Understanding why a Ground Combat Vehicle that Carries Nine Dismounts is Important to the Army
Abstract
Following the termination of the U.S. Army s Future Combat System, the Army s desire to field an infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) that could carry a full nine-man infantry squad was, once again, in danger of not being met. Moreover, the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan during the first decade of the 21st century showed the vulnerability of legacy infantry vehicles to mines, rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), and, most significantly, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in all their forms. Finally, the limitations on further developing the lethality, survivability, and network operations of legacy IFVs were becoming apparent. To address these issues, the Army initiated the current Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program. This report explains how the Army s historical requirement for dismounted infantry squads is influencing the design of a new ground combat vehicle. The focus of the report, therefore, is on the question of why is it important to the Army that any new IFV be capable of carrying no fewer than nine soldiers who can be available for dismounted operations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA583578
Entities
People
- Bruce J. Held
- Chad C. Serena
- James T. Quinlivan
- Mark A. Lorell
Organizations
- RAND Corporation