US paratroopers of 82nd Airborne Division to evaluate ultra-lightweight combat vehicle ULCV

Posted On
Military Defense Industry Technology - Polaris MRZR-4
 
U.S. paratroopers of 82nd Airborne Division to evaluate ultra-lightweight combat vehicle ULCV.
The U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division is evaluating an ultra-lightweight combat vehicle (ULCV), that would allow airbornes troops to increase mobility et to provide a rifle company with an air-droppable maneuver and small arms platform.
     
The U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division is evaluating an ultra-lightweight combat vehicle (ULCV), that would allow airbornes troops to increase mobility et to provide a rifle company with an air-droppable maneuver and small arms platform. Paratroopers, assigned to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, drive Light Tactical All Terrain Vehicles (LTATV) through a familiarization course on Fort Bragg, N.C., Jan. 22, 2015.
     
The House Armed Services Tactical Air and Land Forces subcommittee proposal for the National Defense Authorization Act requires the secretary of the Army to brief the HASC by March 1, 2016, on the ongoing effort. The Army is looking to address a request from the 82nd Airborne Division, and it has already purchased 33 commercial vehicles for proof-of-principle tests.

The 82nd has posted pictures of soldiers in 2nd Brigade Combat Team, driving the Polaris MRZR 4, through a "familiarization course" on Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in January; driving in a snowy forest at Fort Pickett, Virginia, in February; and at its Combined Joint Operational Access Exercise, earlier this month.

The U.S. Army issued a questionnaire on April 10 through a government procurement website, asking industry about the ULCV, envisioned as an off-road vehicle that would carry a nine-soldier squad, and be air-droppable from a C-17 or C-130. It would be carried internally and externally by a CH-47 Chinook and externally by a UH-60 Black Hawk.
 
Officials with the Army's Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia, said in January that they were seeking approval for a plan to choose from readily available vehicles and field about 300 of them to the service's global response force, in essence the 82nd. Once the program is established, a vendor could be selected and a vehicle fielded in 2016, they said.
     
The U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division is evaluating an ultra-lightweight combat vehicle (ULCV), that would allow airbornes troops to increase mobility et to provide a rifle company with an air-droppable maneuver and small arms platform. MRZR Lightweight Tactical All Terrain Vehicle at AUSA 2013, defense exhibition in Washington D.C., United States.
     
The Polaris MRZR 4 is a four-seat, ultra-light tactical vehicle especially designed for military units that is powered by a 88 hp 875 cc Polaris Prostar engine. The MRZR 4 can be configured with Optional Rearward-Facing Seating and has a tool-less collapsing roll-cage to make it quickly CV-22 drive-in capable.

Specifically built for extreme performance Side x Sides, the Polaris ProStar™ 900 engine of MRZR-4 delivers 88 HP, the highest in the industry. It features Dual Overhead Cams (DOHC), 4 large valves per cylinder for high-RPM power and dual throttle bodies located close to the intake valves. The ProStar™ 900 delivers fast throttle response, groundbreaking power and revolutionary acceleration. There’s plenty of power to carry 4 people even in sand and other power-robbing terrain.

In cargo variant, the MRZR’s rear modular cargo bed supports 1-2 rearward facing seats, 1-2 longitudinally placed litters, or 1 of each to support optimal configuration for your mission.