Ukraine looks set to receive a fleet of new-production 4×4 Mobile Strike Force Vehicle (MSFV) light armored vehicles from the United States. The MSFV is a variation of the M1117 Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) armored car that offers additional protection for its occupants from explosive blasts and other improvements, and was originally developed specifically for the now-defunct Afghan National Army (ANA).
The U.S. Army Contracting Command-Detroit Arsenal recently announced its intention to award a three-year sole-source contract to Textron for the production of 65, as well as a year’s worth of spare parts, with funding from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). Established before Russia’s all-out invasion in 2022, USAI is a security assistance mechanism intended to help acquire weapons and other equipment, along with training and other support services, on Ukraine’s behalf. The Ukrainian armed forces have already received hundreds of standard M1117s, also known as Guardians, taken from U.S. Army stocks via what is known as Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA).
Army Contracting Command-Detroit Arsenal had put out another notice in July “seeking a source capable of producing a modified M1117 Armored Security Vehicle (ASV), referred to as the Mobile Strike Force Vehicle (MSFV), which was last produced in the 2019 timeframe.” The notice had said “the United States Government (USG) anticipates ordering 65 each with plans for complete production and delivery within three years,” but did not mention Ukraine.
Textron Marine & Land Systems, formed from a merger of Cadillac Gage and Textron Marine, originally developed the M1117 in the 1990s for the U.S. Army. The ASV design is reminiscent, at least externally, of Cadillac Gage’s V-100/V-150/V-200 Commando series of armored cars, and is currently branded as part of the Commando family. The baseline M1117 has a gross weight of close to 30,000 pounds and can reach a top speed of up to 63 miles per hour. It features a turret armed with a .50 caliber M2 machine gun and a 40mm Mk 19 automatic grenade launcher.
A number of additional variants of the M1117 were subsequently developed for the U.S. Army and other customers, including the M1200 Armored Knight for use by forward observer teams and an armored personnel carrier version with a revised interior configuration capable of accommodating eight personnel in addition to the crew of three. The further improved MSFV family, again specifically developed for the ANA, was unveiled in the early 2010s.
“The MSFV platform (originally known as the Medium Armored Security Vehicle) differs from the M1117 in that it has been configured with enhanced survivability capability, giving it improved blast protection,” according to a 2014 report from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. “The MSFV also has an extended hull design that provides increased interior space and allows for additional seating configuration.”
The ANA subsequently received three different MSFV variants, one with the same turret as the M1117, one with an open-topped turret typically armed with a single .50 caliber machine gun, and one configured as a light armored ambulance. Plans to supply the ANA with a heavier fire support version with a turret armed with a 90mm gun failed to materialize.
A significant number of the MSFVs that were delivered fell into the hands of the Taliban when they retook control of Afghanistan in 2021.
What versions of the MSFV family Ukraine might now be in line to receive aren’t clear, but the Army Contracting Command-Detroit Arsenal’s most recent notice says “Capability of mounting the MK-19 Grenade Machine Gun and M-2 .50 caliber machine gun concurrently (fired from inside the turret), and also the M2, M240, and M249 machine guns interchangeably (fired from outside the turret)” are key requirements.
For the Ukrainian armed forces, MSFVs could offer useful additional mobile firepower in a package with at least a degree of armor protection. Even just being able to shield occupants from artillery shrapnel and small arms fire could be valuable. Light armored ambulances would also be a boon for evacuating casualties under fire.
As noted, the MSFV design also specifically incorporated survivability enhancements over the original M1117 to provide improved protection against explosive blasts, including from mines and improvised explosive devices. Mines are a particularly serious threat to both sides of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
At the same time, Ukrainian battlefields are home to a myriad of other threats, especially highly maneuverable first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drones. Pictures have previously emerged, as seen below, showing a Ukrainian M1117 covered in add-on armored screens to protect against uncrewed aerial systems. In an unmodified form, MSFV variants with open-topped turrets would have additional vulnerability to threats from above.
Though far less protected than tanks and other heavier armored vehicles, MSFVs are smaller and lighter, which could offer mobility advantages in certain contexts, as well as being simpler to operate and maintain. Textron restarting production of the MSFV family could be helpful to Ukraine just by creating an additional pipeline for more armored vehicles, as well.
It’s also interesting to note here that this isn’t the first time Ukraine has benefited indirectly from past U.S. assistance to the defunct armed forces of Afghanistan. Back in 2022, the Ukrainian military received a number of Russian-made Mi-17 Hip helicopters that American authorities had previously supplied to the Afghan Air Force.
When the MSFV contract might be finalized and when the first new-production vehicles might be delivered remains to be seen, but the Afghan-specific version of the M1117 now looks headed for a second life in Ukraine.
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