Mk II during its in-service life, refurbished dampers simultaneously improving crew comfort - and hence reducing fatigue - while extending the life of vehicle components and maintaining the tactical mobility of the original vehicle despite an increase to an operation weight of c12,000 kg. BAE Systems have proposed improved road wheels, new conventional metal tracks with guaranteed mileage (which could reduce the vehicle's running costs) and continuous 'rubber' band tracks, which significantly decrease both vibration and noise, allowing crew to operate more effectively and for longer, even in the harshest environments, while reducing the vehicle's acoustic signature. Additional specifications Ground clearance: 0.35 m Main armament: 30 mm L21 RARDEN cannon. (Fires at up to 90 rounds per minute) Ammunition types: High Explosive Incendiary (HEI) High Explosive (HE) Armour Piercing (AP) APSE (Armour Piercing Secondary Effects) Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot-Tracer (APDS-T) Additional defence: 2 × 4-barrel smoke launchers. Ammunition stores: 30 mm – 165 rounds 7.62 mm – 2,000 rounds As with all UK armoured vehicles, Scimitar is equipped with a forced air system, so the crew can lock down in a CBRN environment. For this reason, the vehicle is equipped with a boiling vessel (or "BV"), to cook and make hot drinks. Operators Current operators – 325 units The Scimitar is used by the three formation reconnaissance regiments of the British Army. After the Strategic Defence and Security Review in 2010, some regiments are seeing their Challenger 2 tanks replaced with CVR(T) Scimitars. As of March 2020, the out-of-service date of the Scimitar is expected to be 2023. – 123 units In September 2014, Latvia signed a contract with Great Britain for the purchase of 123 armoured combat vehicles as part of the Latvian National Armed Forces infantry brigade mechanization program. Former operators Belgium – 153 units, withdrawn from active service in 2004. Combat use Two troops from B Squadron, Blues and Royals served in the Falklands War. One troop was equipped with four Scorpions, the other with four Scimitars. These CVR(T)s were the only armoured vehicles used in action by the British Army during the conflict. At least one Scimitar was seriously damaged by an Argentinian landmine, but the crew were unscathed, and the vehicle was salvaged by a Chinook HC.1 helicopter and soon brought back into service by the attached REME section. Scorpions and Scimitars also provided air defence support with machine guns and 30 mm guns; on