Saha Expo International Defense Exhibition Turkey Istanbul

United States Army could purchase 300 Ultra Light Combat Vehicles ULCV by the end of 2016 1912146

U.S. Army ULCV Ultra Light Combat Vehicle program

Friday, December 19, 2014 11:38 AM

United States Army could purchase 300 Ultra Light Combat Vehicles ULCV by the end of 2016.

U.S. Army could purchase 300 ultra light combat vehicles (ULCV) by the end of fiscal year 2016, said Lt. Col. Kevin Parker, light branch chief of the mounted requirements division at the Maneuver Center of Excellence in Fort Benning, Georgia. The Ultra Light Combat Vehicle (ULCV) is a proposed air-droppable light off-road truck to improve the mobility of light infantry brigades.

Boeing's Phantom Badger could be one candidate to meet military requirements of U.S. Army ULCV (Ultra Light Combat Vehicle) program

The Army wants to procure the first 300 vehicles to meet the “critical needs” of the global response force, a mission that is usually performed by the 82nd airborne division, said Lt. Col. Kevin Parker, light branch chief of the mounted requirements division at the Maneuver Center of Excellence in Fort Benning, Georgia.

“The way we’re going to deploy these is very similar to MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles,” he said. “The MRAPs aren’t resident in units. There’s a pool that they’re drawn from. We’re using that same kind of thought process for this. No one in the Army is interested in motorizing the infantry brigade combat teams. But we are interested in having the capability to selectively motorize when it’s required.”

The service is also considering the purchase of a second batch of ULCVs that would be stationed at Army installations responsible for training infantry. Whether that happens depends on the availability of funding, Parker said. The Maneuver Center of Excellence is in the process of determining how many vehicles would be needed and where they would be located.

In order to participate in the platform performance demonstrations, vendors were required to submit existing wheeled vehicles capable of transporting an infantry squad — nine soldiers and their gear — a range of at least 250 miles. They were not to exceed a 4,500-pound curb weight.

The U.S. Army wants a highly mobile vehicle capable of operating on paved roads, in urban rubble and off road during both day and night, the solicitation said. It must also be able to be transported internally in a CH-47 Chinook cargo helicopter and sling loaded on a UH-60 Black Hawk.

Unlike most of the vehicles fielded during the past decade, the requirements for the ULCV focus on mobility, not on protective armor that restricts a truck’s ability to quickly move through varied terrain, Parker said.

Six companies were chosen to take part in the demonstrations, which proved that multiple vendors had vehicles capable of meeting the Army’s threshold requirements, Parker said.

One vehicle showcased at the demonstrations was Boeing’s Phantom Badger, a 240-horsepower truck with a top speed of 80 miles per hour, said David Leroux, business development lead of the company’s special pursuits cell. The truck was internally funded and has been purchased by Special Operations Command.

In May 2013, Boeing has unveiled its Phantom Badger tactical ground vehicle, designed to be internally transported in the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The vehicle, displayed at the company's St Louis facility in Missouri on 21 May, has been developed by the newly-formed Special Pursuit Cell (SPC) within Boeing's Phantom Works in response to a request from the US special operations forces (SOF) community.

The Boeing Phantom Badger is based on an open top architecture including a tubular frame roll-bar to protect the crew. While the prototype vehicle features a carbon fiber hood, Boeing has since decided this has been ‘over-engineered’ and has moved instead to fiber glass.

Polaris Defense displayed its deployable advanced ground off-road (DAGOR) light vehicle at AUSA 2014.

Polaris Defense also demonstrated its new Dagor ultra light combat vehicle, said Mark McCormick, the company’s managing director. It was designed for special forces but meets the ULCV initial requirements.

Dagor’s purpose-built suspension system was inspired by designs found in the off-road racing industry. It allows the vehicle to carry payloads of up to 3,250 pounds over extreme, rocky terrain, company information said.

The Polaris Dagor was presented for the first time to the public during the Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting, in Washington, D.C., which was held from the 13 to 15 October 2014.

The Dagor has world-class capability in extreme off-road terrain at full payload. The purpose-built vehicle is designed with trophy truck-inspired suspension to carry 3,250 lbs of payload or a 9-man infantry squad at a higher rate of speed over terrain usually traveled on foot. This allows the warfighter to move quickly to the objective with mission-critical equipment.

"The Dagor was engineered to meet a very demanding set of light-mobility needs for our customer," said Jed Leonard, manager of Advanced Mobility Platforms, and Polaris Defense. "It provides the optimal balance of rapid air transportability, payload and advanced mobility. The design offers our customers a modular, light-weight platform to support a variety of expeditionary missions."