Tag Archives: armored vehicle

New Military Tanks: Ground X-Vehicle

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From the DARPA website:

For the past 100 years of mechanized warfare, protection for ground-based armored fighting vehicles and their occupants has boiled down almost exclusively to a simple equation: More armor equals more protection. Weapons’ ability to penetrate armor, however, has advanced faster than armor’s ability to withstand penetration. As a result, achieving even incremental improvements in crew survivability has required significant increases in vehicle mass and cost.,,,

DARPA has created the Ground X-Vehicle Technology (GXV-T) program to help overcome these challenges and disrupt the current trends in mechanized warfare….“GXV-T’s goal is not just to improve or replace one particular vehicle—it’s about breaking the ‘more armor’ paradigm and revolutionizing protection for all armored fighting vehicles,” said Kevin Massey, DARPA program manager. “Inspired by how X-plane programs have improved aircraft capabilities over the past 60 years, we plan to pursue groundbreaking fundamental research and development to help make future armored fighting vehicles significantly more mobile, effective, safe and affordable.”

GXV-T’s technical goals include the following improvements relative to today’s armored fighting vehicles:…

Radically Enhanced Mobility – Ability to traverse diverse off-road terrain, including slopes and various elevations; advanced suspensions and novel track/wheel configurations; extreme speed; rapid omnidirectional movement changes in three dimensions

Survivability through Agility – Autonomously avoid incoming threats without harming occupants through technologies such as agile motion (dodging) and active repositioning of armor

Crew Augmentation – Improved physical and electronically assisted situational awareness for crew and passengers; semi-autonomous driver assistance and automation of  key crew functions similar to capabilities found in modern commercial airplane cockpits

Signature Management – Reduction of detectable signatures, including visible, infrared (IR), acoustic and electromagnetic (EM)

Excerpts from NEW GROUND X-VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY (GXV-T) PROGRAM AIMS TO BREAK THE “MORE ARMOR” PARADIGM FOR PROTECTION, http://www.darpa.mil, August 18, 2014

 

Military Tanks with No U.S. Parts

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The international armoured vehicles market is facing challenging times, especially as the US and its partners withdraw from Afghanistan, potentially flooding the market with used vehicles, according to  [a South African] company [called] DCD Protected Mobility…A recent Frost & Sullivan report said the world military land vehicle market would only grow at .7% until 2021 as the US cuts back its requirements and western defence markets shrink. Certain market segments, such as armoured fighting vehicles, are projected to actually shrink over the next decade.

However… a market does still exist for armoured vehicles. “There is a requirement out there for more MRAPs [Mine-Resistant Armour Protected vehicles].” Addressing the threat of an ex-US armoured vehicles glut, he pointed out that ex-US Army vehicles are not always suitable for other customers as they are still fairly expensive to maintain and operate and are do not always meet user requirements….

That DCD Protected Mobility intends “becoming owners of the route clearance space internationally,” notably with its Husky vehicle mounted mine detection system…. The system comprises of two Husky vehicles: the first acts as a Mine Detection Vehicle (MDV) (previously a Meerkat). The second vehicle (a Husky) tows a mine-detonating trailer..Hundreds of Huskies have been sold to Canada, the USA, UK, France, Australia, Angola, Kenya, Uganda, Spain and Turkey….[T]he Husky programme has made a significant contribution to poverty alleviation in South Africa, creating 1 320 jobs across the supply chain and earning R10.3 billion in foreign exchange for the South African economy… On the sixth of November, DCD and its partners will demonstrate an unmanned version of the Husky system to the US government, developed in partnership with its partners Critical Solutions International (CSI) and Torc Robotics.

With CSI, DCD is looking at international markets like the European Union and Nato. Austria wants to buy four to six two-seat Husky vehicles through the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system to provide a route clearance capability they can offer to Nato.  Turkey recently bought four Huskies and… will purchase more. Turkey will “hopefully” buy around 50 more vehicles sometime next year, he told defenceWeb. Other countries that show great promise regarding the vehicle are India and Iraq.

DCD is also trying to focus on Africa and emerging markets, and places where customers do not want any US components in their vehicles. In Africa, the company is pinning some of its hopes on the Springbuck A202 armoured personnel carrier. This is selling well and is aimed at developing countries that need an “affordable but not inferior” vehicle.

Excerpt,  Guy Martin, Budget cuts, Afghanistan withdrawal negatively affecting MRAP market, DefenceWeb, Oct. 31 2013