WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army has approved full-rate production for the Infantry squad vehicle manufactured by GM Defenseaccording to service and company announcements on April 5.
“This green light represents a significant milestone in the Army’s acquisition program in the ‘motorization’ of infantry brigade combat teams, security force assistance brigades, as well as ranger units from army,” the army said in its statement.
The Army plans to purchase a total of 2,593 ISVs during the program. GM Defense has already delivered more than 300 vehicles to the military, sending many to the service’s 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, the company said.
In June 2020, GM Defense was awarded the contract to build the ISV, designed for easy transport to operational environments, following development testing of bids from three vendors. The company has received $214.3 million to produce 649 vehicles by the end of fiscal year 2024.
The 5,000-pound ISV is based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 truck and uses 90 percent off-the-shelf commercial parts. It can be sling loaded from a UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter and fit inside a CH-47 Chinook.
the army completed testing this year address meissues identified in previous assessments. In his 2022 annual report, the Pentagon’s top weapons tester criticized the ISV, citing the troop carrier’s vulnerability and uncomfortable ride.
The service told Defense News at the time that it was working to resolve issues that arose during early operational testing, including that the ISV did not meet the requirement to be able to fly 1,200 mean miles between the operational mission failure, also reported by the weapons tester. most recent report.
The 2020 and 2021 annual weapons test reports noted additional issues, including steering issues, bent seat frames, engine cracks, and overheating.
The Army began new reliability compliance tests last summer to assess its fixes for issues identified and resolved in January. Part of this testing included driving the ISV for 5,000 miles over varying terrain and speeds to ensure that the ISV complied with the operational mission failure interval requirement.
Despite the issues identified, the main requirements of the ISV have been met – providing smaller tactical units with faster and more efficient entry into operational areas, said Steve Herrick, Army Product Manager for Mobility Vehicles. land with Program Executive Office Combat Support and Combat Service Support, in an interview. with Defense News a year ago.
Since the initial contract, GM Defense has also missions demonstrated for the ISV beyond the first nine-passenger troop carrier to include fire support, command and control, electronic warfare, unmanned aircraft systemsreconnaissance and logistics and evacuation of the wounded.
The company has also shown a Fully electric ISV.
Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering ground warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science in Journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts from Kenyon College.