Army Wants 'Air Droppable' Light Tank & Ultra-Light Vehicles

The only use that going to be is in use as a brhind the lines gofor.

You know exactly like how the Jeeps and Humvee was.

And those...

Eyeah cant even write it, we all know those two histories.

So long as they got a fucking armor kit ready for install it should be fine.
 
Scott Kenny said:
That isn't a CUCV.
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please inform me of the difference between a chevy pickup & a chevy pickup.
Pretty sure what was witnessed was M880 or M882 (Dodge) both 4x4.
 
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jsport said:
please inform me of the difference between a chevy pickup & a chevy pickup.
Pretty sure what was witnessed was M880 or M882 (Dodge) both 4x4.
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Bout 40 years of advancement. The Dodge came out in the 1970s, this thing from the 2020s.

The UFV has over 275 horsepower.

The M880? 150 horsepower.

Hell the Humvee had at max 195 with turbo. And trust me, we had trust issues going up steep hills with thd radar in those things.

Also have better tires that are actually design for off road use and transmission with a lighter weight.

Shit has advanced alot in four decades old man.
 
Firefinder said:
Bout 40 years of advancement. The Dodge came out in the 1970s, this thing from the 2020s.

The UFV has over 275 horsepower.

The M880? 150 horsepower.

Hell the Humvee had at max 195 with turbo. And trust me, we had trust issues going up steep hills with thd radar in those things.

Also have better tires that are actually design for off road use and transmission with a lighter weight.

Shit has advanced alot in four decades old man.
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point is wheels slip more horsepower more spin & slip. A these 4x4s claiming All terrain is BS. Heck even an ATV is not an ATV.

wet wheels and w/o sufficient weight and ur stuck. fancy tread gets us just so far, and the fancier the tread the sooner it wears out.

PS: and as u know age & guile always beats youth & skill. :)
 
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Mount the wrong tyres on a 4WD, even one with locking differential and low gearing - it will just get stuck in places where your regular recovery can't reach you.
Which kind of tyres were on that Dodge?
 
jsport said:
point is wheels slip more horsepower more spin & slip. A these 4x4s claiming All terrain is BS. Heck even an ATV is not an ATV.

wet wheels and w/o sufficient weight and ur stuck. fancy tread gets us just so far, and the fancier the tread the sooner it wears out.

PS: and as u know age & guile always beats youth & skill. :)
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And it you dont know how to drive you can get anything stuck.

As seen in... well every battle since the First World War.

And again, Hummvees literally been know to stall out due lack of power before they slap a few tons of armor on it. Without sufficient power to move the weight you going not going to move at all but break all the stuff.

And those fancy treads actually last far longer then the old ones on the M880.

Which was basically road tires, like heck my personal truck, which is a Chevy Silverado, has more tread then those and never had any issues with traction if ice not involved. And Im constantly off road.

Age doesn't matter if you don’t know what you doing.
 
As the recent front shows if ur on the road ur land mined, if your close to the road ur land mined. Light forces need a means to infiltrate & avoid mines w/ well pwrd fully amphibious, 6x6 at a minimum. All other discussion seems superfluous.
 
I think the squad vehicle is intended for light units that otherwise would be walking rather than driving. If nothing else, it is probably good for ammo hauling and casualty evacuation in situations where no other vehicle is available.
 
bobbymike said:
https://www.military.com/off-duty/a...-utv.html?mc_cid=5777a7eb86&mc_eid=307947a252
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Contrary to what the article would have you believe, GM’s “squad vehicle” is not based on in-production parts. Nope, this thing is based on an out-of-production platform with an out-of-production engine and transmission. The platform was designed with Isuzu primarily for Thailand and North America as a secondary consideration. That partnership ended and GM left Thailand in 2020. The diesel engine was discontinued for North America circa 2022 and I cannot think of a current application for the 6L50 transmission aside from maybe the Mahindra Roxor and that might not be current anymore. That’s not to suggest that GM can’t build these things for the military if you throw a big enough pile of money at them. Sure they could. Just don’t pretend that it’s totally “off the shelf,” unless the shelves are in a very dusty warehouse.
 
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Arjen said:
Mount the wrong tyres on a 4WD, even one with locking differential and low gearing - it will just get stuck in places where your regular recovery can't reach you.
Which kind of tyres were on that Dodge?
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The old CUCVs? road tires, usually. Not even the off-road tires they had available in the 80s and 90s.
 
Scott Kenny said:
I really hope that has rubber band tracks, and I see the tankers cursing the designers already due to lack of access to the tracks to put them back on after the tank manages to throw or break track.
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Another problem with that thick side armour is that is might be too wide for some narrow mountain roads or inner city alleyways.
 
helmutkohl said:
I believe the newest light tanks being produced is this Turkish-Indonesian project called Kaplan
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Harimau-hitam-medium-tank.jpg
Harimau-hitam-medium-tank.jpg


at 32 tons, its about the same weight category as the Type 15 its expected to fight (33 tons)
although the type 15 looks like an actual tank
this one somehow looks like an IFV with a 105 gun. not sure if it offers the same armor protection
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https://worlddefencenews.blogspot.c...rom-turkey-unveils-new-zma.html?view=flipcard
Another Turkish innovation which deserves attention. Dont always ask why and you will get passed by.
 
Forest Green said:
That seems utterly stupid in the era of drone warfare TBH - packing a bunch of people into a small space with no protection.
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It seems utterly insane to me to be quite honest!
I can see purchasing like ~500 for the Airborne units ONLY, as sh*t with China can pop off at any moment (from 2027 to 35), and literally just for the insertion and rapid maneuver within the immediate area hopefully before you've been spotted (doubtful)!
But, no they ordered ~3000!
What is really stupid, is this M1301 was designed specifically so that Airborne/Air-Assault units can haul their ground transportation with them to the LZ via the MH-60's they're riding in, which is perfectly logical.
BUT THE MV-75's that can carry way more weight (likely at least double) are the future of Army VL, and will be operational within 5 years!
I just guarantee they could have gone somewhere in the middle, lightly armored against at least Small arms fire and shrapnel that Blackhawk' could haul, so that if/when an attritional war breaks out our guys won't be riding around in ambush prone death traps!
 
TeourdBeourglaer said:
It seems utterly insane to me to be quite honest!
I can see purchasing like ~500 for the Airborne units ONLY, as sh*t with China can pop off at any moment (from 2027 to 35), and literally just for the insertion and rapid maneuver within the immediate area hopefully before you've been spotted (doubtful)!
But, no they ordered ~3000!
What is really stupid, is this M1301 was designed specifically so that Airborne/Air-Assault units can haul their ground transportation with them to the LZ via the MH-60's they're riding in, which is perfectly logical.
BUT THE MV-75's that can carry way more weight (likely at least double) are the future of Army VL, and will be operational within 5 years!
I just guarantee they could have gone somewhere in the middle, lightly armored against at least Small arms fire and shrapnel that Blackhawk' could haul, so that if/when an attritional war breaks out our guys won't be riding around in ambush prone death traps!
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They should have just gone with the Wiesel or some Variant of it. Now it can even be airdropped.
 
Is this the Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) thread? From a recent CRS report, as of November 2025, these are the fielded ISV quantities (Brigade/Division):

• 2/25 MBCT: 96• 3/25 MBCT: 108
• 1/101 MBCT: 201• 2/101 MBCT: 201
• 3/10 MBCT: 96• 1/82 ABN: 59
• 2/82 ABN: 59• 3/82 ABN: 59
• 173rd ABN: 40• 75th Ranger Regiment: 186

The Army is also looking for an Infantry Squad Vehicle-Heavy, which will be a new vehicle, similar to the existing ISV. It will have a larger payload capacity, be able to tow more, carry fewer troops, and have a 60 kWh battery for various configurations like C2 and C-UAS.

Desired to be equipped with a high-density, rechargeable power storage system to provide sustained electrical power for both all on-board systems and external command post equipment.
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Provide 60 kWh and be capable of recharging from fully depleted to 90% within 6 hours across environmental conditions
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In addition to the platform’s hotel loads, it is desired that the vehicle be capable of generating and exporting 60kW of continuous HVDC power, 15kW of 28VDC power, and 4.8kW of 120VAC power. The power production capability is necessary to operate modular mission equipment such as: C2 communication equipment, battery recharging units, GFE, sUAS, C-sUAS, EW equipment, radars, microwaves, Directed Energy Weapon Systems, autonomy suites, other assorted equipment, and fast recharge of the on-board energy storage system.
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Capable to transport a fully equipped infantry squad engineered to carry a 4,000 lb. payload. The vehicle accommodates a 6-Soldier team and their associated combat gear (based on 350 lbs. per Soldier). The 6Soldier team and their associated gear is calculated as part of the payload.
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The vehicle features self-recovery capabilities. It is also capable of towing logistical and mission-essential trailers weighing up to 6,500 lbs and flat towing like vehicles up to 11,000 lbs.
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TeourdBeourglaer said:
I just guarantee they could have gone somewhere in the middle, lightly armored against at least Small arms fire and shrapnel that Blackhawk' could haul, so that if/when an attritional war breaks out our guys won't be riding around in ambush prone death traps!
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Remember that this isn’t the only vehicle they have. ISVs, JLTVs, and Bradleys/AMPVs (and the legacy humvee fleet, for that matter) are all part of a personnel transport spectrum that should (ideally, hopefully) be used as appropriate to the situation and threat level.

Which doesn’t mean that some poor schmucks won’t at some point get ordered to drive their ISV into an unacceptably dangerous situation and suffer because of it, but I guess that’s war for you.
 
My understanding is that ISV is a mostly a replacement for walking, not other vehicles.
 
Josh_TN said:
My understanding is that ISV is a mostly a replacement for walking, not other vehicles.
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It is a glorified Willy MB Jeep slash Mechanical Mule replacement.

Which the Humvee was to replace with a unified vehicle due to multiple reasons ranging from logistical deals to the fact officers were jousting with the Mule in the motorpools.

Yes really.

The Humvee was never ment to be shot at and was very much label as the END OF MARCHING TO THE FRONT.

Much like this thing.

We all know how THAT went.
 

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