Meet The ISV, The Humvee’s Modern Replacement

The Humvee has been an American icon in the US military for almost 40 years now and very little has changed about the vehicle. There's a big change coming for the Humvee, it's about to be phased out. 

The US military wants something that is lighter, cheaper, faster and more functional on a modern battlefield. It's called the infantry squad vehicle and like everything else in the military, it has an acronym. (ISV) and yes, it will be a GM product. (General Motors Defense.) 

According to msn.com,
‘The Infantry Squad Vehicle, more dune buggy than armored truck, is one of the most visible signs of the Army’s transition from Cold War-era equipment that has defined it for generations.’ 

We are told the modern battlefield will require speed and agility and will also be populated by drones, robots, and electric motorcycles. The ISV Will provide a quick agile mobile defense platform that can be changed at a heartbeat to adapt to new jobs and situations. 

In some ways, it looks like a giant dune buggy with a large roll cage resting on a truck platform. No doors, no roof, and room for up to nine soldiers. 

Over the last 40 years, the Pentagon has purchased over 300,000 Humvees. with about 100,000 still in service. 

The new ISV Will be about $80,000 cheaper than the classic humvee and thousands of pounds lighter. The new vehicle will be based on the Chevy Colorado platform and manufactured at a GM factory in Missouri. 

The other big difference about the new ISV is that only 20% of the vehicle's hardware. will be unique to the Army making it less expensive to manufacture and easier to repair. 

The extra heavy duty roll cage on the vehicle also supplies multiple “hard points” for mounting weapons, drones, Robots and supplies. 

The theory is that the ISV is a new kind of vehicle, designed for fighting a new kind of war. 

Ultimately, the proof of this choice of new vehicle will be on the battlefield. We'll have to wait to see how effective the ISV ultimately is. 

No more GI Joe trucks: Army swaps iconic Humvee for a faster, cheaper vehicle