This is a notional state of the art modern infantry reconnaissance vehicle operated by an infantry fire team, designed to provide a highly autonomous, lightly armored, fast moving platform with moderate off road capacities, potent weapons sufficient to destroy tanks and helicopters and mildly fortified bunkers, electronic warfare capabilities, and advanced sensors that could also serve as a forward observer for fighters, bombers, and artillery. It could be a lead vehicle against lightly armed counterinsurgencies, or could be part of a larger force in a war zone like Ukraine, although it is not meant to serve in a front line armored vehicle role, openly within the range of enemy anti-tank weapons (quite frankly even the heaviest tanks aren't well-suited to that role). It is closer to a tank destroyer role than to a tank or infantry fighting vehicle, but is more capable than a simple patrol vehicle for use in a military policing role. It would have a fairly thin logistics trail.
The specification are my own and as far as I know, nothing terribly similar to it is in military service at this time. It is at a level of detail comparable to a federal government request for proposal to military contractors. Some features or details could be modified or eliminated if necessary for the design to be viable. The details seek to integrate existing technologies and capabilities to a greater degree than seen in most current military systems. In particular, they are sensitive to issues associated with drone warfare and guided weapons, which the U.S. Army has lagged in considering. There is a sprinkling of James Bond-like concepts as well.
One key concept is that many potent weapons and powerful sensors can be carried as cargo for use by infantry as needed, rather than permanently mounted in a dedicated military vehicle, and that the ample cargo space allows infantry to carry a volume of heavy weapons that wouldn't be viable to carry the amount or variety of if infantry soldiers were traveling by foot or in a lighter vehicle like an infantry squad vehicle (ISV) or a Humvee. Allowing each soldier to have access to an ample supply of heavy infantry weapons is more important than having a full squad of lightly armed infantry in the same vehicle. The goal is to empower highly skilled soldiers to have the maximum possible impact, which is an advantage for the U.S. military which is known for its exceptional levels of training and it large budget for military equipment. This approach doesn't have to be limited to Special Operations forces.
It would be capable of passing for a commercial vehicle, making it a less obvious target, and would have the capacity to be nearly silent, travel without lights, and could have a small thermal signature when needed. It would also have a relatively light logistics trail and could operate for very extended distances without logistics support if steal demands did not prevent it from towing additional supplies. It would be well-suited to urban warfare, tight mountain passes, and narrow roads thorough forests or jungles.
It would be expensive - probably more than the $500,000 each of a well-outfitted JTLV in addition to the cost of the expensive missiles and drones that it carries, but probably less than the $4.35 million each of a new M2 Bradley, or the $20 million each of a new M1 Abrams tank.
One of these vehicles (fully loaded with its crew) could be deployed in a C-130 transport aircraft. Five or six of them could be deployed in a C-17 transport aircraft. Ten to twelve of them could be deployed in a C-5 transport aircraft. These would not be suited to amphibious self-deployment from sea, although a roll on, roll off cargo ship could deliver them to a port. But unlike tracked armored vehicles or very heavy wheeled vehicles, they could be deployed overland on ordinary roads, even in and through Old World cities and places without first world grade bridges, without the need to load them onto trains to travel by rail without a need to worry that they would do damage to roads or bridges or be too slow or require too much fuel for a long road trip.
Crew
* The standard crew is four, with a driver/mechanic and a heavy weapons gunner/lookout in the cabin, and a remote machine gun operator/rifleman, a drone and electronics operator at stations in the rear. In a pinch, a couple of additional passengers could be carried sitting on jump seats. To the extent feasible, crew members would cross-train for each other's roles.
Exterior frame, appearance, and armor.
* It starts from the point of a standard commercial delivery vehicle (like the UPS truck shown above). The dimensions are about 10'4" exclusive of the protrusions for the reconnaissance drone port and remotely operated machine gun (which still keep it less than the 14 feet necessary to be street legal with those functions set at the lowest profile), a width of not more than 8 feet, and a length of not more than 30 feet, are capable of clearing low bridges and all commercial grade streets without sticking out in silhouette as exceptional. The weight of 11-12 tons is not significantly more than a heavily loaded delivery vehicle and capable of crossing most low capacity bridges for street legal vehicles. (This would be larger than a JTLV which is 7-8.5 tons (and up to 10.5 tons with the heaviest variants and equipment), which has a length of 22.3 feet, a width of 8.4 feet, and a height of 8.5 feet, or a Humvee, but it would be much smaller than tanks and Bradley armored vehicles. It would be closer in dimensions and weight to an M113 armored personnel carrier in size, those are 15 ft 11.5 inches long, 8 ft 9.7 inches wide, and 8 ft 2 inches high, and weight 13.6 tons.)
* The cabin windows are bullet proof glass. They would probably be smaller than those of the UPS delivery truck shown, but not so small that it would obviously be a military vehicle.
* The rear, which is accessible from cab without getting out, is inset with a six sided titanium tub lined on the outside with Kelvar. The cabin has similar armor. Titanium and Kelvar are used rather than steel to reduce weight and thickness. The armor is designed to resist small arms fire and shrapnel, but not necessarily armor piecing or anti-tank weapons. There is thermal insulation as well as armor to reduce thermal signature.
* Clearance of 13" (two inches more than the 11" that is standard for a UPS delivery vehicle and the same as the most capable 12.9" of a Jeep, but not as much as the 16" of a military grade Humvee). Capable of fording through up to about 30" (the same as a jeep or unmodified Humvee). The floor would V-shaped to increase mine resistance, to the extent feasible to do so in a delivery van chassis with two extra inches of ground clearance. Up to 3" of ground clearance could be sacrificed for this feature.
* Standard paint has no livery and is non-descript - white, black, beige, or brown. The paint is non-reflective, except to the extent necessary to be street legal (with can be covered with tape or otherwise). Of course, it could be military liveried if necessary.
* No windows outside of the front and door windows of the cab.
* Secure and air/water tight rear hatch and side hatch to outside from rear part in addition to cabin doors for loading and evacuation.
* The roof has a solid, armored sunroof with an interior platform underneath it from which someone can stand or sit popping out to mount things on the roof, fire weapons, launch internally carried drones, or just observe.
* Several hard to see from the outside small gunports, similar to those in an armored Wells Fargo van but less obvious, which can be sealed air/water tight and don't leak heat in the rear and side.
* LED lighting outside (for low heat and low electrical drain), with an option to disable outside lights for stealth.
* High capacity spotlights can be carried and mounted on the roof.
* Undercover cop style) emergency vehicle lights can be activated.
* License plates can be rotated to confuse license plate surveillance.
* Front and rear hooks to attach tow lines to, and a rear hitch for an optional small trailer (which has towing capacity similar to a Humvee).
Drivetrain, wheels, interior, and other features
* Plug-in hybrid using diesel fuel with four wheel drive (with converter for multiple possible international outlet types and voltages) and crab walk capabilities. Can run silent on pure electric. The wheels run on four independent motors with redundant control/power wires (possibly coaxal cabled), with a generator type smaller diesel engine. Rapid acceleration (Hummer EV/Tesla grade) and commercial grade highway speed.
* Batteries separated from rest of vehicle to protect crew from battery related fires and to allow for reasonably easy replacement in field without a full-fledged garage.
* Range is comparable to commercial off the shelf (ca. 500 km), with detachable extra diesel fuel tank carried on roof available to increase range by 50-100%.
* Batteries from drive train can be used to jump start other vehicles and to charge electronics.
* Run flat snow and mud tires.
* A concealed front winch.
* Commercial off the shelf grade heating and cooling, but with military grade air filters. Can activate internally stored oxygen supply and positive internal air pressure in event of smoke, chemical weapons, or biological weapons. Heating and AC exhausts are designed to minimize and obscure the thermal signature to the extent that this can be done with minimal effort.
* RV-style toilet, a kitchen sink with an integrated water purifier and desalinator, microwave, induction range, and mini-fridge by rear door (but no shower). This allows the crew to stay inside the vehicle for prolonged time periods when there is a risk of small arms fire or shrapnel, to reduce exterior heat signature from someone leaving the vehicle to use the toilet or cooking, and for better quality of life on longer missions.
* If necessary, two crew can sleep in the cabin with seats reclined and two crew can sleep in the rear, although sleeping outside the vehicle in a tent is more comfortable. This might make sense if a quick departure with no time to break camp is anticipated, if there is no suitable camping site, or if the conflict zone where it is deployed has a high risk of small arms fire and shrapnel, but a low risk of anti-armor attacks on the vehicle.
Communications, Electronics, Sensors and Electronic Warfare
* Civilian grade AM/FM/shortwave radio with Bluetooth.
* Interior lights are LED.
* A built in analog compass.
* Military grade encrypted communications, satellite phone, GPS, emergency beacon, and friend-foe identifier. The features in the cabin are concealed to make the cabin look like a commercial delivery truck cabin. These coms have a videoconferencing station, and a computer are in the rear.
* The vehicle has a built in acoustic sniper shot locator (which can be slaved to the 12.7mm machine gun for an automatic return of fire, if desired due to a risk of ambush), and related high quality microphones which automatically record to hear what is outside when someone outside might think that think they are out of earshot or won't be heard because the vehicle has no one in it.
* The vehicle has an electronic warfare jamming unit that can be activated to interfere with drones, GPS, and enemy communications, as well as simple cell phone jamming.
* The vehicle silently alerts all crew members if the crew tries to use their cell phones in the area, which could inadvertently compromise operational security.
* Redundant 360º cameras (with good low light/night vision performance and infrared sensors).
* Blind spot radar, front and rear LIDAR, and motion sensors.
* The vehicle would have commercial of the shelf grade self-driving and self-parking features.
* Upward mounted cameras on the roof to see drones, aircraft, sky/cloud/rain/snow conditions, people or animals hiding on the roof, and objects on the roof.
* A skyward mounted telescope for star based navigation in the absence of GPS or compass functionality on the roof linked to the computer system in the rear.
* Roof has reconnaissance drone charging/launching station which is cosmetically designed to look like civilian refrigerator van units and/or roof storage, which may indent somewhat from the roof to reduce clearance, but is outside the armored tub around the rear. The reconnaissance drone is optionally fiber optic wired for periscope-style use. The reconnaissance drone controls are in the rear.
* The interior has a Faraday cage in which sensitive electronics can be stored. A severe EMP would disable the vehicle but the electronics in the cage would still work and could be used by the dismounted crew.
* The vehicle carries in the rear some or all of the following sensors and electronic/directed energy weapons:
- A directional antenna optimized to pick up cell phones, walkie talkie communications, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, vehicle fobs, and RFID can be hand held or mounted on the roof from the sunroof. The computer in the rear would be designed to record and decrypt them.
- An integrated directional microphone and short range X-ray digital telescope that can be hand held or mounted on the roof from the sun roof.
- A long range light and IR, night vision digital telescope that can be hand held or mounted on the roof from the sunroof.
- A drone/helicopter detecting short range, lower powered radar (which can be slaved to the 12.7mm machine gun to use as a short range active defense against small drones and incoming shells), and a wire controlled anti-drone directed energy weapon, both of which can be mounted on the roof from the sun roof.
- A couple of cell-phone sized forward observer devices to call in artillery, missiles, drone attacks, or bombs, independent of, but capable of being integrated with the military communications and computer in the vehicle.
- A spare vehicle roof mounted reconnaissance drone and spare fiber optic cable for it, and several drones that are insect to bird to larger long range sized reconnaissance drone for more covert short range reconnaissance, or longer range sustained surveillance.
- A few laser dazzlers to disrupt sensors and/or interfere with pilots of manned aircraft or sniper sights.
- Motion detector activated camera/microphones that can be set up around the vehicle or camp site, at nearby road or trail accesses, or at a surveilled location. They can also be linked to explosive detonators.
Weapons, built in and carried
* Roof has a remotely operated 12.7mm machine gun (with high maximum angle of elevation) which is cosmetically designed to look like civilian refrigerator van units and/or roof storage. The remote operation of the machine gun is from the rear. This probably couldn't be the standard issue U.S. military CROWS system which isn't capable of being concealed easily enough, and would instead have to be a slimmer custom designed system.
* The controls for armed drones launched from the sunroof or from outside the vehicle.
* Dispensers on rear of vehicle can discharge caltrops and slick oil (with or without ignition to set it on fire) with concealed interior launch controls (maybe on touch screen in cabin).
* It might have rear facing and/or front facing assault rifles that could pop-out from the bumpers with little or no room to be aimed.
* If feasible, smoke grenades and flares can be launched from outside armored protected area with concealed interior launch controls (maybe on touch screen in cabin) along the lines of existing systems for tanks. This would allow for a concealed escape while under fire or imminently about to be under fire, and could decoy heat seeking missiles and/or drones.
* It probably wouldn't be able to include something like a Trophy active defense system.
* The vehicle would carry some or all of the following weapons:
- ample 12.7mm ammunition for the remotely operated machine gun,
- up to four assault rifles and/or up to four carbines for the crew with silencers, ample common ammunition and maintenance kits and a few commonly used spare parts,
- four standard side arms with silencers and ample ammunition and maintenance kits and a few commonly used spare parts,
- a man carried multiple smart grenade launcher (with custom ranged fuses, etc.) and the grenades for it,
- a sniper rifle with associated sights, mounts, ammunition, a silencer, wind sensors, and a computer assisting-aiming device with a range of 2000-3000 meters,
- two or more Stinger anti-aircraft missiles (mostly for helicopters, light low flying fixed wing aircraft, close air support fixed wing aircraft, and large drones),
- four or more Javelin anti-tank missiles,
- TOW anti-tank missiles,
- an 84mm recoilless rifle for anti-armor and breaching at fairly short, direct fire ranges with a significant number of shells,
- a small mortar and shells,
- several armed drones (possibly of varying sizes and specifications),
- anti-personnel mines,
- anti-tank mines,
- hand grenades, and
- hand placed and timed or remotely detonated explosives.
* When not trying to blend in as a commercial vehicle, it could tow, for example, a larger mortar, a small howitzer, an artillery shell substitute missile launcher (launching Hellfire missile sized missiles), an armed unmanned ground vehicle such as a Ripsaw, additional larger drones (armed or unarmed), extra ammunition and missiles and mines, a radar station to put in place for a larger anti-aircraft system, a smaller but not man carried anti-aircraft or anti-drone weapons system (including, perhaps, a laser weapon powered in full or in part by the vehicle), or a small one-patient at a time medical field clinic.
Other cargo
* Carries commercial off the shelf car camping grade camping gear including a comfortable "8 person" tent (for four people) with sleeping bags, cots or air mattresses or sleeping bad, changes of clothes for the crew, winter and rain outer wear, clothes lines, a camping shower, a small electric chain saw, shovels, axes, and saws, some power tools, a water purifier, a couple of weeks of rations, rope, lighters, candles, an all-purpose tool kit, screws and nails and small carpentry hardware, a tent repair kit, a sewing kit, etc.
* Carries tool kit for vehicle repairs (tire jacks, wrenches and smaller parts needed for the vehicle, air compressor, electrical diagnosis and repair tools, traction boards if the vehicle gets stuck in mud, fluids for fluid changes from window wash to motor oil, etc.), and two spare tires.
* Carries locally appropriate camouflage Kelvar tarp for tent with thermal shielding, night vision goggles for crew, and a military grade medical kit.
* It could tow a small Bobcat construction vehicle, a small ATV, a jet ski, an inflatable boat or life raft, a snow mobile, motorcycles, extra fuel, extra water, or supplies for a forward operating base.
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