M8 Armored Gun System

M8 Armored Gun System
M8 AGS
Type	Assault gun / Light tank
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designer	FMC Corporation/United Defense LP/BAE Systems
Designed	From 1983
Manufacturer	FMC/United Defense/BAE Systems
Produced	1995, 2020
No. built	6 AGS pilots, 1 austere prototype, ≥11 MPF[nb 1]
Specifications (M8 AGS)
Mass	36,900 to 39,800 lb (16,740 to 18,050 kg) (level 1 armor)[3][4] 44,000 to 44,270 lb (19,960 to 20,080 kg) (level 2)[3][5] 52,000 lb (23,590 kg) (level 3)[3]
Length	261 in (6.64 m) (level 1 hull + gun forward), 242 in (6.14 m) (level 1 hull only)[3]
Width	104 in (2.64 m) (over fenders)
Height	100 to 101 in (2.54 to 2.57 m) (over cupola)
Crew	3 (commander, gunner, driver)
Elevation	+20° / -10° (depression limited over rear arc)
Armor	Welded 5083 aluminum alloy
Main armament	M35 105 mm caliber soft recoil rifled gun (31 rounds)
Secondary armament	7.62 mm coaxial M240 (4,500 rounds) .50 cal. commander's M2 Browning (600 rounds)[3]
Engine	Detroit Diesel 6V 92TA 550 hp (410 kW) at 2,400 rpm (JP-8 fuel), 580 hp (430 kW) at 2,400 rpm (diesel)[3]
Power/weight	28.3 hp/ST (23.3 kW/t) (Level I)[3][3]
Transmission	General Electric HMPT-500-3EC[3]
Suspension	Torsion bar[3]
Ground clearance	Up to 17 in (430 mm)
Fuel capacity	150 US gal (570 L; 120 imp gal)
Operational range	300 mi (480 km)
Maximum speed	Road: 45 mph (72 km/h)

The M8 Armored Gun System (AGS), sometimes known as the Buford, is an American assault gun / light tank that was intended to replace the M551 Sheridan and TOW missile-armed Humvees in the 82nd Airborne Division and 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (2nd ACR) of the U.S. Army respectively.

The M8 AGS began as a private venture of FMC Corporation, called the Close Combat Vehicle Light (CCVL), in 1983. The Army began the Armored Gun System program to develop a mobile gun platform that could be airdropped. By 1992, the AGS was one of the Army's top priority acquisition programs. The service selected FMC's CCVL over proposals from three other teams. The service sought to purchase 237 AGS systems to begin fielding in 1997. Key characteristics of the AGS are its light weight (17.8 short tons (16.1 t) in its low-velocity airdrop configuration), field-installable modular armor, M35 105 mm caliber soft recoil rifled gun, 21-round magazined autoloader, and slide-out powerpack.

Though it had authorized the start of production of the type classified M8 a year earlier, the Army canceled the AGS program in 1996 due to the service's budgetary constraints. The Sheridan was retired without a true successor. The AGS never saw service, though the 82nd Airborne sought to press the preproduction units into service in Iraq. The AGS was unsuccessfully marketed for export and was reincarnated for several subsequent U.S. Army assault gun/light tank programs.^[6] United Defense LP proposed the AGS as the Mobile Gun System (MGS) variant of the Interim Armored Vehicle program in 2000, but lost out to the General Motors–General Dynamics' LAV III, which was type classified as the Stryker M1128 Mobile Gun System. BAE Systems offered the AGS system for the Army's XM1302 Mobile Protected Firepower requirement, but lost to the General Dynamics Griffin II—later type classified as the M10 Booker—in 2022.

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