The US Army has revealed it has increased its procurement goal for the Infantry Squad Vehicle to 11,582 units, an 18-fold surge from its original target of 649 platforms.
The US Army has revealed it has increased its procurement goal for the Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) to 11,582 units, an 18-fold surge from its original target of 649 platforms.
The force launched the ultra-light tactical vehicle program in 2019 to fill an operational gap between heavy platforms such as the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle.
Capable of carrying nine soldiers and their equipment, the lightweight system was fielded to provide dismounted units greater mobility without overburdening them.
"This led to an explosive growth driven entirely by operational demand," said Susan Fung, deputy project manager for the mobile brigade combat team at the US Army’s Portfolio Acquisition Executive Maneuver Ground.
"Soldiers validated the capability in the combat training environments and demanded more."
Infantry Squad Vehicles. Photo: GM DefenseBuilt With Feedback
Rather than following standard defense procurement channels that often take 4 to 10 years, the program relied on commercial off-the-shelf components with minimal military modification.
That approach allowed the military to deliver its first equipped unit within 24 months. During the development process, program officials and troops deliberately resisted adding non-essential equipment to keep the platform focused on core transport duties.
"With the ISV program, we proved that calculated risk works," said John Hufstedler, product director for ground mobility vehicles.
"Trusting our soldiers’ judgment and moving at the speed of relevance, I think we’ve delivered that capability."
Adopting Heavier Configuration
Building on the expanded acquisition objective, the US Army is now developing a heavy ISV variant, which will feature increased onboard power generation and energy storage capacity to support evolving command and control systems.
Work for that framework includes participation from Ford and BC Customs in addition to the original ISV manufacturer, GM Defense.
"Overall, the ISV program is a great example of our acquisition reform, which allows getting capabilities to the field faster, leveraging commercial technologies while staying agile and giving soldiers what they really want," Fung stated.
