Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV), the solution to a problem created with the successor to the Humvee

@DefAviation ES 1·20·2024 · 21:13 0

During World War II, the Willys Jeep became an excellent utility vehicle for several of its characteristics.

Ford M151 MUTT, the almost forgotten successor to the Jeep Willys and predecessor to the Humvee
The famous Jeep Willys MB from the WWII era and its little-known radioactive components

Among these characteristics we must highlight its small size and light weight. Because of this, a Jeep could be loaded onto a transport glider and reach the front along with the airborne troops. Those features were maintained with several of its successors, such as the Willys M38, the Willys M38A1 and the Fort M151 MUTT, which we talked about a few days ago. However, that concept of a small, light-weight utility vehicle began to be lost with the events of MUTT, the famous Humvee. However, although much larger and heavier than a MUTT, at least a Humvee could be transported inside a heavy CH-47 Chinook helicopter, although very tight.

Things have changed with the Oskosh JLTV (Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, on these lines), the successor to the Humvee. The new vehicle is even larger and heavier than the Humvee, characteristics that are due to the need to cover a notable lack of protection from its predecessor. The problem is that although the JLTV can be transported in a C-130 Hercules aircraft, it no longer fits inside a Chinook helicopter, and it is only possible to transport it with that aircraft hanging by slings.

The US Army encountered yet another problem: despite being larger and heavier than a Jeep, the JLTV only has four seats, so it greatly limits mobility in units that exceed that number of soldiers. To cover these shortcomings, in 2020 the US Army selected a new vehicle, the M1301 Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV), smaller than the Humvee and the JLTV.

The ISV is a vehicle specially designed for airborne troops, its first user being the 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army. The ISV is based largely on the components of a Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 pickup truck. Unlike the JLTV and its limited troop-carrying capacity, the ISV can carry up to nine equipped soldiers.

The first batch of ISVs acquired by the US Army consists of 649 vehicles, although the program aims to complete the delivery of 2,065 units. There is a notable difference between the missions of the JTLV and that of this smaller vehicle, and that is that the ISV is not designed as a combat vehicle, but as a troop transport. That is, it will be used to provide mobility to airborne troops in areas of operations, but due to its poor armor and light weapons, the ISV is not designed to engage in combat. It is, after all, something more similar to the original Jeep concept than the JTLV concept.

Unlike the JLTV, the ISV can be transported inside a CH-47 Chinook helicopter and also as external cargo on a UH-60 Black Hawk. It can also be launched at low speed by C-130 Hercules or C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft. The ISV weighs 1,500 kg (400 kg more than a Fort MUTT) and has a 275 horsepower engine. It has 6 speeds and an automatic gearbox.

Additionally, the ISV can be equipped with a 7.62 mm M-240 light machine gun, a 12.7 mm M-2 Browing heavy machine gun or 40 mm Mk-19 and Mk-47 grenade launchers. mm, in addition to having two additional mounts for M-249 or M-240 machine guns.

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Photos: U.S. Army / GM Defense.