EXHIBIT #9

M-551 SHERIDAN AR/AAV USA

Developed in 1959 to replace the M-41 Walker Bulldog light tank (early 1950s), the Sheridan is a “mixed bag” which has proven to be quite efficient when used as intended. A lightweight, lightly armored recon vehicle (the AR above) and as an air-droppable, and air-transportable assault vehicle (the AAV above), it doesn’t fit neatly into the classic definition of a tank. The weapon system is the same as the much more expensive MBT-70: a 152-mm gun that can shoot conventional 152-mm High Explosive rounds, or IR Shillelagh missiles (20 conventional rounds, 10 missiles). Constructed of aluminum, the Sheridan wasn’t well received by US troops in Vietnam, as the light armor made it vulnerable to small arms fire, especially RPGs (Rocket Propelled Grenades). But light armor meant that the Sheridan could get out of trouble quickly as long as the tracks and engines weren’t shot up. As an AR/AAV, the Sheridan failed to stay in the Army very long. Only the 82^nd airborne used them for a while, and retired them in the late 1990s.

DATA:

Length: 20 ft, 7n in.

Width: 9 ft, 2 in.

Height: 9 ft, 7 in.

Weight: 34,826 lbs

Crew: 4

Engine: Detroit Diesel 6V53T Diesel, 300 hp

Armament: one 152-mm gun/launcher, one 50-cal MG, and one 30-cal MG

Armor: classified

Speed: app 50 mph on road, 4 mph in water

Range: 375 miles