General Tactical Vehicles, a joint venture between AM General and General Dynamics [GD] Land Systems, announced yesterday a new semi- active suspension (SAS) system developed for its proposed Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) has passed the 80,000-mile mark in secondary and off-road testing.
GTV is one of six teams competing for the potential $40 billion JLTV contract that could see as many as 100,000 of the family of vehicles fielded to all the services.
GTV’s innovative SAS will give the U.S. military’s family of JLTV vehicles a dynamic, continuous leveling ability while maneuvering, regardless of payload.
“This is revolutionary for a tactical military vehicle, significantly improving vehicle ride and reducing crew fatigue in the toughest off-road conditions,” Don Howe, GTV’s senior program director for JLTV, said. “Our new suspension system will keep the crew focused on their mission and not distracted or impaired by terrain, cornering and speed changes.”
The GTV’s unique suspension system will give the JLTV a number of key advantages including: Ride-height adjustment: To maintain the smooth ride performance, the suspension can automatically raise and lower four corners of the vehicle independently, though unperceivable to the driver and passengers. As the vehicle transitions from on to off-road conditions, the driver can control the vehicle ride height and lower it for greater handling on improved roads or raise the chassis for higher ground clearance when going off road.
In addition, GTV’s SAS detects changing road conditions from off road to secondary roads, and automatically adjusts ride height for optimum performance.
The suspension will adjust pressures at the four corners to reduce chassis pitch caused by braking and reduce roll motion during cornering.
The suspension height is adjustable to facilitate safe tie-down for transportation on military aircraft, amphibious landing craft, cargo ships, and railroad flatcars.
An SAS passive mode prevents ride height adjustments when the vehicle is in low speed with four-wheel low drive initiated.
SAS is checked automatically every time the vehicle is started. The system goes passive if a sensor failure is detected that would impact performance. This ensures the ability to get back home.
In addition to the new suspension system, GTV’s design for JLTV contains many other innovative features such as a lightweight hull with a low-profile and blast-resistance structure designed to survive current and future threats from roadside bombs and explosive devices; plus a digital cockpit with command, control, communications, computing and intelligence (C4I) technologies connecting the crew to other units and systems.
GTV was created to provide the Army and Marines with a low-risk, affordable, technically advanced and economically sustainable solution to their JLTV requirements. In 2006, both AM General and General Dynamics were awarded JLTV Best Technical Approach trade studies by the Office of Naval Research.