M1117 Guardian ASV Armored Security Vehicle
Channel: Main Battle Tank
Date: 04/04/2023

After the bloodbath in Somalia during 1993, American Army authorities were convinced to rewrite their approach to armored warfare and broaden it beyond the Main Battle Tank/Infantry Fighting Vehicle doctrine backed by a fleet of light-armored and ill-equipped HUMVEE vehicles. An intermediate solution was sought that offered the firepower of an armed HUMVEE with the protection level reaching that of an IFV and this result became the M1117 "Guardian" Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) - a 4x4 armored system born from the Vietnam-era Cadillac Gage "Commando" series and developed by Textron Marine & Land Systems. The Guardian entered service in 1999 in time to see combat service in Afghanistan and Iraq.