The Dragoon 300 AFV (armoured fighting vehicle) was produced by Arrowpointe Corporation (now General Dynamics Land Division) during the 1980s. It was based on the automotive components of the United States Army's M113 APCs and 5-ton trucks. It resembles a larger V-150 Commando. The Dragoon is made under license in Pakistan by Heavy Industries Taxila. History With the end of the 1960s, the United States Army's Military Police Corps expressed the need for a vehicle capable of being transported by Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft, intended to provide base protection, as well as carrying out convoy escort duties. This eventually led to a formal requirement being issued in 1976. However, the requirement was allowed to lapse, probably due to budgetary pressures of the time. Despite this, one of the firms that had expressed an interest in meeting the requirement, the Verne Corporation, decided to build two prototypes of a vehicle that was initially called the Verne Dragoon and pitched it together with Arrowpointe to third party customers. These prototypes made their first public appearance in 1978. The Dragoon is of a very similar configuration to that of Cadillac Gage V-100 and the vehicles 4 X 4 general-purpose of the V-150 range, but it has several parts in common with the M-113A2 tracked armored personnel carrier and the M809 series 5-ton 6x6 truck. Verne was responsible for the Dragoon's development while Arrowpointe was responsible for marketing the vehicle. The two companies merged to form AV Technology Corporation and continued to produce and market the vehicle until its assets were taken by General Dynamics Land Systems. While production continued until 2002, there was the option for small orders from GDLS in Spain until marketing was dropped in 2008. Description From the M113A2, the Dragoon borrows its starter, periscopes, drain pumps, control knobs and its electric and hydraulic components. The hull of the Dragoon is of entirely welded steel construction, ensuring crew protection against individual weapons of 5.56 and 7.62mm and against shell shrapnel. The driver sits on the left front with room for another man on his right, the crew compartment being in the center; the engine is located at the back on the right (which on the Cadillac Gage V-150 is in the left rear corner), and a passage connects the crew compartment to a door opening on the rear of the vehicle. The soldiers enter and leave by two doors located