Sponsored by MILLBROOK
Tel: +44 (0) 1525 408408
www.millbrook.co.uk/military
————————————————————————-
23 May 19. Mack Defense will display its M917A3 heavy dump truck (HDT) with an armored cab for the first time in public during this year’s 29th annual Showcase for Commerce, a nationally renowned business and industry trade show and defense contracting exhibition May 29-31 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Mack Defense will be located at indoor booth No. 57, as well as outside booths V1 and V2.
“We are excited to share Mack Defense’s new M917A3 HDT to this important audience,” said David Hartzell, president of Mack Defense. “The armored cab is just one of several survivability and capability upgrades on the M917A3 HDT.”
For more than 100 years, dump trucks have been integral to supporting the evolving mission of U.S. Army personnel. The implementation of the new M917A3 HDT brings critical force modernization to the Army with reduced costs for parts and maintenance to meet the Army’s changing mission.
The third-generation HDT is scheduled for rollout over the next few years to active U.S. Army and National Guard units currently equipped with older trucks. The M917A3 HDT will go to work immediately on important combat support missions overseas, as well as domestic duty in response to floods, fires and other natural disaster needs.
The M917A3 HDT builds upon the legendary performance of Mack® trucks with specific, new capabilities around payload, mobility and occupant survivability. The new armored cab is a key survivability feature that exceeds the Army’s blast requirements, while maintaining all interior features of the commercially available Mack Granite® model, on which it is based.
Mack Defense, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mack Trucks, is responsible for the sale of heavy-duty trucks to federal- and ministerial-level customers globally.
22 May 19. This could be the US Army’s new Infantry Squad Vehicle. The Army is in the hunt for lightweight expeditionary all-terrain vehicle that can pack a nine-man squad and associated combat equipment.
Dubbed the Infantry Squad Vehicle, or ISV, the Army is seeking to procure nearly 651 of the highly mobile lightweight vehicles spanning fiscal year 2020 to 2024, according to a special notice posted by the Army in February. The Army is seeking input from industry leaders about the best way to procure these vehicles. And one competitor for this new infantry vehicle is the Polaris DAGOR, a version of which has been fielded with the 82nd Airborne since 2016, according to Mark McCormick, the senior director for Polaris government and defense.
Polaris, with their partner SAIC, responded to the Army’s April request for proposal for its new Infantry Squad Vehicle, McCormick said.
The DAGOR is the largest of the Polaris family of military vehicles, which includes the smaller MRZRs already fielded by the Army and Marine Corps.
The vehicle can be sling loaded by the Army’s UH-60 Black Hawks, or internally transported by CH-47, and it can be airdropped by C-130 or C-17, McCormick told Army Times.
Variations of the DAGOR can be configured to haul smaller four to five man special operations teams on a multi-day mission, or carry a nine-man infantry squad, according to McCormick.
The vehicle is designed with high clearance that aids the vehicle in operating in austere environments, McCormick explained.
The DAGOR already matches much of the requirements the Army detailed in its Sept. 2018 market questionnaire for industry leaders. That questionnaire was posted to the government’s business opportunities site known as FedBizOpps.
“The ISV is envisioned as a lightweight, highly mobile open cab vehicle,” the posting reads. “Survivability will be achieved through high mobility, a roll cage and occupant restraints.”
A special notice posted to FedBizOpps in February said the Army plans to award a prototype contract to up to three vendors by Aug. 20, 2019, with a production award contract for one vendor by March 31, 2020. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Army Times)
20 May 19. Hungary to receive Edjer Yalçin and NMS vehicles under Zrínyi 2026 programme. The Edjer Yalçin and NMS (Yörük) protected mobility vehicles were displayed among Leopard 2A7 main battle tanks and other equipment due to enter service with Hungary at the Hungarian National Defence Day events held at Budaörs Airport on 18 May.
The vehicles were displayed in Hungarian regalia and it is understood that a procurement process is underway with the manufacturer, Turkey’s Nurol Makina. This would constitute the first sale by Nurol Makina to a member of the European Union. The vehicles are being procured under Hungary’s Zrínyi 2026 programme, which aims to increase defence spending to 2% of GDP by 2026. The programme was initiated in 2017 by Hungarian Defence Minister István Simicskó, who said at the time, “In order to be able to preserve our Hungarian identity and Hungary, we must build the Hungarian Defence Forces with active care, attention, and constructive creativity.” (Source: IHS Jane’s)
17 May 19. Pratt & Miller’s EMAV put through its paces at US Army RCV rodeo. Two examples of the Expeditionary Modular Autonomous Vehicle (EMAV) from Pratt & Miller have been assessed at the US Army’s Next Generation Combat Vehicle (NGCV) Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) Phase II Demonstration and Assessment Event, held at the Texas A&M RELLIS Campus in Bryan/College Station from 13-17 May. First completed in January 2018, the EMAV is a tracked, autonomous vehicle that has been completely designed from the bottom up by Pratt & Miller, and is the most mobile of the company’s range of robotic platforms. The vehicle was originally created under contract to the US government to provide tactical infantry support at the platoon level. The vehicle features a typical track configuration with a rubber track band and can reach speeds of up to 72 km/h. The vehicle’s curb weight of 3.08 tonnes and payload capacity of up to 7,000 lb (3,175 kg) will allow it to compete in two categories of the NGCV programme: RCV Light and RCV Medium. Pratt & Miller is also demonstrating its wheeled variant (TMT-V) in the RCV Light category.
The EMAV is claimed by Pratt & Miller to have excellent manoeuvrability characteristics, allowing it to traverse challenging terrain such as soft soil and navigate gradients of 60% as well as side slopes of 35%.
Power to the system is provided by a hybrid electric drivetrain that allows the EMAV to be operated in either electric-only silent watch and silent mobility modes. In addition, the unit can provide exportable power of 28V and 320V.
The flat deck on the EMAV is 3.84 m long and 1.5 m wide, allowing it to carry significant payloads, both weaponised and for crew support.
Three control options are available for the EMAV – local, tele-operation, or autonomous – with a common controller being used for both the vehicle and payload systems. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
————————————————————————-
Millbrook, based in Bedfordshire, UK, makes a significant contribution to the quality and performance of military vehicles worldwide. Its specialist expertise is focussed in two distinct areas: test programmes to help armed services and their suppliers ensure that their vehicles and systems work as the specification requires; and design and build work to upgrade new or existing vehicles, evaluate vehicle capability and investigate in-service failures. Complementing these is driver and service training and a hospitality business that allows customers to use selected areas of Millbrook’s remarkable facilities for demonstrations and exhibitions.
————————————————————————-