The Single Track Trailer was designed specifically to complement the Rokon 2×2 motorbike.
The pressure of the single tire can be adjusted to the terrain. It offers 10″ of ground clearance and a capacity of 100 lbs.
The universal joint and narrow construction allow the trailer to go anywhere, right behind the Rokon.
www.rokon.com/accessories/single-track-trailer
ALLENTOWN, PA (July 13, 2020) – Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) has exercised the option to extend Mack Defense’s in-service and support contract for an additional five years from 2020-2025, covering more than 1,500 Medium Support Vehicle System (MSVS) Standard Military Pattern (SMP) vehicles.
“Mack Defense’s MSVS SMP vehicle systems provide critical capabilities that the Canadian Armed Forces depend on,” said David Hartzell, president, Mack Defense. “We look forward to maximizing the uptime of these vehicles as we continue to provide these support services.”
The contract covers all MSVS SMP vehicles, trailers and armored protection systems, and will enable Mack Defense to provide support services and the provision of spare parts and materials for level one and two maintenance tasks performed by the customer. Equipment requiring in-depth maintenance, such as repair and overhaul activities or warranty repairs, will be handled by a facility in the area of Quebec City, Quebec. Mack Defense will provide support by delivering spare parts to Canadian Forces Depots (CFD) in Edmonton, Alberta and Montreal, Quebec.
Mack Defense was awarded two contracts in 2015 valued at $725 million CAD by the Department of Public Works and Government Services Canada (now PSPC) on behalf of the Department of National Defense to deliver more than 1,500 8×8 MSVS SMP trucks and to provide in-service support for the fleet. The MSVS SMP is available in a number of variants, including cargo, material handling cranes, load handling systems (LHS) and mobile repair trucks (MRT).
The 1,587th and final MSVS SMP vehicle was delivered in February 2020. The program also delivered 322 trailers and 161 armored protection system cabs.
Mack Defense’s in-service support contract has been extended by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) supporting more than 1,500 Medium Support Vehicle System (MSVS) Standard Military Pattern (SMP) vehicles.
Mack Defense, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mack Trucks, is responsible for the sale of heavy-duty trucks to federal- and ministerial-level customers globally. For more information, please visit www.mackdefense.com.
JOHNSTOWN, PA, July 1, 2020 – The U.S. Army has selected Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace to provide a wireless fire control capability to support its future medium caliber lethality needs for its light and medium Robotic Combat Vehicles (RCV). This decision creates a common architecture across all current robotic lethality fire control for crew-served, medium caliber and anti-tank weapons. In addition to the fire control architectures for both RCV-Light (RCV-L) and RCV-Medium (RCV-M), Kongsberg weapon stations – CROWS J and MCT-30 respectively – have been selected as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) for the Army’s RCV phase 2 experimentation.
“By overcoming the challenges presented by remote lethality, Kongsberg is paving the way for commonality across a variety of vehicle platforms – manned, optionally manned or unmanned,” said Scott Burk, vice president, Land Systems, Kongsberg Defense. “Beyond lethality and scalability, in conjunction with other Kongsberg medium caliber systems and medium weight systems being delivered, soldiers have the advantage of service-wide commonality. This will have tremendous positive impacts on training, provisioning and sustaining all U.S. Army weapon stations.”
This latest contract for wireless fire-control architecture augments previous awards to Kongsberg for the wireless fire-control architecture for the U.S. Army RCV-L program and the Multi-User, Multi-Station (MUMS) distributed fire-control architecture. The MUMS architecture was developed against a U.S. Marine Corps requirement for “one over many, many over one” control of RWS. The MUMS architecture is currently being applied to all Marine RWS deliveries including systems for the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV).
Kongsberg demonstrated its wireless fire control capability for the RCV-L architecture, firing both a Javelin anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) as well as the weapon station’s 12.7 mm machine gun (.50 M2) from a legacy CROWS M153 mounted on an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). The June 2019 live-fire demonstration was carried out at Redstone Test Center in Alabama. Kongsberg also successfully demonstrated secure transmissions of video and fire-control data including command signals over radio from the weapon station and the missile. Kongsberg will perform a similar U.S. government-sponsored demonstration of the medium caliber wireless capability later this year.
The Kongsberg MCT-30 is the first remotely-operated turret to be qualified and fielded in the United States. The system provides highly accurate firepower for wheeled or tracked combat vehicles and is remotely controlled and operated from a protected position inside the vehicle compartment for optimized crew safety.
Kongsberg is the world’s leading manufacturer of Remote Weapon Stations (RWS), having delivered nearly 20,000 RWS units to more than 20 countries worldwide. Kongsberg is also the sole provider of RWS and remote turrets to the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps. All RWS and remote turrets bound for U.S. customers are manufactured in the Kongsberg Johnstown, PA facility. The company takes great pride in its continued support to, and for the United States, U.S. employees, and U.S. supply base.
For more information, visit kongsberg.com.
Los Angeles, June 30th, Epirus Inc. received a Small Business Innovation Research Phase Two contract to develop a directed energy prototype for the US Navy. The system will support efforts to deploy non-kinetic capabilities for stopping nefarious vehicles or vessels. This increases stand-off ranges for US service members performing security missions, and minimizes collateral damage caused by other methods such as lasers or small arms.
“This win helps validate Epirus’ approach and advances directed energy technology into the digital age. Challenging the status quo of directed energy has been an uphill battle, but I’m glad to see the work of our engineering teams pay off by providing new data and demonstrated capability,” said Bo Marr, Chief Technology Officer at Epirus.
“Whether it’s checkpoint activities or performing a vehicle interdiction, things can get real dangerous real quick in close quarters with potentially hostile motorists. Increasing stand-off ranges is always a plus for operators on the ground,” commented Aaron Barruga, Epirus team member and Special Forces combat veteran.
Epirus’ approach to electromagnetic pulse utilizes commercial semiconductor technology to deliver unprecedented reduction in size and weight. Their flagship product—Leonidas—delivers a counter drone capability and is also in development for the Department of Defense.
In what many would consider an upset, GM Defense was selected to provide over 1,000 Infantry Squad Vehicles to the US Army. They beat out SAIC/Polaris and Osh-Kosh/Flyer both considered incumbents.
The Polaris DAGOR is in service with the 82nd Abn Div and the Flyer developed GMV 1.1 is in use with USSOCOM and the 173rd Abn Bde.
GM Defense LLC, Detroit, Michigan, was awarded a $214,297,869 firm-fixed-price contract for acquisition of the Infantry Squad Vehicle, installation kits, ancillary hardware and logistical support. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of June 24, 2028. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-20-D-0066).
The GM ISV Is powered by a 186-horsepower, 2.8L diesel powerplant and six-speed automatic transmission, the nine man crew is protected by a Roll Over Protection System which serves as a roll bar, but can be stored for air transport.
Based on their successful Chevrolet Colorado midsize truck architecture and its ZR2 and ZR2 Bison variants, this GM truck could make the beginnings of an entire fleet of commercial off-road vehicles to handle the US military’s dat-to-day tasks in a similar fashion to the Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle programs of the 70s-00s.
Below, is the US Army announcement.
Infantry Squad Vehicle to ‘motorize’ IBCTs
DETROIT ARSENAL, Mich. – The Army today announced it has selected GM Defense, LLC, Detroit, Mich., to produce the Infantry Squad Vehicle, or ISV, to motorize Infantry Brigade Combat Teams. Delivery of this modernized capability is slated to begin with the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, as the designated First Unit Equipped next winter. The contract is valued at $214,297,869 and the Army intends to purchase 649 vehicles.
It is based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 architecture, which will derive 90 percent of its parts from commercial-off-the-shelf components.
The ISV program provides IBCTs an additive lightweight vehicle to move Soldiers and their equipment quickly over complex and difficult cross-country terrain. ISVs will provide greater mobility to IBCTs, as they are designed to move across restrictive terrain, allowing Soldiers to close on objectives with less fatigue and greater readiness. The Army can deliver the vehicle to the field by airdrop or helicopter, which increases the flexibility of Soldiers on the move.
This is the second important production contract award for Army light tactical wheeled vehicle modernization programs of record in the last year. The Army announced in June 2019 the production contract of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. JLTV is modernizing the Army’s and U.S. Marine Corps’ light tactical wheeled vehicle fleets with a leap-ahead balance of payload, performance and protection.
“The Infantry Squad Vehicle meets the challenges we’ve faced to give our IBCT Soldiers greater mobility and increased survivability,” said Chris Stone, the Maneuver Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate’s deputy Army capability manager – Infantry Brigade Combat Team at Fort Benning, Ga. The CDID is the Army’s proponent for generating and validating the operational need for the Infantry Squad Vehicle.
“As the Army’s newest light tactical vehicle, ISV will allow IBCTs more flexibility and a greater advantage getting to the objective,” he added.
The ISV’s basic operational capabilities include:
Nine-man squad carrying capability
Payload of 3,200 lbs.
External sling load by a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter
Internal load/external lift by CH-47 Chinook helicopter
Low-velocity air drop by fixed-wing C-130 or C-17 transport aircraft
Exceptional mobility over all terrains
The comprehensive team responsible for bringing the ISV program to production contract award involves not only Army acquisition professionals, but also relevant stakeholders representing the Army’s funding and testing communities, Army Futures Command, and Forces Command. Soldier evaluation via user-acceptance efforts has been a key element of the ISV program from the outset, and has helped compress the time it takes to field a modernized capability that meets infantry Soldiers’ needs.
“The Infantry Squad Vehicle program has focused on meeting the Army’s emphasis on enhancing Infantry Soldier mobility and survivability by rapidly fielding modernized capabilities. Our product management team for Ground Mobility Vehicles undertook a great challenge to develop a strategy using experimentation and technical demonstrations to streamline the ISV acquisition process,” said Timothy G. Goddette, the Army’s program executive officer for Combat Support and Combat Service Support, or PEO CS&CSS, headquartered here.
“Using an innovative acquisition approach through an Other Transaction Authority — a flexible, collaborative tool designed to speed acquisition and modernization — the ISV team awarded the production contract for this capability in 16 months. Using normal acquisition processes, it could have taken as many as 36 months,” Goddette explained.
The ISV acquisition strategy was structured to promote the highest level of competition possible, including affordability. Due to competition, the program office will realize a reduction from the original independent government cost estimate for the program. This provides best value to American taxpayers. What’s more, a senior Army officer who has commanded at all levels in an IBCT was tapped to serve as the ISV program’s Source Selection Authority.
According to Steve Herrick, the Army’s product lead for Ground Mobility Vehicles, PEO CS&CSS, the next steps in the ISV program include GM Defense delivering eight ISVs to Aberdeen Test Center in Maryland within four months. “Following delivery, our program office, along with Army testers, will execute an aggressive and tailored testing plan,” he said.
Herrick went on to explain the Army will conduct tailored production qualification testing to address the vehicles’ ability to meet the performance specifications in areas not previously tested. This will also build confidence in areas already tested, he said. The ISV will also undergo transportability certification, which includes low-velocity air drop and helicopter sling loading. Next summer and fall, the Army will hold an initial operational test and evaluation.
“The program office is marching toward delivering ISVs to the first unit, the 1/82nd at Fort Bragg, approximately eight months after the contract award,” Herrick added. “We are excited about the commercial nature this product brings to the Soldier, and in the future, we could possibly see greater leaps in technology and concepts to include reconnaissance or electric vehicles.”
By Rae Higgins, Program Executive Office for Combat Support & Combat Service Support
ALLENTOWN, PA (June 25, 2020) – To better serve customers, as well as enhance its capability to support military and government contracts, Mack Defense has relocated its headquarters to the Mack Customer Center (MCC) located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The move, which was recently completed, also provides Mack Defense additional working space and access to other MCC amenities.
“The Mack Customer Center is an outstanding facility and presents our company and the Mack brand in a way we could not replicate at our previous location,” said David Hartzell, president, Mack Defense. “We have easier access to a number of unique features at the MCC, such as the test track and industrial space, while still retaining the robust security requirements that are required when working on military contracts.”
Military and government contracts often include classified information, which requires additional security measures. Mack Defense worked with the U.S. Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) and the MCC facility team to ensure the required physical and technological security requirement are in place.
In addition to meeting security needs, the new space also offers prospective customers a more complete representation of Mack Defense and its capabilities.
“When hosting current and prospective customers, the MCC facility paints a completely different picture than our previous location, demonstrating the wide range of solutions we can offer our customers,” said Hartzell.
Mack Defense’s move was timed specifically to utilize the enhanced capabilities available at the MCC to support the current active contract with the U.S. Army to provide heavy dump trucks. Mack Defense was awarded a firm-fixed-price $296 million contract in May 2018 from the U.S. Army to produce up to 683 M917A3 Heavy Dump Trucks (HDT).
Mack Defense has relocated its headquarters to the Mack Customer Center (MCC) located in Allentown, Pennsylvania to better serve customers through enhanced ability to support its contracts. The recently completed move also provides Mack Defense additional working space and access to other MCC amenities.
Mack Defense, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mack Trucks, is responsible for the sale of heavy-duty trucks to federal- and ministerial-level customers globally. For more information, please visit www.mackdefense.com.
I remain fascinated by the Rokon 2×2 and it’s Universal Accessory Rail. It’s amazing how much stuff you can mount to this 2-wheel drive work horse.
For example, it will accept a GI entrenching tool.
Or a GI machete, pioneer shovel and ammo can. The versatility is awesome.
All photos courtesy of Rokon.
SWANSBORO, N.C. – June 23, 2020 – High Speed Gear® is proud announce the expansion of the ReFlex™ line with the ReFlex Vehicle Mount, a companion accessory for the ReFlex IFAK System.
The ReFlex Vehicle Mount is designed specifically to mount the Med Roll to the back of most detachable headrests. The elastic cinch strap design allows the Med Roll, or similarly-sized pouches/items, to be quickly pulled out to the side without disengaging the side-release buckle. This mounting platform can also hold a tourniquet with a 3” elastic loop for easy vehicle storage.
“This is just a logical accessory that brings the ReFlex IFAK System directly into the everyday,” said Bill Babboni, HSGI® vice president of sales and operations. “The ReFlex Vehicle Mount is exactly what you need to keep your medical gear within easy reach.
