The US Army has received the first of the 649 Infantry Squad Vehicles (ISV) ordered for around 177 million euros. General Motors Defense has now opened a new production plant where assembly will continue from production number 28 - nine vehicles per month. The US Army recently reduced the monthly purchase quantity for budget reasons, among other things, although the approved total requirement is 2,065 vehicles.
The ISV is based on the architecture of the 2020 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and uses commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) parts such as suspension components. The ISV's Roll Over Protection Structure (ROPS) is designed to fit on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. When the rollover protection is folded up, the vehicle is 218.7 cm high; when folded down, this height is reduced to 187.7 cm.
The ISV is 207.8 cm wide, 526 cm long, has an empty weight of less than 2.3 t and a payload of 1.5 t. Of the nine seats, five face forward, two face rear and one on each side. With a drive power of 205 kW, the unprotected vehicle achieves a very high drive power of more than 50 kW/t. The Army does not disclose the maximum speed that can be achieved with this.
On May 4, 2021, GM Defense introduced an all-electric version of the ISV. The battery required for this is housed in the rear of the vehicle. On a single battery charge, the ISV can travel off-road for four hours or 240 km. Fast charging takes one hour to fully charge with direct current. The US Army is currently investigating whether and how electrically powered land vehicles can be used worldwide. Since charging vehicles has proven to be a critical point so far, the development of a charging infrastructure is part of the investigation program.
Gerhard Heiming
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