Navistar Defense, LLC, Indigen Armor and SAIC today unveiled the team’s Special Operations Tactical Vehicle for the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Ground Mobility Vehicle (GMV) 1.1 program. The vehicle, on display this week at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in Tampa, Fl., is built on Indigen Armor’s proven Non-Standard Tactical Truck (NSTT) platform and designed to be its modular and overt tactical equivalent.
The team’s Special Operations Tactical Vehicle is transportable in an armored and mission-ready state on a M/CH-47 helicopter. The vehicle is designed for maximum off-road speed and mobility for a variety of terrain found in desert, jungle, mountain and arctic environments and incorporates a full government furnished Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) suite.
“Our GMV offering incorporates the expertise of three very strong companies,” said Archie Massicotte, president, Navistar Defense. “Together we have a sophisticated design ready now that meets transportability and mature platform requirements while providing unprecedented mobility.”
The Special Operations Tactical Vehicle chassis, suspension, powertrain and armored occupant safety cell were engineered specifically to carry large payloads across rough landscapes in 3-man, 5-man and 7-man variants. The scalable armor packages meet multiple threat levels and accommodate a variety of low-profile and overt tactical body styles which allow the vehicle’s profile to be changed at the crew level.
“As former special operators, we have first-hand knowledge of how critical vehicle mobility and transportability are to SOCOM missions,” said John Choate, president of Indigen Armor and former Navy SEAL. “This knowledge helped us bring to the table a mature, purpose-built and tested tactical vehicle platform when developing our team’s GMV 1.1 offering.”
Navistar’s world-class truck and engine integration capabilities and Indigen Armor’s unique understanding of performance specifications are further strengthened by SAIC. The company will provide integrated logistics support in addition to a full C4ISR suite.
“We have added to our already robust GMV offering by incorporating our expertise in integrating C4ISR systems and life-cycle support efficiencies in from the very start,” said Glenn San Giacomo, SAIC senior vice president and business unit general manager. “Coupled with our high-performance supply chain management solutions, our offering results in outstanding logistics response times and the highest level of reliability, while reducing life cycle costs.”
Navistar International Corporation is a holding company whose subsidiaries and affiliates produce International brand commercial and military trucks, MaxxForce brand diesel engines, IC Bus brand school and commercial buses, Monaco RV brands of recreational vehicles, and Workhorse brand chassis for motor homes and step vans.
Indigen Armor was conceived by special operations personnel while serving in a volatile combat zone in 2004. Acquired by J.F. Lehman & Company private equity firm in 2009, the company continues to be run by military veterans with extensive Special Operations backgrounds that focus on the design and development of Specops mobility platforms.
SAIC’s approximately 41,000 employees serve customers in the U.S. Department of Defense, the intelligence community, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, other U.S. Government civil agencies and selected commercial markets. Headquartered in McLean, Va., SAIC had annual revenues of approximately $10.6 billion for its fiscal year ended January 31, 2012.
