AIMTEST History

The U.S. Army National Guard first began development of the 105mm inbore sub-caliber device in 1982, which was initially referred to as the Walentine device, so named for it’s inventor. Created out of a need to continue live-fire range training, despite budget cuts restricting the use of standard tank ammunition, this device quickly caught on with National Guard units across the country. Not only were the cost savings by using cal. .50 ammunition significant, this device was far easier to assemble and use than anything else on the market.

By 1992, American Apex Corporation had acquired limited rights to manufacture and market this device, and it was at this time that the AIMTEST was born. An acronym for Advanced Inbore Marksmanship Training Enhancement System for Tanks, the marketing for AIMTEST now began to focus on a global vision. In 1996, all rights to AIMTEST were granted to American Apex, however by that time the device had already undergone significant changes related to safety and accuracy. Armored units across the world were starting to see that AIMTEST would literally pay for itself in one day of full or half scale training. Simple, safe and cost-efficient, AIMTEST became the live-fire training aid of choice.

Since 1996, AIMTEST has been fielded in seven countries and over 200 units have been sold to the U.S. Army. Along with being compatible to all 105 and 120mm tank cannons, AIMTEST is now available in 73 and 90mm versions, with 76 and 100mm compatible units in development. Now more than twenty years since it’s development, AIMTEST continues to set the standard in live-fire combat training.

AIMTEST Trials

2001 - The Royal Danish Army gave the AIMTEST a very strict trial, using ballistic radar and thermal cameras to record the results. The Army chose AIMTEST over competing systems later the same year to train their armor crews on the LEO 2 A4 and LEO 1 A4/A5 tanks.

2000 – Brazil tested the AIMTEST device on their M60A3 and LEO 1 A1 tanks at the Centro de Instrucão de Blindados (Armored Instruction Center) in Rio de Janeiro. The Army purchased the devices in FY 2001.

1999 – The Bahrainian Defense Forces conducted training aid trials on the M60A3 tank, and chose the AIMTEST device over other competitors.
Spain tested the AIMTEST device for the M48A5/M60A3/AMX-30 and the LEO 2 A4 tanks. Spain completed their purchase for all platforms in FY 2000.

1997 – The Egyptian Army tested the AIMTEST against various Russian and German sub caliber devices, and chose AIMTEST to be their primary gunnery training aid on the M1A1 tanks.

1995 – The Royal Hellenic Army chose AIMTEST over other competing devices, and currently has 150 AIMTEST serving their armored units on the M60A3/A1, LEO 1A2-A5 and M48 A5 tanks. They have also selected the AIMTEST-73 to equip their BMP-1 AICV’s.

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