ARIS Arisgator

The Arisgator is a light amphibious armoured personnel carrier developed and patented by A.R.I.S. SpA of Lombardore, near Turin. It is made by rebuilding a standard M113 APC. ARIS presented it as a cheap way for armed forces to get a landing-capable vehicle with a large share of local industrial work, using the M113's existing worldwide supply chain.

Design

The conversion adds a new bow that improves the M113's buoyancy and helps it cut through the water. A tilting bow section gives access to the engine. At the back, two stern units each hold a hydrostatically driven ducted propeller. In the water the original air intake is shut off and a dedicated sealing system takes over, so no preparation is needed before driving in. The engine, automatic gearbox and systems are the same as on the M113 A1, so land performance is unchanged. Steering afloat is by joystick. The vehicle can spin on the spot in the water, sits low above the waterline, and can be launched and recovered from LPD-type ships.

The vehicle carries eight fully equipped soldiers. It is 7.2 m long, 2.9 m wide and 2.4 m high, and weighs 13 tonnes fully loaded. ARIS quoted 60 km/h on land with a range of over 500 km. Afloat, it was quoted at over 6 knots, with more than 16 hours' endurance at 5 knots.

Options and development

Options included a remotely controlled turret for a 12.7 mm machine gun or a 40 mm grenade launcher, with fire control and night sensors, and extra armour against 7.62 mm armour-piercing rounds. A more powerful version was being studied. It would have a Euro 3 diesel of about 340 hp and a new transmission with regenerative steering.

The maker

A.R.I.S. (Applicazioni Rielaborazioni Impianti Speciali) was set up in 1969 from the former S.I.R.A. It builds special-purpose vehicles, trailers, aircraft tugs and generator sets for the Italian defence and interior ministries, the national fire brigade corps and NATO agencies.