VCA (Vehiculo de Combate de Artilleria)
The VCA (Vehiculo de Combate de Artilleria) is a self-propelled howitzer developed by Tanque Argentino Mediano Sociedad del Estado). in response to the operational requirements of the Argentinean Army as a replacement of the French F3 self-propelled guns. The VCA is fitted with Italian Palmaria turret, mounted on the lengthened TAM light tank chassis.
The VCA mounts a 155-mm / L39 howitzer and fitted with automatic projectile loading system. Charges are loaded manually. The VCA fires all standard NATO 155-mm ammunition, including HE-FRAG, smoke or illumination projectiles. Maximum range of fire is 24.7 km with ordinary HE-FRAG projectile and 30 km with rocket-assisted. A total of 30 rounds are carried. Secondary armament consists of a roof-mounted 7.62-mm or 12.7-mm machine gun. The vehicle is also fitted with four smoke grenade dischargers.
The TAM VCA has a welded aluminum turret. The vehicle provides armor protection against small arms fire and artillery shell splinters. The vehicle has a crew of five, including commander, gunner, charge handler, magazine operator and driver.
It uses a TAP chassis (Tanque Argentino Pesado, Argentine Heavy Tank), an abandoned project that used lengthened chassis derived from the TAM (Tanque Argentino Mediano, Argentine Medium Tank). It weighs 40 tons, and has 7 rolling wheels.
It is powered by the MTU MB-833 Ka500 diesel engine, developing 720 hp. Vehicle is fitted with auxiliary power unit, which powers all systems, when the main engine is turned off.
A total of 20 Palmaria turrets developed by Oto Melara were exported to Argentina. Some sources claim that at least 15 TAM VCA self-propelled systems were in service by the late 1990s. This turret is no longer produced, so it is unlikely that more vehicles will be built. The TAM VCA is in service only with Argentina.
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