The Stingray is a light tank produced by Textron Marine & Land Systems division (formerly Cadillac Gage). It was specifically designed to use as many existing components of other American armored fighting vehicles as possible to keep costs down. It was originally developed for the U.S. Army as a light tank—with firepower matching that of a main battle tank (MBT), while lacking the countermeasures to be considered a main battle tank —for the U.S. Army's Armored Gun System competition in the 1980s. It was exported for use by armed forces of Thailand, who remain the only user.
The Stingray has a 105 mm bore cannon. Its cruise speed is 44 mph (71 km/h). Maximum grade is 60%. The maximum vertical distance it can scale is 2.7 feet (82 cm). It can ford water up to 3.5 feet (107 cm). It is air transportable in a C-130 cargo aircraft. The original Stingray program was launched in 1983, with the first prototype vehicle ready in August 1984. As of 2004, the only country to have purchased the Stingray is Thailand, which ordered 106 tanks that were delivered between 1988-1990. The Stingray turret was also marketed separately for retrofit installation on the hull of the M41, M47 or M551 tank or on the V600 armored car.
Specifications
Weight 22.6 tonnes
Length 9.3 m (30 ft 6 in) with gun forward
Width 3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Height 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in)
Crew 4 (commander, driver, gunner, radio operator/loader)
Armor 23 mm
Main
armament
L7A3 105 mm rifled tank gun
Secondary
armament
7.62 mm co-axial machine gun, 12.7 mm AA machine gun
Engine Detroit Diesel Allison 8V-92TA 535 hp (399 kW), liquid cooled turbo charged 2 stroke V-8 diesel engine
550 hp (410 kW)
Suspension Independent trailing arm torsion bar
Operational
range
300 miles (480 km)Speed 70 km/h