In high-intensity military operations, such as those currently taking place in the Russia/Ukraine conflict, all types of armoured and soft-skinned vehicles can rapidly become casualties.

This may happen following hostile fire or running into a minefield, but vehicles can also simply break down due to mechanical faults caused by bad maintenance procedures. This especially applies when they are taken out of long-term storage and not checked out prior to being issued to frontline units as battlefield replacements.

In addition, all AFVs, whether tracked or wheeled, can get bogged down in mud, slide down a slope or become stranded in water obstacles as their engine compartment is flooded. Man-made obstacles such as deep anti-tank ditches can also cause major problems, but these can be dealt with by specialist armoured engineer vehicles (AEVs)... Continues below

This analysis article originally appeared in October's Decisive Edge Land Warfare Newsletter.

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While there are some types of anti-tank mine that can disable a heavy AFV, such as a main battle tank (MBT), or destroy a lighter one such as an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), in many cases damage is limited to the suspension and tracks.

If the vehicle is in the immediate direct-fire zone, it must be taken to the rear to be repaired, and this is where a specialised armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) comes into play. This cannot be deployed until a minefield is cleared to avoid further personnel or equipment becoming casualties.

Scenarios are often complex. During one recent Ukrainian counterattack a Finnish-supplied Patria armoured breacher fitted with a plough-type mine clearing system, a Leopard 2 MBT and a Bradley M2 IFV all got stuck in a dense minefield and when vehicles tried to bypass this, they also became casualties.

If the ARV cannot rapidly bring the damaged platform to a safe area, then a heavy equipment transporter can take over to move it well back from the front line for subsequent repair. Nonetheless. if the AFV is very badly damaged it may be cannibalised for spare parts.

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An analysis of vehicles disabled in Ukraine, especially MBTs such as the T-72, T-80 and T-90 showed that they were often damaged beyond repair as the 125mm ammunition stocks stowed below the turret had ignited and the complete assembly was blown off, also killing the crew. The same applies to Russian BMP-2 and BMP-3 IFVs with many seen with their turrets blown off resulting in a total loss.

When more conventional manoeuvre warfare takes place, the advancing armoured force has an advantage as any vehicles damaged or broken down can be retrieved and if not beyond repair returned to the front line as soon as possible. But for the retreating army, unless vehicles are recovered rapidly they are totally lost.

Ukraine is understood to have made up many of its AFV losses by requisitioning lightly or (even un-) damaged Russian vehicles that had broken down or run out of fuel.

How is this achieved? Most of the heavier ARVs currently deployed are based on a platform that uses components from an MBT for fleet commonality and are fitted with powerful winches for recovery.

For improved traction, the ARV can be equipped with a hydraulically operated spade and sometimes a crane which can lift a complete MBT power pack or recover smaller vehicles. In addition, the ARV normally carries tow bars, tools and more specialised equipment such as cutting and welding devices and an air compressor.

Most have a protected or remote weapon station for self-defence, which is normally armed with a 7.62mm or 12.7mm machine gun, plus banks of electrically operated smoke grenade launchers.

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Some heavier ARVs have space on top to carry a complete MBT power pack for rapid changes in the field, although a trailer can also be towed for this purpose. In the past the time taken to install the new power pack was many hours but on most modern AFVs this can be accomplished in well under 60 minutes due to plug-and-play connectors.

Even for lighter families of tracked AFVs there is normally a dedicated recovery variant.

The British Army’s Warrior family includes two such models: Warrior Repair and Recovery and Warrior Combat Repair Vehicle.

The same applies for the General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) Ajax series finally entering service after many years of delays, with these being the Apollo Equipment Support Repair and the Atlas Equipment Support Recovery variants.

The standard ARV for the UK’s Royal Armoured Corps meanwhile is the BAE Systems Challenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle which can recover the Challenger 2 MBT and two more specialised versions, the Titan armoured bridge-layer and the Trojan AEV.

The French Army uses the Leclerc ARV which is based on a longer version of the eponymous MBT chassis with an additional road wheel either side and a larger brand-new superstructure at the front. A total of 20 were built for France plus 46 for the United Arab Emirates.

The German Army uses the Rheinmetall Landsysteme Buffalo which is based on Leopard 2 components and has winches and a crane for changing power packs.

The standard ARV of the US Army meanwhile is the BAE Systems M88 which was developed some 70 years ago but has been constantly improved. The latest version is the M88A3 which has an additional road wheel either side and can recover the heaviest GDLS M1A3 Abrams MBT. Prior to the deployment of the M88A3 two M88A2s were required to recover later versions of the M1 series.

Using internal research and development funding, GDLS built a prototype Abrams ARV along similar lines to the German Buffalo, but this was never taken into service owing to the investment made in the M88 over the years.

Most armies have battalions dedicated to major work on vehicles in the field, and these are equipped with tracked and wheeled recovery vehicles, trailers and diagnostic equipment to carry out their mission.

In addition, each tank battalion has several dedicated ARVs which are typically issued on the scale of one per squadron of MBTs plus one or two with the light aid detachment.

Prevention is also important. While all types of AFV are at risk of becoming disabled due to mechanical problems, more recent designs are fitted with a health and usage monitoring system which constantly checks many key subsystems and can alert the crew before any serious damage occurs.

Sensible fleet planning should always include a recovery capability, and many recent export contracts have involved complete families of wheeled AFVs which include ARV-type vehicles.

A good example is the contract between FNSS of Turkey and Malaysia for the Pars 8x8 family. This covered the supply of some 257 vehicles through local company DRB-HICOM across 12 variants which included nine in ARV configuration and a similar number in fitter’s configuration, with all of these being delivered in a few years.

FNSS subsequently supplied a total of 172 Pars to the Royal Army of Oman of which 145 were in 8x8 configuration and 27 in 6x6 configuration with the former including an ARV model.

Above: The standard Russian BREM-1 ARV is based on T-72 components and is fitted with a front-mounted stabiliser blade, winches, crane and roof-mounted stowage area. (Photo: author)

This approach is not reflected everywhere. For example, there was never an ARV version of the BAE Systems M2 Bradley IFV, with this being recovered by the M88 or wheeled vehicles instead.

The US Marine Corps (USMC) meanwhile took delivery of large numbers of the Landing Vehicle Tracked Personnel 7 (subsequently renamed the Amphibious Assault Vehicle 7) with the recovery variant being the Landing Vehicle Tracked Recovery 7. These were subsequently upgraded to A1 configuration.

This fleet is now being replaced by the 8x8 Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV), with prime contractor being BAE Systems USA. In April 2025 the company was awarded a $69 million contract from the USMC to build and deliver production-representative test vehicles for the ACV-Recovery which is fitted with winches and a roof-mounted crane and can handle vehicles weighing up to 30 US tons.

While most recovery vehicles are designed and placed in production by the original equipment manufacturer of the main AFV fleet, there are a small number of contractors who specialise in ARVs and AEVs, with one example being German company FFG.

One of its more recent developments is the Armoured Recovery Module (ARM) for the ARTEC Boxer 8x8 which is being adopted by an increasing number of users.

The ARM is a direct replacement for the standard Boxer mission module and has a hydraulically operated winch and crane with an extendable jib which can lift a maximum of 20 tonnes. Power is supplied by a 24V electro-hydraulic drive powered by a lithium-ion battery pack which is specially protected.

A support blade can be lowered at the rear for recovery and lifting operations and as usual there is a range of options such as welding and cutting equipment.

FFG has also developed the Wisent 2 based on a Leopard 2 chassis which is basically an ARV but with the aid of a kit can be rapidly converted into an AEV and fitted with various front-end attachments such as mine-clearing ploughs provided by Pearson Engineering of the UK.

In addition to heavy ARVs, armies usually also field fleets of soft-skinned wheeled recovery vehicles which are normally 8x8 or 6x6. There is an increasing trend for these to be fitted with a fully protected cab as they also need to operate in forward areas.

The ideal situation is that an ARV should enter service at the same time as the platform that it is required to support, and possess the same level of mobility, but in the real world this does not often happen, especially with heavier platforms such as MBTs.

Nonetheless, AFVs are valuable, both in terms of dollars and frontline capabilities, so it pays to invest in ways to ensure that a simple mechanical breakdown or light battle damage does not lead to a hull loss or even a “gift” to an advancing enemy.

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