Boeing unveils Phantom Badger Special Forces 4x4 tactical vehicle for V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft

Defence & Security Industry News - Boeing

The Phantom Badger, displayed at the company's St Louis facility in Missouri on 21 May, has been developed by the newly-formed Special Pursuit Cell (SPC) within Boeing's Phantom Works in response to a request from the US special operations forces (SOF) community.

The V22 Internally Transportable Vehicle, as the official nomenclature goes, has been developed with the help of MSI Defense Solutions, reportedly employing NASCAR racing technologies with the vehicle. It's Boeing's proposal for a vehicle able to be internally transported inside a V-22 Osprey tilt rotor, but is more capable and more sturdily built than an ATV.

Finished in the correct tan hue, it looks like a narrowed-down, kiddies' version of the original HMMWV. It's been tested at Fort Bragg and the Nevada Automotive Testing Center, to make sure it stands up to the job it's applying for. It has four-wheel steering, enhanced shock absorbers, and is claimed to be "relatively comfortable" for what it is, something that an ATV would have a hard time to match. The Phantom Badger also features mission-specific modules behind the front seats, so it can be quickly modified depending of the task at hand.

The vehicle features four wheel steering, enhanced shocks and suspension developed by MSI, and mission-specific modules fitted behind the front two seats. These can be changed within 30 minutes, allowing special forces operators to quickly re-role the vehicle.

The vehicle can be loaded mission-ready onto a V-22 with 6 inches of space on each side. While the prototype vehicle features a carbon fibre hood, Boeing has since decided this has been ‘over-engineered’ and has moved instead to fibre glass. Boeing claims Phantom Badger is relatively comfortable for a vehicle of this kind, allowing troops to stay fresh during the ride.