Philippine M-113 upgrade

Via Janes:

The Philippine Army is to fit 14 of its BAE Systems M113 tracked armoured personnel carriers (APC) with the turrets of decommissioned Alvis Scorpion armoured reconnaissance vehicles.

The Philippines is preparing to add Scorpion turrets to 14 M113 APCs, a development that was also carried out by Australia.

The two-person Scorpion turret is armed with a 76 mm L23A1 gun and a 7.62 mm co-axial machine gun (MG) with day/image intensification sights.

Prior to being integrated on the M113 hull the Scorpion turrets will be upgraded with a new fire control system and thermal imaging system. This will enable targets to be detected and engaged at longer ranges and with increased accuracy under almost all-weather conditions.

The 76 mm L23A1 gun will be very useful in counter-insurgency operations as it can fire a wide range of ammunition types including high explosive, smoke, illuminating, and high-explosive squash head.