Lockheed Martin [LMT] unveils its armored, modular Havoc 8×8, a combat proven vehicle of modular design that the company is offering for the Marine Personnel Carrier at the Modern Day Marine Exhibition.
“The Marines have a vision, they want a commercial-off-the-shelf vehicle that meets requirements that they can get in place quickly, and we believe we have that solution for them,” Ric Magness, manager Havoc 8×8 (MPC) Program Director for Lockheed Martin, told Defense Daily.
In mid-August the company received an eight-month, $3.5 million contract from the Marines to test and validate the Havoc as part of the MPC program.
During the evaluation, the Marines will verify human factors and amphibious capabilities of Lockheed Martin’s vehicle at the Amphibious Vehicle Test Branch at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Other protection evaluations will occur at the Nevada Automotive Test Center (NATC) in Carson City, Nev., and Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
Lockheed Martin is vying with BAE Systems, SAIC [SAI] and General Dynamics [GD] for the vehicle program.
Lockheed Martin has teamed with Finland’s Patria, the design authority on the Havoc, which is based on the 8×8 Armored Modular Vehicle in service in six countries today. The vehicle has been deployed with Polish forces in Afghanistan, Magness said. In joint operations with U.S. forces, it has seen quite a bit of combat.
The modular vehicle can get up to 60-65 miles an hour on land, and five knots on water.
Havoc has a removable roof plate, and on exhibit will be some of the choices for a weapons station. To date, the Marines have not made a specific choice. Havoc can use a one or two-man turret, such as Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace’s Common Remotely Operated Weapons Station (CROWS) or Textron’s [TXT] one-man turret now on its Armored Security Vehicle. Another choice could be the Marines’ 120mm mortar. It’s very easy to replace the weapons station, Magness said.
Patria is “particularly proud” that the “95 percentile U.S. Marine” with his body armor, helmet and kit, fits comfortably in the vehicle, he said. Patria made sure the vehicle would be able to accommodate nine U.S. Marines in the back. As well, the vehicle is big enough to carry two days-worth of stores onboard, such as water, ammunition and food.
Also, Patria has added cameras on the hull about the level of the water, so when Havoc is in the water, Marines inside can see the horizon, or what’s nearby, something that helps stave off seasickness. Additionally, in the water, the vehicle’s eight wheels don’t fold, they “droop,” forming a sort of keel, which helps stability, he said.
Lockheed Martin has done much testing on its own, using internal funding.
This first contract with the Marines will demonstrate performance, including such things as human factors, the ability to carry nine Marines in full kit. The same vehicle also will undergo amphibious testing, a repeat of company tests done in 2009. Here the vehicle will demonstrate the ability to “swim,” and plunge the front end into a wave and come back up. The company team does the driving and any needed repair, while Marines will provide the test monitoring and equipment.
After this part of the work is done, Lockheed Martin will deliver a blast hull and armor coupons to the NATC where they will be subject to direct fire, blast, and fire. They must be able to survive different threats.
“The Marines are just trying see what the state-of-the-art is today,” to refine the requirements for the next phase—engineering and manufacturing development (EMD), Magness said.
For EMD, Dowty said Patria would build the vehicles in Finland. Should the team win the competition, Patria would build the first few production vehicles in Finland, but then the line would transition to the United States, where Lockheed Martin would use its production facilities in Dallas, Texas and Camden, Ark.