The ULV Ultra Light Vehicle is a project from the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), to design Army vehicles that can undertake missions across a full spectrum of operational challenges while keeping occupants safe and using fuel efficiently. The ULV is a hybrid vehicle that includes lightweight advanced material armor, lightweight wheels and tires and other automotive systems, blast-mitigating underbody technology and advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment inside. The ULV is not a replacement for the JLTV Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program or the Humvee. It is an experimental vehicle used for testing purposes. TARDEC’s Ground System Survivability (GSS) group partnered with non-traditional defense contractors to bring their combined engineering expertise to the project. Tests and evaluations (T&Es) are planned through early 2014 where model predications can be validated and areas for improvement can be analyzed. T&Es on three ULV test articles includes human factors engineering, mobility, durability and survivability tests. Test sites include Aberdeen Test Center (ATC), Nevada Automotive Test Center (NATC) and TARDEC’s Ground System Power and Energy Lab (GSPEL). The array of test data from the three test sites will provide a solid understanding of the vehicle’s capabilities, limitations and opportunities for development. The ULV’s final design includes a relatively spacious, contractor (Hardwire LLC)-designed crew-accommodating cab that provides increased interior space than similarly equipped tactical vehicles. The remote-mounted and remote-controlled vehicle electronics reduce HVAC workloads and- create significant occupant spatial accommodations. In November 2013, the U.S. Army announced that two of the three vehicles in the Army's "Ultra Light Vehicle" program have now entered survivability testing in Nevada and Maryland, to evaluate both their blast and ballistic protection capability.

The ULV Ultra Light Vehicle is a project from the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), to design Army vehicles that can undertake missions across a full spectrum of operational challenges while keeping occupants safe and using fuel efficiently. The ULV is a hybrid vehicle that includes lightweight advanced material armor, lightweight wheels and tires and other automotive systems, blast-mitigating underbody technology and advanced command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment inside. The ULV is not a replacement for the JLTV Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program or the Humvee. It is an experimental vehicle used for testing purposes. TARDEC’s Ground System Survivability (GSS) group partnered with non-traditional defense contractors to bring their combined engineering expertise to the project. Tests and evaluations (T&Es) are planned through early 2014 where model predications can be validated and areas for improvement can be analyzed. T&Es on three ULV test articles includes human factors engineering, mobility, durability and survivability tests. Test sites include Aberdeen Test Center (ATC), Nevada Automotive Test Center (NATC) and TARDEC’s Ground System Power and Energy Lab (GSPEL). The array of test data from the three test sites will provide a solid understanding of the vehicle’s capabilities, limitations and opportunities for development. The ULV’s final design includes a relatively spacious, contractor (Hardwire LLC)-designed crew-accommodating cab that provides increased interior space than similarly equipped tactical vehicles. The remote-mounted and remote-controlled vehicle electronics reduce HVAC workloads and- create significant occupant spatial accommodations. In November 2013, the U.S. Army announced that two of the three vehicles in the Army's "Ultra Light Vehicle" program have now entered survivability testing in Nevada and Maryland, to evaluate both their blast and ballistic protection capability.