goes 50 mph ‘out of the box.’” You want something even faster? “We are delivering a version which exceeds 75 mph and has a 300 mile range,” Deacon said. As far as armament, the ATVs can carry many types of weapons, he said. “Weapons that we know have been mounted on the Prowler platform include the M60, M240 and MG58 series crew served machine guns,” Deacon said. “The Prowler also has carried the 60 and 81 mm mortars.” With the 81 mm, the Prowler is used for mobility only, not as a launching platform. Further, the Prowler also has been equipped with the Javelin, Kornet, Carl Gustav and Spike anti-armor missile systems. Deacon cited the ease of transporting the ATVs. “Not only can multiple Prowlers be transported in MH47 and similar series helos, only the Prowler has been actually tested and accepted for the CV-22.” The military already has focused on the Prowler, Deacon noted, including the Special Operations Command, the <strong>Air</strong> Force, the Marine Corps and Navy SEALs, along with international customers. Prowlers also offer other benefits “that are not available elsewhere in the LTATV class of vehicle,” Deacon added, such as a 24 volt DC auxiliary power to meet heavy communications and laser requirements. Of all the ATV Corp. technology innovations, Deacon concluded, “perhaps the most significant is the current development of a light weight modular armor system under way with the Ceradyne Corp.” <strong>John</strong> Deere also offers a full line of ATVs, with off-road capabilities design bolstered by the company’s long history of producing farm machines. One of them is the M-Gator A1, a veteran workhorse with six wheels and diesel power providing moderate speeds, Mike Ready, <strong>John</strong> Deere manager of U.S. government sales, said in an interview with SOTECH. It has a rollover protection frame that can be tied down for easier loading onto aircraft, and it also can be carried beneath helos in a sling. The A1 can carry two litters in back and another litter in front for casualty evacuation. While <strong>John</strong> Deere is associated with the color green on its farm machinery and a different green on its military vehicles, the A1 soon will be available in desert tan. 30 | SOTECH 8.9 Gators have been purchased by the Army and National Guard, and the FBI. The Gator A2 is a newer offering with four wheels and a 32 mph top speed. It has a cage type tubular steel rollover protection meeting safety standards including those set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, he said. But the company also will be offering the A-25 I that will provide speeds up to 44 mph, responding to the special operations community’s need for faster vehicles. Another <strong>John</strong> Deere ATV offering is one that tells the military to leave the driving to us: The R-Gator is a robotic ATV built on the M-Gator platform. Mark E. Bodwell, group manager for business development with <strong>John</strong> Deere military affairs, explained in an interview how the R-Gator can be whatever you want it to be, from a regular soldierdriven vehicle to a totally autonomous vehicle able to drive itself, figuring out how to maneuver around obstacles. It can mean human beings don’t have to lose arms, legs or lives in EOD operations. While such cutting-edge technology, one might assume, is created in the military area and then migrates eventually to civilian use, the situation here is just the opposite: <strong>John</strong> Deere originally devised the guidance technology for its huge green machines that operate on farms, using GPS to determine just where and how much fertilizer to apply in which areas, for example, Bodwell explained. To create the robotic ATV, he said, “We adopted all of those [agricultural machine guidance] technologies and placed them on the M-Gator chassis” to create the R-Gator. The R-Gator has many modes with varying degrees of automation, Bodwell said: The first mode involves a soldier driving the ATV as he would any vehicle. The second mode can involve a soldier driving the ATV to a destination, where he debarks and then places the R-Gator on autopilot so that it drives itself back to the origination point, using certain waypoints on the route to plot its return course. The third mode has the R-Gator operated remotely as an unmanned ground vehicle, where the operator uses a unit to control the R-Gator and it sends back live video to the operator. This is especially useful for special operations missions, such as forward observation or route clearance, or checking for unexploded ordnance, Bodwell said. With EZY-lift, an EOD box can be eased down to the ground, and a robot can then move to clear a building. The fourth mode is fully autonomous, where the R-Gator has way points programmed into it along with a destination point, and it figures out how to get there, such as deciding whether it can run over an obstacle or must maneuver around it. If the obstacle totally blocks the way ahead, the R-Gator then devises an alternative route to reach the destination. An operator may grab back control of the vehicle at any time. The R-Gator can be had with an engine that runs on diesel fuel or JP-8 jet aircraft engine fuel. As to who uses the R-Gator, although this type of vehicle still is in the early stages of its life, the Army has several, and the company also is working with the Navy and Marine Corps, he said. Turning to transportability, the Gator family fits on a CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, though it’s a tight fit, and slips easily onto a CH-47 Chinook heavy lift transport helo, Bodwell said. HDt-Ha y e s Di v e r s i f i e D te C H n o l o g i e s HDT offers several ATVs aimed at the military market, such as the LTATV-U1 light tactical all terrain vehicle. It can roll at 50 mph, with a range of 120 miles. It can tow 1,300 pounds, and has a total payload capacity of 1,378 pounds. It has a 45 hp liquid cooled engine, and a winch on the front to pull itself out of trouble. It has a four-passenger roll cage for rollover protection and full-length skid plates. Faster yet: The LTATV-U1 Support vehicle can drive 55. It has a 170-mile range. The 1.34 liter horizontally opposed two cylinder engine operates on a variety of jet fuels including JP8, along with diesel and biodiesel, producing 70 hp. It has a two-passenger roll cage, and a cargo bed. Want to go even faster? The LTATV-U1 Tactical goes 70 mph, and has a 170-mile range. The 65 hp engine also runs on an array of jet fuels, diesel or biodiesel. It has a four passenger roll cage and a winch. O For more information, contact SOTECH Editor Dave Ahearn at davea@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.SOTECH-kmi.com. www.SOTECH-kmi.com
www.atvcorp.com Purpose Built COTS, Unmatched Performance Power... Speed... Agility... Stability... Protection...Endurance... Prowler is built by the ATV Corp. division of Phoenix International Systems, Inc., a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business that is an ISO AS9100 / ISO 9001:2008 Certified Manufacturer. Prowler is available under GSA Contract No. GS-03F-0056T. TM
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