FV103 Spartan

   The FV103 Spartan tracked APC was not developed in isolation, but as a part of an armored combat vehicle family headed by the Scorpion light tank armed with a 76-mm gun. There are seven main members in the family, all produced by Alvis Vehicles, in which the Spartan was intended to be a specialist combat team carrier. This means that the Spartan is normally operated as an infantry combat section vehicle but as a combat engineer, battlefield reconnaissance or air defense missile team carrier. A total of 967 FV103 Spartans were built.

   Since the British Army has reorganized, many Spartans have become available from their former employment so are now widely issued as general purpose liaison and patrol vehicles. The chassis and suspension of the Spartan are shared with all other members of the Scorpion family, as is the Jaguar petrol engine (later replaced with Cummins diesel) but on the Spartan the aluminum hull is enlarged to a box configuration to accommodate the driver, team commander/radio operator and the vehicle commander who also operates the 7.62-mm MG mounted over his cupola; the MG can be aimed and fired from within the vehicle.

   The troop compartment at the rear seats four personnel with space for their specialized and personal equipment; more equipment can be stowed externally in racks or boxes. Some Spartans have provision for mounting a battlefield surveillance radar on the hull roof while others have internal racking for air defense missiles. At one time British Infantry had tank destroyer Spartans with MILAN ATGW launcher turrets on their roof but these have now been withdrawn.

   Another variant was known as the Streaker (mainly due to it's high speed potential although all members of the Scorpion family are agile and fast). The Streaker was s Spartan chassis with an open flat bead rear to act as a front line stores transporter or mine dispensing equipment carrier - it did not pass the prototype stage.