The US Army’s Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) programme has been approved to transition to full-rate production (FRP), the army announced on 4 April 2023.
The FRP approval was made by the army’s Program Executive Officer for Combat Support & Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS) on 30 March.
“This green light represents a major army acquisition programmatic milestone in ‘motorizing’ Infantry Brigade Combat Teams, Security Force Assistance Brigades, as well as army Ranger units,” said a US Army press release.
GM Defense, a subsidiary of General Motors, won the initial USD 214.3 M (EUR 196.3 M) contract to develop the ISV, a light and agile all-terrain troop carrier, in June 2020.
“I’m proud of the GM Defense team for reaching this important milestone in the Infantry Squad Vehicle program and am thankful for the close relationship we maintain with our trusted US Army program office customer,” Steve duMont, GM Defense president, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “Achieving the ISV full-rate production decision strengthens our credibility and amplifies the success of our manufacturing processes. By working in close collaboration with our customer, we have delivered more than 300 vehicles to our US Army customer, with many already fielded to the army’s 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions.”
Initially designed to transport a nine-soldier infantry squad plus their equipment, the ISV is based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 mid-size truck and leverages 90% commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) parts, including Chevrolet Performance race components. Weighing 5,000 lb (2,268 kg), the ISV can be sling-loaded from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and is compact enough to fit inside a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. It can also be airdropped by a C-130 or C-17 transport aircraft.
“Our flexibility during the pursuit of the ISV helped us win the early stages of the contract award and has since played a pivotal role in delivering the best value solution to the US Army,” Rick Kewley, GM Defense vice president of Product Development and Advanced Engineering, was quoted as saying by the company. “Not only did customer feedback make the ISV better at an accelerated pace, but it also helped us bring to bear the engineering and manufacturing expertise from our parent company, General Motors, to add new capabilities while fulfilling the army’s design and performance.” requirements. We remain confident in our ability to meet higher production quantities in the future.”
GM Defense has expanded the initial nine-passenger troop carrying ISV into a family of vehicles. These variants offer configurable vehicles adapted for a broad range of mission profiles, including fire support, command and control, electronic warfare, counter-unmanned aircraft system platform, reconnaissance and logistics, and casualty evacuation.
The Army Acquisition Objective for the ISV currently stands at 2,593 vehicles.
Peter Felstead
