Spatial, Multibody Modeling and Vehicle Dynamics Analysis of an Interim Armored Vehicle

The US Army vision, announced in October of 1999, encompasses people, readiness, and transformation. The goal of the Army vision is to transition the entire Army into a force that is strategically responsive and dominant at every point of the spectrum of operations. The transformation component will be accomplished in three ways: the Objective Force, the Legacy (current) Force, and the Interim Force. The objective force is not platform driven, but rather the focus is on achieving capabilities that will operate as a “system of systems.” As part of the Interim Force, the US Army plans to begin production of the Interim Armored Vehicle (IAV) in FY02 and field the first unit by May 2002 and complete first unit fielding by 2003 to address the current force’s operational shortfall. The intent is to get forces on the ground quickly with enough combat power to influence a potential situation, so the Army is converting six to eight combat brigades into Interim Brigade Combat Teams (IBCTs). These teams will be a rapidly deployable combat brigade task force that will be centered around the IAV (figure 1), which was recently selected during a source selection. The IAV program is a family of medium armored vehicles intended to equip the Army’s IBCTs.