US Army begins testing survivability machines ULV
The US Army began testing the survivability of the first two of three ultra light vehicle (ULV) in the states of Nevada and Maryland to confirm their ability to mine and ballist.
Developed by the TARDEC US Automobile and Tank Administration (TARDEC) at the request of the Secretary-General’s Office of Defense in 2011, the ULV project will serve as a platform for research that will result in data that can be used by other TARDEC programs in the future. equipment.
As part of its efforts to create a ULV, TARDEC collaborates with non-traditional defense contractors, using the unique experience of various companies in achieving the best compromise between weight, vitality, cost, and the required technical specifications. It is planned to create a universal platform where you can test the effectiveness and the possibility of using commercial ready-made commercial systems (COTS) available on the market and integrating them with newly developed technologies that are currently at different levels of readiness. The program has gone from design to creation of the first prototype in just 16 months.
The design of the prototypes is driven by a hybrid power plant, in which energy is produced by a diesel engine, and then converted into electrical energy, which is supplied to two driving motors - one in front and one in back. Such a solution, in addition to ensuring high traction qualities, by eliminating the need for a cardan shaft and other traditional automotive components located below the machine, increases the survivability of the platform when a mine is detonated.
In the habitable compartment, a destructible floating floor was used to increase mine protection, which separates the feet and legs of the crew from the steel hull and absorbs some of the energy of the explosion. In addition, there are seats with a sliding energy absorbing suspension, five-point seat belts and covering head restraints to soften blows to the head and prevent injuries when tipping over.
The TARDEC ad states that ULV also uses "high-strength steels and advanced composite materials that provide low weight ballistic protection against a variety of hazards, as well as newly developed transparent ceramic armor to keep the overall weight of the machine low."
"The cab is designed for seven exit points, which are protected by quick-opening and quick-release elements, it has space for personal equipment and special equipment, provides circular situational awareness through wide-angle thermal imagers mounted in the front and rear," added Vladimir Gendlin, TARDEC engineer ).
The car has lightweight wheels, tires and other automotive systems, an explosion-dissipating underside, and advanced equipment for command, control, communications, computing, reconnaissance, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR).
ULV program manager Mike Karaki (Mike Karaki) said that the ULV program is likely to help increase the survivability of promising vehicles, as well as other hybrid vehicles.
"You want to be able to use anything from this program at any time so as not to duplicate costs in the future," Karaki said.
The machine has a "smooth bottom", in contrast to the conventional design, when standard units are open at the bottom, which increases the resistance to explosion of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Karaki said: "If you have less equipment, components and systems under the machine, and allow the bottom geometry to do what it needs to do ... you can increase your chances of directing the blast energy away from the machine."
It is planned that both ULV samples will eventually be destroyed, and the third machine, which is currently undergoing general testing and evaluation of the hybrid electrical installation at the TARDEC Ground Power and Energy Systems Laboratory in Warren, Michigan, USA, will be stored as a test platforms.
The ULV research program has four main objectives, including the payload capacity of 2000 kg, the total weight of the 6300 kg machine, the level of protection comparable to existing MRAP machines (machines with mine and ambush protection), and the price per unit $ 250 000 for a hypothetical volume ordering 5000 units, assuming that the order can be received in 2014 year.
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