modes: day, night, and green-/black-hot thermal.[A2CfgV 49][A2CfgV 50] A laser rangefinder is also available.[A2CfgV 51]
It should be noted that operating the main turret will require that the LAV-25's engine be switched on as it is not powered by an auxiliary power unit (APU).[A2CfgV 52]
The presence and type of optics available to the commander differs depending on the LAV-25's configuration:
On the baseline APC, the commander has access to a dedicated sight with variable zoom capability (minimum of 0.83x[A2CfgV 53][Formula 11] up to a maximum of 10x[A2CfgV 54][Formula 12]). This sight has the ability to toggle day, night, and orange-/black-hot thermal vision modes.[A2CfgV 55][A2CfgV 56]
On the mobile HQ variant, the commander's M240 machine gun does not have magnified optics and cannot toggle any enhanced vision modes. However, the commander does have the ability to wear their own night vision goggles whilst they are aiming with the M240's ironsights.[A2CfgV 57]
It should be noted that unlike the main turret on the baseline LAV-25 APC, the commander's optics/mounted M240 does not require the engine to be running and can be used even if the vehicle's engine is turned off.[A2CfgV 58][A2CfgV 59]
Defensive sensors[]
MAWS
RWR
IWR
LWR
✗
✗
✗
✗
Neither variant of the LAV-25 has access to defensive sensors. The crew will not be warned if there are guided weapon systems attempting to lock onto the vehicle[A2CfgV 60], nor if there are guided projectiles that have successfully locked on and are inbound towards it.[A2CfgV 61]
AI[]
NOTE:The following information only applies to the AI.
The threat[6] value of the LAV-25 depends on its configuration:
The baseline APC is considered to be a medium-risk threat to AI-controlled infantry units, ground vehicles, and aircraft (0.5/0.5/0.5).[A2CfgV 64]
The HQ variant is considered to be a medium-risk threat to AI-controlled infantry units (0.5) and a low-risk threat to aircraft (0.2). Ground vehicles do not consider the HQ variant to be a threat at all (0) and will usually ignore it in favour of more valuable/more dangerous threats unless there are no other targets in range.[A2CfgV 65]
Baseline LAV-25 variant. Note the empty pintle on top of the turret.
Real LAV-25s are commonly fitted with turret-mounted pintles that support a single M240 machine gun for use by the commander.[8]
Curiously, the in-game LAV-25 does have a pintle mount modelled onto it but remains completely unused in actual gameplay. This is even lampshaded by its Armoury Description which states that it has two M240s despite the fact that only the coaxial M240 can be used.
As part of the latest Steam version patches (Community Configuration Project), the LAV-25's M242 chain gun was upgraded with a boost to its firepower with both AP/HE munitions dealing slightly increased base damage. The M242's accuracy was also improved and is now comparable to the 2A42 30 mm autocannon used on most Russian vehicles and helicopters.[9]
It should also be noted that prior to the latest patches, neither the gunner nor the commander could toggle thermal vision optics. In subsequent updates following Operation Arrowhead's release, the gunner was given access to thermal vision modes.[9] However, the commander was still unable to toggle thermal optics until the latest CCP/CorePatch updates.[10]
At launch, the LAV-25's passengers would appear as if they were crouching rather than sitting down due to misconfigured animations. This was eventually fixed after the release of Patch 1.03.[11]
Gallery[]
ARMA Reforger[]
WIP: This page is currently a Work-In-Progress. Information contained in this article is either incomplete or missing and is subject to review.
The LAV-25 returns in Reforger, now serving as the main Armoured Personnel Carrier of U.S. military forces deployed to the island of Everon.
Armament
WIP
Supply cost/capacity
WIP
Mobility
The LAV-25's engine has a power output of 202 kW[RfCmpV 11] and can generate up to 795 N·m of torque.[RfCmpV 12] It runs on diesel[RfCmpV 7], and has a fuel economy of 40.75 litres per hour when it is operating at full throttle[RfCmpV 8] or just 3 litres per hour when it remains idle.[RfCmpV 9]
Just like in ArmA 2, Reforger's LAV-25 is fully amphibious and can ford across any body of water (the vehicle's trim vane will automatically deploy upon entering water). It has a buoyancy value of 0.8.[RfCmpV 13] It should be noted that the LAV-25 will begin to suffer a loss of buoyancy if the vehicle's overall "health" is at 40% or less integrity.[RfCmpV 14]
Drawbacks
WIP
Crew Capacity
The LAV-25 supports a crew of two that consists of the driver and a gunner. Up to seven passengers may be transported at once; one passenger is seated in the commander's position[note 2] and the remaining six are seated in the rear troop compartment.[RfCmpV 1]
Camouflage[]
Forest Green
MERDC
1/2
Forest Green: All-over forest green paint scheme.
MERDC: Mobility Equipment Research and Development Center camouflage scheme.
The LAV-25's engine has a power output of 202 kW.[RfCmpV 11] It has a maximum attainable torque of 795 N·m[RfCmpV 12] and a moment of inertia[12] value of 3.5 kg.m2.[RfCmpV 15]
The engine outputs maximum power when it is running at 2,800 RPM[RfCmpV 16] and produces maximum torque when it is running at 2,000 RPM.[RfCmpV 17] The engine runs at 600 RPM when it is idle[RfCmpV 18] and has an absolute maximum RPM of 3,000.[RfCmpV 19]
Torque curves[]
WIP
Gearbox[]
The LAV-25 utilises an automatic gearbox.[RfCmpV 20] It has a transmission efficiency[13] of 1.0:[RfCmpV 21]
The gunner is the only crewman who retains exclusive control over the LAV-25's weapon systems (M242 25 mm autocannon/M240 7.62 mm coaxial medium machine gun):[RfCmpT 1][RfCmpT 2][RfCmpT 3]
M242[]
General-purpose 25 mm autocannon. Can load and fire either HE or AP-type shells.
The M242's muzzle velocity varies depending on the type of shell being used:[RfCmpW 1][RfCmpW 2]
The LAV-25 was not originally available at Reforger's launch[15] and was only added into the game after the release of Update 1.3.[16][17]
Despite being modelled onto the turret, the LAV-25's smoke grenade launchers are not actually functional and cannot be used to deploy a defensive smoke screen (as of Update 1.3).
Prior to Update 1.6, the gunner did not have the ability to switch to an unmagnified sight view. On the other hand, the commander could not look through their sights, making the seat essentially useless in first person since the commander was unable to see anything unless they turned out. Both limitations were addressed after the patch's release, which gave both the gunner and commander unmagnified sights.[18]
↑Damage will be reduced if the projectile's velocity drops below this value.
↑ 2.02.1Reforger's LAV-25 does not consider the vehicle's commander to be a crewman. The commander's seat is actually counted as the vehicle's seventh passenger (the seat only has a unique name/dedicated entry hatch).
↑This only applies when the vehicle is running at full throttle.
USMC - Vehicles (ARMA 2)
United States - Vehicles (ARMA Reforger)