Rapid transfer of troops and armaments across a battlefield requires vehicles equipped for rugged use but also highly maneuverable. To address that, the U.S. Army is looking to developing an infantry squad vehicle (ISVs) with transport speed through tough passageways.

The program to build such a compact, flexible battlefield vehicle (see image above), capable of transporting nine passengers and their equipment, began in 2019. Initially, the procurement total was set at 649 vehicles and was boosted to 900 in February 2021. The current number of ISVs to be procured is 5,733 vehicles.

Susan Fung, deputy project manager of the mobile brigade combat team for Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) Maneuver Ground helping develop the ISVs, noted, “We are extremely proud of this program and what we've been able to achieve in a short period of time.”

Regarding the use of commercial components on the battlefield, she added, “In this high-stakes environment of modern warfare, playing it completely safe is often the most dangerous thing a leader can do for decades.” 

Fung explained further, “Traditional defense acquisition has prioritized its bureaucratic processes and zero-defect mentality over speed, and while well-intentioned, that approach often meant our soldiers had to wait quite a bit for critical capabilities to reach the field.”

Through the U.S. Army’s Transformation in Contact program, they're trading the illusion of a risk-free acquisition process for the opportunity to use commercial products on the battlefield. 

John Hufstedler, product director for ground mobility vehicles at PAE Maneuver Ground, explained, “With the ISV program, we prove that calculated risk works. We keep going back to commerciality — I think that has helped us a lot — trusting our soldiers' judgment and moving at the speed of relevance; I think we've delivered that capability.”