The office of the head of operational testing of the Pentagon concluded that the light SUVs of the US Army ISV are ineffective in combat and security cooperation and deterrence missions against almost equal threats. As reported by Breaking Defense, they slow down the soldiers' shooting at the enemy.
In 2020, the US Army signed a contract with GM Defense for the production of light ISV SUVs. These are infantry fighting vehicles, light enough and compact enough to be transported by Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters. In total, the military wants to purchase 2,065 such vehicles, but to begin with — 649.
The ISVs are based on the Chevrolet Colorado and are equipped with a Duramax turbodiesel engine with a capacity of 186 horsepower. The SUVs can carry nine people or a payload weighing up to 1,451 kilograms.
The office of the Pentagon's head of Operational Testing concluded in an annual report that ISVs are ineffective in combat. During the initial operational tests in August, off-road vehicles in most missions could not go unnoticed by the enemy, often falling into ambushes and collisions. In addition, in order to drive through rough and wooded terrain, cars had to slow down. Therefore, the military had to choose between a slow course or better roads and the absence of an element of surprise.
Most of the problems with off-road vehicles in the military arose at the test site in Yuma, which is characterized by hilly terrain. The soldiers lost control of the cars, the seat backs cracked and bent, and the engines overheated. In the forests of Fort Bragg, the tests went more smoothly, but the soldiers complained that their backs hurt in the back seats.
Another problem is that the ISV has no built-in means of communication. Because of this, on-the-go communication between soldiers and commanders was intermittent and unreliable. As for the fighting, the military came to the conclusion that during the movement, access to weapons for soldiers is difficult. You can mount a machine gun on a swivel bracket on off-road vehicles, but it was difficult to shoot from it, because the firing zone was hidden by trees, foliage and other obstacles.
Earlier we wrote that General Motors is going to create a prototype of a light reconnaissance military vehicle based on its Hummer electric pickup truck. It modifies the frame, motors and batteries of the Hummer to meet the requirements of the military.
Vasilisa Chernyavtseva