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The ASCOD (Austrian Spanish Cooperation Development) armoured fighting vehicle family is the product of a cooperation agreement between Austrian Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG (in 1998 the production of heavy armed vehicles was sold out under the name Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug, which is now the producer) and Spanish General Dynamics Santa Bárbara Sistemas (both companies are now divisions of a unit of General Dynamics). The ASCOD family includes the LT 105, a light tank equipped with a 105 mm gun, a SAM launcher, an anti-tank missile launcher, mortar carrier, R&R vehicle, Command & Control vehicle, ambulance, artillery observer, and the AIFV model. In Spanish service the vehicle is called Pizarro, while the Austrian version is called Ulan. == History == The ASCOD was designed to replace the older light armoured fighting vehicles of the Austrian and Spanish armies, such as the M113 armored personnel carrier and the Saurer APC. The Ulan, the Austrian version of the Pizarro, would provide a flexible complement to their heavy Leopard 2A4. The Ulan would allow the Austrian army to deploy rapidly and effectively over longer distances, especially for foreseeable future operations—such as troubled spots for UN operations.〔Quod Vadis Armour?〕 In 1982 Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug initiated the conception phase for the development of a new infantry fighting vehicle. Following first talks with the militaries of Greece, Norway and Switzerland to find the desired requirements for a new IFV. The decision to develop a new IFV was made following the Bundesheer announced the military requirement for the ''Kampfschützenpanzer 90'' (combat infantry fighting vehicle 90) in 1985.〔 Based on this Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug started the conception of the vehicle, however it was clear that Austria would not order new IFVs in the next years and that the development costs exceeded Steyr's budget.〔 Therefore in 1988 a cooperation with the Spanish company Empresa National Santa Barbara S. A. was signed, which resulted in the development being renamed to ASCOD (Austrian Spanish Cooperative Development).〔 Following this the development of the ASCOD was started. The hulls were manufactured in Spain, while the ASCOD turrets (based on the SP-30 turret design used on the scout version of the Pandur) were made by Steyr in Austria. The first prototype was presented in 1991 in Sevilla〔 and tested by 1992 with production being possible only four years later.〔(Santa Bárbara Sistemas website on ASCOD )〕 Following the numerous changed requirements during the conception and development phase of the ASCOD the weight increased from an original 18.8 t to 25.2 t and finally 29.0 tonnes. The first prototype was trialed in Norway in 1993/94, however Norway decided against buying the ASCOD and preferred the Swedish CV9030 instead.〔 Following the trials in Norway, a slightly updated third prototype was built, which essentially equals the version finally offered as ASCOD to Austria, Spain and other countries. In 1994 Spain decided to order four pre-series vehicles after successful trials of the prototype. In 1996 Spain ordered 144 vehicles with the designation "Pizarro". Due to financial reasons Austria's order for the first 112 ASCOD vehicles happened not until May 1999. The designation "Ulan" is used for the ASCOD in Austrian service. Four pre-series Ulan were given to the Austrian Bundesheer in April 2001 for the final qualification. The official handover happened in May 2001. In 2002 28 Ulans were delivered, the next batch of 36 was delivered in 2003 and in 2004 the order was finished.〔 In contrast to the original prototypes, the "Ulan" was completely manufactured in Austria.〔 The ASCOD was a very modern solution to bring both the Austrian and Spanish armour up to date. To put this into perspective, the Pizarro project was a part of the greater Project CORAZA (Project Armour) which was to replace Spain's M113 APCs, M60A3s, and M110 artillery pieces.〔Candil, pg. 42〕 By 2005 the Austrian army was equipped with 112 Ulan vehicles〔 and Spain with 144 (123 IFV and 21 C2V).〔Principales Programas de Armamento de DGAM〕 In 2004 the Spanish Ministry of Defence ordered another 212 Pizarros (170 IFV, 5 C2V, 28 Artillery observation, 8 recovery, 1 Engineering vehicle) for 707.5 million Euros,〔Ministry of Defence〕 with up to 356 units total planned.〔(Army Technology website on ASCOD )〕 By 2010 the cost of this second batch had increased to €845m. The improved ASCOD 2 vehicle was chosen by the UK MoD in March 2010 as the common base platform for the ''Scout Specialist Vehicle'', which was later renamed Ajax. This selection was the result of the UK's Specialist Vehicle Programme. Around 300 British engineers at General Dynamics UK's Oakdale facility began developing the Ajax from the ASCOD 2 after being awarded the contract in 2010.〔.〕〔.〕 The ASCOD 2 Scout SV will serve as replacement for CVR(T) family vehicles including the FV107 Scimitar, the FV103 Spartan and the FV106 Samson armoured recovery vehicle. General Dynamics offered the ASCOD 2 in an APC configuration to the competition for the Danish M113 replacement. The ASCOD 2 was not chosen, as the Danish army preferred a wheeled option with the Piranha 5. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「ASCOD」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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