The
ULV Ultra Light Vehicle is a project from the U.S. Army Tank Automotive
Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), to design Army
vehicles that can undertake missions across a full spectrum of operational
challenges while keeping occupants safe and using fuel efficiently.
The ULV is a hybrid vehicle that includes lightweight advanced material
armor, lightweight wheels and tires and other automotive systems, blast-mitigating
underbody technology and advanced command, control, communications,
computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment inside.
The ULV is not a replacement for the JLTV Joint Light Tactical Vehicle
program or the Humvee. It is an experimental vehicle used for testing
purposes. TARDEC’s Ground System Survivability (GSS) group partnered
with non-traditional defense contractors to bring their combined engineering
expertise to the project. Tests and evaluations (T&Es) are planned
through early 2014 where model predications can be validated and areas
for improvement can be analyzed. T&Es on three ULV test articles
includes human factors engineering, mobility, durability and survivability
tests. Test sites include Aberdeen Test Center (ATC), Nevada Automotive
Test Center (NATC) and TARDEC’s Ground System Power and Energy
Lab (GSPEL). The array of test data from the three test sites will provide
a solid understanding of the vehicle’s capabilities, limitations
and opportunities for development. The ULV’s final design includes
a relatively spacious, contractor (Hardwire LLC)-designed crew-accommodating
cab that provides increased interior space than similarly equipped tactical
vehicles. The remote-mounted and remote-controlled vehicle electronics
reduce HVAC workloads and- create significant occupant spatial accommodations.
In November 2013, the U.S. Army announced that two of the three vehicles
in the Army's "Ultra Light Vehicle" program have now entered
survivability testing in Nevada and Maryland, to evaluate both their
blast and ballistic protection capability.
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| Armament |
| As
all modern combat vehicles the ULV Ultar Light vehicle can be
fitted with a large range of weapons systems. The prototype
of the vehicle is fitted with a small turret, but other options
could be available as remote weapon station. Such system is
used on modern military vehicles, as it allows a gunner to remain
in the relative protection of the vehicle. The lightweight gunner
protection kit and sling harness is comprised of advanced composites
that protect the weapon operator from threats including small
arms, blasts and crashes The vehicle can probably be armed with
an heavy machine gun up to 12.7 mm caliber.
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| Design
and protection |
The
ULV Ultra Light Vehicle structure is made up of high-strength
steels and advanced composite materials offering lightweight
ballistic protection from a number of threats while keeping
the vehicle’s overall weight down. Survivability designs
include a variety of interior and exterior blastmitigating technologies
to protect its occupants against underbody threats. The final
design includes a contractor designed steel-base occupant-centric
cab with the front and rear steel frames extending directly
from the cab creating a monocoque structure without a traditional
frame. The “clam shell” style front and rear doors
open away from the B-pillar, creating a protected area for the
crew to exit. The doors also boast large windows for maximum
viewing angles with optional add-on armor packages for larger
threat protection. New transparent ceramic armor system on windows
also reduces weight and increases visibility The cab is designed
to have seven egress points facilitated by quickrelease and
removable components, stowage space for personal or mission-
specific items, and 360 degree situational awareness through
frontand rear-mounted ultra wide-angle thermal imagers. The
ULV’s hybrid design allows for a ‘clean underbody’
through the elimination of traditional components such as a
driveshaft, transmission, transfer case, and frame rails, potentially
allowing for blast mitigation technologies to perform uninhibited
during a blast event. This design provides added opportunities
to integrate various blast mitigating kits under the hull for
higher threat levels. Interior technologies include a crushable
floating floor system that decouples the crew’s feet and
legs from the steel hull and absorbs energy, adjustable seats
that stroke downward on impact, fivepoint restraint systems,
and spatial accommodations to mitigate head impacts and flail
injuries. And exterior technologies include a singlepiece monocoque
crew cab, double “V” pontoons with integrated stiffeners,
and rigid structural stiffening technologies.
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| Mobility |
The ULV is hybrid vehicle powered by a diesel engine that drives
an electric generator. That generator in turn powers two electric
motors that turn the wheels. Two electric motors provides redundancy
should one of the motors fail. The ULV’s hybrid powertrain
strives to improve mobility and survivability. The hybrid drive
system eliminates the need for a driveshaft, potentially improving
underbody blast performance, as well as providing drive redundancy
by way of two electric drive motors. This technology, coupled
with a lightweight diesel engine, endows the ULV with numerous
capabilities, such as immediate electric launch, stealth drive,
silent watch, exportable power generation, high torque at low/near
zero speeds and likely improved fuel economy.
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| Accessories |
|
The ULV Ultra Light Vehicle is equipped with a lightweight,
intelligent, adjustable suspension system (18 inches of vertical
travel) which provides automatic rideheight adjustments and
can be lowered to meet a variety of stowage heights. This system
uses silicon-based fluids to adapt the vehicle’s response
to road and terrain variations and driving styles by automatically
and instantaneously adjusting spring stiffness and damping at
each wheel, independently, to increase roll/pitch control and
stability and reduce ride harshness without driver intervention.
The ULV features lower-weight Command, Control, Communications,
Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR)
technologies with full Internet Protocol control options, improved
integration, with a focus on warfighter needs. According to
Karaki, the ULV electronics package represents a full electronic
suite capability that exists in comparable tactical vehicles.
Standard equipment of ULV includes:
• Mobile Computing Platform RF-7800N-CP for C4I application
hosting, network router and switch, video server, data and vetronic
interfaces
• AN/VRC-110 Multiband Vehicular Radio System with AN/PRC-152
Type-1 Handheld Multiband Radio
• Dual RF-300M-V150 50 Watt Vehicular Adaptor with two
PRC-117G(V)1(C) Type-1 Wideband Multiband Radios with Internal
SAASM GPS
• RF-7800I Vehicular Intercom System
• One System Remote Video Terminal and Transceiver with
Remote Optical Video Enhanced Receiver
• Fortress Encrypted Tactical Wireless Mesh
• Defense Advance GPS Receiver
• 360° SA Video via 2 FLIR ThermoVision WideEye II’s
• Boomerang Geo-rectified Shooter Detection System
• Counter RCIED Modular Countermeasure Suite
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| |
| Specifications |
 Back
to top |
Armament |
| A
machine gun up to 12.7mm caliber
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Country
users |
| Prototype |
Designer
country |
| United
States
|
Accessories |
| Electric
generator, electronic suite, countermeasure
suite, thermal vision, GPS, Remote Video Terminal
and Transceiver with Remote Optical Video Enhanced
Receiver, Intercom system, mobile computing
platform. |
Crew |
4
+ 1 gunner |
|
Armor |
| Steel
armour and advanced composite materials offering
lightweight ballistic protection. Floor protection
for mine blast. |
Weight |
8,255 kg |
Speed |
120
km/h maximum |
Range |
540
km
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Dimensions |
Lenght:
5.05 m; Width: 2.43 m; Height: 2.05 m |
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