Polaris Industries is showing off DAGOR, an ultralight combat vehicle for Special Operations Forces (SOF), as it seeks to expand in the defence market, an off-road vehicle capable of carrying 3,250lbs of cargo or a nine-man infantry squad at high speeds.
The new vehicles are larger Polaris' MRZR and MV850 offerings. DAGOR's open design of the cab and cargo area allows for a total of nine passengers to comfortably sit in the vehicle. It is meant as a highly mobile off-road vehicle, with a suspension inspired by off-road racing 'trophy trucks' that utilise long travel suspensions. DAGOR's curb weight is below 4,500lbs and it has been certified to be loaded into H-47 CHINOOK cargo lifters without modifications, or sling loaded under H-60 BLACK HAWK utility helicopters. Polaris selected a commercial diesel/JP8 engine intended to balance power, weight, and size, which it then worked with Roush automotive company to enhance.
Polaris has a contract with elements of US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and international SOF. In the meantime, Boeing and a team of former NASCAR engineers have developed the PHANTOM BADGER, another military off-road vehicle.
Boeing has delivered BADGERs to an unidentified part of US Special Forces after developing it with supplier MSI Defense Solutions.
Earlier this year, the US Navy removed one obstacle when it cleared the Boeing PHANTOM BADGER combat support vehicle for transport inside a V-22 OSPREY tiltrotor aircraft. After a battery of tests, including form-fit checks, pressure tests and structural evaluations of over four G’s, the modular vehicle was a step closer to deployment by the USMC and USAF Special Operations.
The PHANTOM BADGER has some impressive off-roading specs, including a 240bhp multi-fuel engine, four-wheel drive, all-wheel steering, and a top speed of 80mph. There are also hydraulic and suspension systems that allow it to travel at speed in rough conditions without exhausting its passengers with excess buffeting. In addition, Boeing says that its 35in tyres can handle logs as thick as telephone poles, and it can carry 3,300lbs of payload, which is an increase over comparable vehicles. The coachwork comes in anything you like, so long as it’s camouflage.The development of the PHANTOM BADGER by the Special Pursuits Cell at Boeing Phantom Works took only six months from the first computer design to an operating product. Boeing managed this by going into partnership with MSI Defense Solutions of North Carolina, which brought its expertise in developing NASCAR vehicles as well as tactical vehicles to the project.
Polaris and Boeing both want to get in on the Army and Marines' potential replacement of thousands of vehicles. Both vehicles are made with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) parts rather than custom components to keep the price down as the military tries to rein in costs. The BADGER, for example, uses parts that Fiat Chrysler made for its 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The new vehicles are larger Polaris' MRZR and MV850 offerings. DAGOR's open design of the cab and cargo area allows for a total of nine passengers to comfortably sit in the vehicle. It is meant as a highly mobile off-road vehicle, with a suspension inspired by off-road racing 'trophy trucks' that utilise long travel suspensions. DAGOR's curb weight is below 4,500lbs and it has been certified to be loaded into H-47 CHINOOK cargo lifters without modifications, or sling loaded under H-60 BLACK HAWK utility helicopters. Polaris selected a commercial diesel/JP8 engine intended to balance power, weight, and size, which it then worked with Roush automotive company to enhance.
Polaris has a contract with elements of US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and international SOF. In the meantime, Boeing and a team of former NASCAR engineers have developed the PHANTOM BADGER, another military off-road vehicle.
Boeing has delivered BADGERs to an unidentified part of US Special Forces after developing it with supplier MSI Defense Solutions.
Earlier this year, the US Navy removed one obstacle when it cleared the Boeing PHANTOM BADGER combat support vehicle for transport inside a V-22 OSPREY tiltrotor aircraft. After a battery of tests, including form-fit checks, pressure tests and structural evaluations of over four G’s, the modular vehicle was a step closer to deployment by the USMC and USAF Special Operations.
The PHANTOM BADGER has some impressive off-roading specs, including a 240bhp multi-fuel engine, four-wheel drive, all-wheel steering, and a top speed of 80mph. There are also hydraulic and suspension systems that allow it to travel at speed in rough conditions without exhausting its passengers with excess buffeting. In addition, Boeing says that its 35in tyres can handle logs as thick as telephone poles, and it can carry 3,300lbs of payload, which is an increase over comparable vehicles. The coachwork comes in anything you like, so long as it’s camouflage.The development of the PHANTOM BADGER by the Special Pursuits Cell at Boeing Phantom Works took only six months from the first computer design to an operating product. Boeing managed this by going into partnership with MSI Defense Solutions of North Carolina, which brought its expertise in developing NASCAR vehicles as well as tactical vehicles to the project.
Polaris and Boeing both want to get in on the Army and Marines' potential replacement of thousands of vehicles. Both vehicles are made with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) parts rather than custom components to keep the price down as the military tries to rein in costs. The BADGER, for example, uses parts that Fiat Chrysler made for its 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee.