US light tank has high levels of toxic fumes firing the main gun
By Boyko Nikolov on January 20, 2023
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WASHINGTON, US — The Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation [DOT&E] published in January 2023 its main report for the past year 2022. It featured a report on the Mobile Protected Firepower [MPF] program, which involved the production and acquisition of a new light tank for the US Army.
US chose Griffin II tank: 105mm gun, lighter chassis than M8 Buford
In 2022, several tests were done on the winner General Dynamics Land Systems’ [GDLS] Griffin II. The GDLS beat BAE Systems’ M8 AGS in the light tank race. In its report, DOT&E says the prototype is still immature. For this reason, operational tests have not yet been conducted.
Toxic fumes
Initially, however, a problem arose during one of the tank’s development tests. It turns out that the light tank has high levels of toxic fumes when fired with the main gun. DOT&E recommends in the report that GDLS continue to work on the prototype design to avoid this problem.
One possible reason for the presence of toxic fumes can be traced to the 105mm ammunition used, not the gun itself, experts say. The current ammunition used in the tests has a steel case. After firing the main gun, an empty cartridge case is ejected, leaving behind a toxic powder residue, people familiar with the process say.
https://bulgarianmilitary.com/amp/2023/01/20/us-light-tank-has-high-levels-of-toxic-fumes-firing-the-main-gun/
