Pearson Engineering’s new product ‘SLICE’ is designed to provide Main Battle Tanks with an organic, scalable, and modular approach to mobility when it is needed. In response to an emerging concept to ‘march divided and fight united’, SLICE enables Main Battle Tanks and other armoured vehicles to rapidly fit, operate and remove a wide range of Front-End Equipment such as Mine Ploughs and Dozer Blades.
The lightweight interface is designed to be quickly and easily fit without permanent modification to the host vehicle, therefore having no impact on the vehicle’s survivability, and carefully avoids any interference with the gun sweep. When SLICE is fitted, there is minimal to no change to the approach angle nor its step height. SLICE is also light weight and does not affect the driver’s vision. The product includes an integrated hydraulic motor pump and control system, further lessening the impact on the host vehicle.
With an understanding that the demands of the battlefield can evolve rapidly, the host Main Battle Tank can be returned to its original state without SLICE and without any Front-End Equipment.
Enhanced mobility and adaptability are critical assets in reducing the predictability of armoured vehicles. SLICE provides Commanders with the option to rapidly mobilise a broader range of vehicles, drawing upon a common pool of Front-End Equipment that is both suitable for dedicated engineering vehicles, and for use temporarily by others. In this way, a Mine Plough normally used by a dedicated engineering vehicle and which already exists in an inventory could be used by a Main Battle Tank, when needed.
When the mission requires, SLICE can be easily fitted and removed from the MBT in approximately 15 minutes using a crane and basic tools. Once fitted onto the MBT, Front-End Equipment can then be quickly fitted onto SLICE in field conditions, without the requirement for tools. Dependent on the environment, this takes around 10 minutes but with suitable training can take as little as 2 minutes. Importantly, the interface allows for under armour jettison of battle-damaged equipment.