Applying technologies frequently developed in cooperation with American engineers, military commanders and officials from other friendly nations, OEMs with a worldwide presence are supporting allies across the globe by supplying them with military vehicles containing components manufactured in the U.S.
Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corp., in September displayed its M-ATV Special Forces Vehicle (SFV) at the 21st International Defense Industry Exhibition held in Poland.
M-ATV refers to a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) designation.
“As Poland prepares to lead NATO’s special operations in Europe, Oshkosh Defense has the right mix of Special Forces expertise and advanced vehicles to meet the most demanding mission requirements,” says Serge Buchakjian, Oshkosh’s senior vice president and general manager for international programs.
“Our M-ATV SFV offers Polish Armed Forces a modern, protected and highly mobile vehicle that is already supporting special operations. Additionally, as a global manufacturer, we retain partnerships with local industries in select markets and can ensure value is delivered to local economies,” Buchakjian says, adding that the vehicle was engineered “in close cooperation” with SOCOM, the U.S. unified command for the worldwide use of Special Operations elements for the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.
“Such collaboration is intrinsic to the approach Oshkosh takes to meeting each customer’s specific mission profile,” he says. “Among the many changes made to the base M-ATV to meet Special Forces needs in the SFV variant are a modified cargo deck, intended to accept specialized equipment based on each mission’s requirements, and larger front windscreens for increased visibility.”
Coalition forces have utilized the company’s M-ATV platform in Afghanistan “for protection against threats such as improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and to overcome the country’s rugged off-road terrain,” Buchakjian notes.
Last fall Oshkosh’s Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle (L-ATV) made its European debut at a defense industry convention in London.
“Many historical light vehicle fleets, such as the High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), Eagles and Land Rovers, are nearing the end of their useful life cycle and were never designed to accommodate the armor and equipment that is needed for modern conflicts,” says John Urias, executive vice president of Oshkosh Corp. and president of Oshkosh Defense.
“The ability to operate on a battlefield with a wide range of threats and terrain is increasingly critical for forces around the globe,” he adds. “The L-ATV was specifically designed to fulfill that mission. The platform offers unprecedented levels of protection and off-road mobility to navigate even the harshest environments.”
Volkswagen’s Scania division, which began selling military vehicles to the Swedish army in 1912, continues to supply armed forces in Scandinavia, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Spain.
Most of the current military production involves providing engines for watercraft and trucks assigned to transporting troops and material handling duties. “Scania manufactures the chassis, while the bodywork, such as for hook lifts and cranes, is made by external suppliers,” says Hans-Åke Danielsson, the company’s press manager in Sweden. “The selection criteria are based on the ability to fulfill end-customer requirements; in some countries domestic production is stipulated.”
Danielsson tells Aftermarket Business World that “since trucks delivered to the military don’t differ much from civilian trucks, it’s not much of difference when it comes to procurement.” He adds that the trend nowadays among European military units is to outsource repairs to the OEMs.
Pacific buildup
Responding to a pattern of heightened tensions over territorial disputes with China, analysts are reporting that since the 1990s non-Chinese Asian nations have increased their levels of armed imports from 15 percent of the world’s total to more than 40 percent, amounting to 20 percent of overall global defense spending.
Thailand’s governmental Defense Technology Institute (DTI) has been partnering with U.K.-based Ricardo Inc. on the next phase of its Black Widow Spider armored vehicle program to augment the Royal Thai Army.
The vehicle is designed to provide protected firepower and extreme mobility in reconnaissance, command and control, and fire-support roles.
“Ricardo is proud to have been selected by DTI to partner with it on this key vehicle program,” says Andy North, Ricardo’s chief defense engineer. “This work builds upon our extremely strong reputation for the design, development and production of class-leading, agile and highly crew-protected defense vehicles, including the Foxhound, WMIK and Vixen platforms used by British forces.”
Produced in Shoreham, England, the Foxhound provides “unprecedented agility and crew protection,” according to Ricardo CEO Dave Shemmans. “The Foxhound is exactly the right vehicle for British forces,” he says, noting that commanders who were on the ground in Afghanistan have described it as “an enormous leap forward” in capability.
Based on a new “from the ground up” design, the vehicle integrates V-hull blast protection technology with a modular demountable protected crew pod. Its “low weight and tight turning circle enable it to operate effectively in the urban environment where the infrastructure cannot take heavier, larger vehicles,” says Shemmans.
In 2008 the company’s U.S. division aligned with Navistar to apply the Ricardo TVFE (Total Vehicle Fuel Economy) system to evaluate combinations of current and emerging technologies to define vehicle configurations that will reduce fuel consumption while maintaining performance. The project is part of the Fuel Efficient ground vehicle Demonstrator (FED) program launched by TARDEC, the U.S. Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center in Warren, Mich.
Ricardo’s TVFE system “builds on Navistar Defense’s Future Tactical Truck System (FTTS) demonstrator, a diesel-electric hybrid vehicle that was designed and built for the Army using commercially available technology,” according to Lou Infante, a Ricardo engineering director.
Navistar, originally known as the International Harvester Co., was established by Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the mechanical reaper in 1831. For the FTTS project with Navistar, says Infante, “we used TVFE to select, integrate and optimize all the vehicle systems. When we built and tested the prototype, the fuel economy improvement was within 3 percent of what TVFE predicted.”
In February Tata Motors, Ltd. showcased its two latest combat vehicles at a military industry convention in India.
Its amphibious, wheeled KESTREL holds 12 soldiers and includes three gun ports and three periscopes. Tata’s LAMV (Light Armored High Mobility Vehicle) is designed for reconnaissance. Seating six people protected by composite and ceramic armored plates, it reaches speeds of up to 65 mph.
“Tata Motors has been associated with the country’s defense and security forces for over 60 years, supplying a range of world-class, high technology and reliable off-road mobility solutions,” says Ravi Pisharody, executive director of the company’s commercial vehicle division. “While focusing on the modernization and system upgrades of the country's mobility platforms, we have strategically moved from being a logistics support provider to a frontline combat vehicle player. The two vehicles showcased are state-of-the-art, targeted at giving our forces the much-needed capabilities of strategic mobility for rapid offensive thrusts into enemy territory.”
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