Light/Ultra-light Military Utility vehicle Thread

TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
We have one for tanks we have one for IFV's and APC's I figure one for Hummers, Jeeps and buggies would fit the bill to. The Aim is not large heavy trucks, or MRAPS ( The latter would be APC's). but light military vehicles in the ATV-light truck class.
Speaking of which here is a neat one.
82nd Airborne Tries Ultralight Vehicles
By Joe Gould5:58 p.m. EDT April 22, 2015
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WASHINGTON — The Army's 82nd Airborne Division is evaluating an ultra-lightweight combat vehicle (ULCV), a new effort that would allow airborne assault troops to drop far from objectives that are protected by air defense, then speed over land to capture them — and Congress has taken notice.

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.

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Whether the Army buys more vehicles depends on tests conducted by the 82nd. Soldiers have evaluated the Polaris MRZR-4, dubbed the light tactical all-terrain vehicle (LTATV), for increased mobility during airfield seizure operations, and the vehicle would provide a rifle company with an air-droppable maneuver and small arms platform.

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 82nd's plan calls for it to buy commercial off-the-shelf vehicles in the mid-term and establish a formal acquisition program in the long term.

The 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.

Heidi Shyu, the Army's chief weapons buyer, said on Wednesday that the effort was in "early discussions" and that an acquisition strategy and detailed analysis had yet to arrive at her desk.

"This is what the requirements community sees for early entry, what they need to get on the ground and have mobility right now," she said. "Right now the early entry guys are walking, so they would like that mobility."

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A team of paratroopers assigned to the 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, conduct training with the brigade’s new Light Tactical All Terrain Vehicle on Fort Pickett, Va., Feb. 26. (Photo: US Army)

Michael Clow, strategic communication lead for the Army Program Executive Office for Combat Support and Combat Service Support, said in a statement April 15 that specific quantities, funding, a program timeline and finalized requirements for a potential ULCV acquisition remain under consideration, and no final decisions have been made.

"The survey's purpose is to begin informing the acquisition community about the availability and characteristics of commercial products, potentially challenging requirements, and the capabilities of equipment manufacturers in order to inform any future potential ULCV acquisition decisions or strategies," Clow said.

Polaris, whose core business is recreational vehicles, has several ATVs modified for military operations. It unveiled its first purpose-built military vehicle last year, the DAGOR, which can transport a nine-person infantry squad or carry 3,250 pounds.

The Army last summer held a demonstration at Fort Bragg in which six companies showed vehicles: GD's Flyer; the Boeing-MSI Defense Phantom Badger; Polaris Defense's deployable advanced ground off-road DAGOR; Hendrick Dynamics' Commando Jeep; Vyper Adamas' Viper; and Lockheed Martin's High Versatility Tactical Vehicle, which is a version of the UK Army's HMT-400 Jackal.

In October, the 82nd announced that the 2nd Brigade's 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment would be the first battalion to exercise and assess the light ATV. The idea was that it would allow the unit to swiftly transport and parachute in, then carry a small amount of supplies and hastily evacuate casualties from the battlefield.

The idea is that paratroopers would be able to quickly mass combat power, said Capt. Marshall Brink, the brigade's plans officer said in October.

"A force that may be defending the [landing strip] gets more time to prepare for the siege of the airfield," he said. "If we have the ability to drop more lightweight vehicles that allow our assaulting force to rapidly reach the objective and establish a foothold, that will improve our chances of success tremendously."

US Special Operations Command announced in March that it is making a sole-source purchase of 2,000 LTATVs from Polaris. The contract, to be awarded in June, includes 1,750 of the MRZR-4 and 300 of its smaller MRZR-2.
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TerraN_EmpirE

Tyrant King
the Modern Concept of such vehicles was really established by the second world war but they fill a nich known of for generations dating far back into antiquity the Idea a highly maneuverable fighting force takes it's root in the Cavalry but a single horse can only carry a single rider. the Chariot changed this in antiquity. from 1700 BCE the Chariot was the weapon that gave armies there mobility. Chariots could carry a number of men including a driver and attackers. by the 4th century CE the Chariot fell out of favor likely because of Iron arms and changing tactics. that favored horse back mounted fighting.
From time to time however attempts were made at mounting numbers of troops to a single mount this required a larger mount normally Asian or African Elephants. but these were limited to Asia or Africa. War Wagons though trialed found only limited effect. and by the early industrial era Infantry and Cavalry were the rule.
as early Machine guns came into being early attempts to mount them were limited to more or less trying to mount them on larger mounts or having them towed behind pack animals.
camel.JPG.jpeg Elephant-mounted machine-gun, 1914.jpg
Attempts such as these using the Animal as the mount were dubious at best. the animals tended not to react well to the Sound and effects of the Weapon on it's back. The elephant photo is particularity interesting due to the date it was taken on 1914.
Obviously A Elephant is not a light weight platform and not always a reliable or controllable one. Horses also had issues needing to be kept feed on the move or not and susceptible to health issues and environment.
however by 1908 a new technology was available the Mass Produced Automobile. as early as 1914 a number of military forces procured early automobiles for duties such as ambulances. in 1916 however The US Army deployed the First Automobiles into Combat. Dodge Brothers model 30 Turing cars were deployed in the Punitive Expedition under the Command of General Pershing. size0 (2).jpg size0 (1).jpg size0.jpg
These Vehicles were used to Hunt Poncho Villa after his raid into Columbus New Mexico by many of the Officers who's exploits would make them American Legends in the first and second world wars Like then L.t. George S Patton Jr. and there success would prove the mold of the concept that would be universally adopted in the Second world war with the Jeep.
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Miragedriver

Brigadier
This BTR-80 is not the standard one (GAZ-5903) but the GAZ-5926 aka BTR-80M with the YaMZ-238M2 engine. This version has a different engine deck and because the YaMZ engine is bigger than the original KamAZ engine, the hull is slightly longer. This is visible on this picture from our friend Vitaly Kuzmin: note the bigger gap between the rear wheels.
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Back to bottling my Grenache
 

Equation

Lieutenant General
Kind of interesting situation for JGSDF since neither Toyota, Nissan or Mitsubishi Motor company provides Japan's LAV.
1920px-JASDF_LAV_in_Hamamatsu_Air_Base_20140928.JPG

Komatsu LAV is manufactured by heavy earth moving machinery manufacturer Komatsu Seisakusho.
The price tag runs at 30 million yen per unit so it's like driving a Rolls Royce on the battle field.
Well it make sense since Komatsu makes engines for those heavy construction machinery, meanwhile Toyotas, Nissian, and Mitsubishi are mostly made vehicles for consumers.
 
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