New Airmobile for the US Army

GMD's ISV, as a new vehicle for the American airmobile units, must meet the highest requirements: it can perform excellently in the most difficult terrain, is able to carry nine people and withstand a fall from an airplane.

On June 26, the US Army selected GM Defense as the vehicle supplier for the infantry squad. This is the beginning of a new generation of American light infantry vehicles and, above all, airmobile units.

In January 2014, the US Army announced the start of a competitive procedure for the purchase of an ultralight combat vehicle (ULCV). In June, at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where, among other things, the 82nd Airborne Division hosted a demonstration of several different vehicles that the US Army could consider as equipment for its airmobile units. These were: Flyer 72 General Dynamics-Flyer Defense, Phantom Badger (Boeing-MSI Defense), Deployable Advanced Ground Off-road / DAGOR (Polaris Defense), Commando Jeep (Hendrick Dynamics), Viper (Vyper Adams) and High Versatility Tactical Vehicle . (Lockheed Martin). However, the deal did not take place, and the US Army eventually purchased only 70 DAGORs for the 82nd DPD (they participated, among other things, in the Anaconda-2016 exercises in Poland). In 2015, the US Army released the Combat Vehicle Modernization Strategy (CVMS) document. The analyzes and simulations that preceded its development and publication clearly indicated the need to modernize and, in the future, replace the fleet of US Army equipment with one that would better meet the needs of the modern battlefield than equipment purchased during expeditionary wars or even recalling the Cold War. This also applied to airmobile units - their firepower was to increase (including due to light tanks, see WiT 4/2017, 1/2019) and tactical mobility. Otherwise, the chances of survival of the American paratroopers on the battlefield were small, not to mention the completion of the task. It is forced, in particular, by the need to land airmobile units at a greater distance from the target than before, which led to an increase in the effectiveness of anti-aircraft systems of a potential enemy. For comparison, US paratroopers have calculated that a dismounting soldier can reach a target at a distance of 11-16 km, while the possibility of free action appears only 60 km from the target. Thus was born the idea of ​​​​acquiring a new light all-terrain vehicle, then known as the Ground Mobility Vehicle (GMV) - in fact, ULCV returned under a new name.

The purchase of A-GMV 1.1 vehicles (also referred to as M1297) was only a half measure.

The GMV that… wasn't a GMV

The US military will eventually have a 33 infantry brigades combat team. All of them have a similar organization and are fully adapted to air transport. On the ground, they serve as light motorized infantry, daily using vehicles from the HMMWV family, and more recently also the JLTV. Some of these are airborne units, such as the 173rd Airborne BCT, the 4th BCT (Airborne) from the 25th Infantry Division, or the BCTs from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. According to the CVMS strategy, they were to receive modern light airmobile vehicles, adapted not only to be transported on board an aircraft or helicopter (or as a load suspended under a helicopter), but also dropped from the hold of an aircraft and capable of carrying a full infantry squad. Although HMMWV and JLTV are suitable for both of these tasks, they are still too large and heavy, voracious on fuel, and most of all take few soldiers (usually 4 ÷ 6).

Relatively quickly, in 2016, in the tax year 2017, the concept of launching the procedure for the purchase of airmobile vehicles capable of transporting an infantry team of nine people (two four-seat sections plus a commander) along with equipment and weapons appeared. Meanwhile, the 82nd Airborne Division tested several Polaris MRZR vehicles to evaluate the effectiveness of light all-terrain vehicles on the battlefield. However, the MRZR is too small to meet the requirements of the American light infantry, so the tests were only illustrative. The correct plan was to collect bids before the end of FY2017 and start qualifying competition vehicles from the second quarter of FY2018 to the second quarter of 2019. The choice of structure and signing of the contract was planned for the third quarter. However, in June 2017, the decision was made to split the GMV program into a purchase of 1.1 (or even 295) units of GMV 395 and a larger purchase i.e. approximately 1700, in the future as part of the competitive procedure. How can I get a GMV without buying a GMV that is not a GMV? Well, this acronym hides at least three different designs: the 80s GMV based on the HMMWV and used by USSOCOM (United States Special Operations Command), its successor GMV 1.1 (General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems' Flyer 72, developed in conjunction with Flyer Defense purchased for USSOCOM under an August 2013 agreement - deliveries due to end this year; also referred to as M1288) and the US Army airmobile vehicle program (as we will see shortly - for now). The purchase of vehicles identical to those ordered by USSOCOM was evaluated by the US Army as the fastest and most profitable, since complete interchangeability of parts was possible, this was a design already used by the US Armed Forces, tested and mass-produced. Similar requirements for USSOCOM and US Army vehicles were also of great importance: the ability to carry a team of nine soldiers, curb weight no more than 5000 pounds (2268 kg, 10% less originally planned), minimum payload of 3200 pounds (1451,5 kg) . , 60 kg), high mobility on any terrain, the ability to transport by air (on a suspension under a UH-47 or CH-47 helicopter, in the hold of a CH-130 helicopter or on board C-17 or C-177 aircraft - in the case of the latter, it was fall from a low height is possible). Ultimately, the US Army ordered only 1.1 GMV 1.1s (under the designation Army-GMV 1.1 or A-GMV 1297 or M33,8) for over $2018M under FY2019-2020 budgets. Full operational readiness was to be achieved in the third quarter of fiscal year 2019. The second round of competitive procurement was scheduled to begin in fiscal year 2020 or XNUMX.