LAV-AD

Not to be confused with the LAV-25 The Landing Amphibious Vehicle-Air Defense (LAV-AD) is an air defense variant of the LAV-25 operated by the United States Marine Corps. It is fitted with an electric turret mounting a General Dynamics GAU-12/U Equalizer Gatling cannon, and two missile pods each with four FIM-92 Stinger missiles for short range air defense duties over its normal M242 Bushmaster cannon. It has a capacity of 990 rounds of 25mm ammunition and 16 missiles. It has since been removed from service due to high maintenence costs.

Multiplayer
The LAV-AD appears in Battlefield 3 as the United States Marine Corps' anti-aircraft vehicle. It is an amphibious vehicle and can travel in deep water while the Russian counterpart, the 9K22 Tunguska-M, cannot. Other than aircraft, the LAV is also somewhat effective against Infantry and Jeeps. IFVs, tanks and other heavily armored vehicles will take a considerable amount of fire to destroy, so engaging them is not reccomended. Though impervious to small arms fire and resistant to automatic cannon shells, it can be destroyed by as few as two to three anti-tank rounds or missiles in the absence of any defensive perks, so Reactive Armor is reccomended if you are to stay on the front lines protecting allies. If you do not wish to be so close to the enemy, but still want to protect your team for aircraft, Air Radar is advised. Unlike the Tunguska, the LAV is incapable of turning on the spot, and can only turn while in motion, a factor which can prove to be a disadvantage in close-quarters combat. One advantage of the LAV is that it is amphibious, although this has little use on most maps.

Location
The LAV-AD appears on the following maps:
 * Noshahr Canals(Conquest) (PC)
 * Kharg Island (Conquest) (PC)
 * Caspian Border (Conquest) (PC)
 * Operation Firestorm (Conquest) (PC)
 * Wake Island (Conquest) (Consoles/PC)
 * Alborz Mountain (Conquest) (Consoles)
 * Armored Shield (Conquest) (Consoles)

Trivia

 * In Battlefield 3, the LAV-AD is affected by a bug that can cause the vehicle to drive at 130 KPH, which is usually caused by it bouncing off a dune or a depression.
 * In an experiment, it takes almost three full-overheat barrages of fire to destroy an IFV or Tank Destroyer from the rear with the LAV-AD.
 * On consoles, this is the second rarest vehicle (the rarest being Ka-60 Kasatka with only two maps where it can be used) with only 3 maps where it can be used.