Australian M113 APCs placed on hold pending precautionary safety checks, training controls

The pause will reportedly allow Australian Army personnel to review current safety, technical and training controls.

The Australian Army’s fleet of M113AS4 armoured personnel carriers has provided soldiers with protected mobility and armoured fighting capability since the Vietnam War. The vehicles were upgraded from Vietnam-era M113AS1 with electrically powered turrets, day/night weapon sights, new engines, steering controls, electrical and fuel systems.

The all-terrain vehicle is designed to transport its crew and up to 10 infantry personnel while protecting them from small arms fire and mine blasts.

Defence has previously announced that the Australian Army’s Combat Experimentation Group had begun trialling the use of headset-operated M23D minigun remote weapon stations on M113 armoured personnel carriers (APC).

During Exercise Talisman Sabre, B Squadron from 1st Armoured Regiment travelled from Adelaide to Townsville to test the Modular Robotic Vehicle (MRV) with remote weapon stations and first-person view drones (FPVD) for the first time in a combat field environment. The MRV currently uses an M113 APC as a “test bed”, with 50-calibre machine guns or M23D minigun remote weapon stations attached. This technology allows soldiers to control the vehicle and weapon station using a remote control from up to 1,000 metres away. Similarly, FPVD are operated using a headset and hand controller.

In international news, Ukraine has recently announced an M113-similar “Skif” armoured personnel carrier to begin testing in direct response to the requirements of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

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The three-man crewed Skif prototype is heavily influenced by M113 APCs and designed to transport soldiers from mechanised units across the battlefield and to provide them with fire support using a Ukrainian-made remotely controlled combat module with either 12.7mm or 14.5mm heavy machinegun.

Robert Dougherty

Robert is a senior journalist who has previously worked for Seven West Media in Western Australia, as well as Fairfax Media and Australian Community Media in New South Wales. He has produced national headlines, photography and videography of emergency services, business, community, defence and government news across Australia. Robert graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Public Relations and Journalism at Curtin University, attended student exchange program with Fudan University and holds Tier 1 General Advice certification for Kaplan Professional. Reach out via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via LinkedIn.