Kitted Out: Special Operators Look for Easy Vehicle Upgrades.

• Author: Gourley, Scott R.

From taking down adversaries to evacuating casualties, Special Operations Command elements rely on the development and addition of vehicle integration kits to enhance or expand many of their tactical capabilities.

Bolt-on or other post-production modifications to provide additional weaponry, cargo capacity or sensing capabilities can be found on a range of light and medium vehicle platforms currently in use by special operators.

As for the smaller platforms, the Light Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle has featured several modifications for commandos in the field.

The current all-terrain vehicle is a follow-on program to a lightweight vehicle family that has been in special operations forces inventories for several years.

SOCOM recently outlined several desired modification kits in a performance specification table, which highlighted the desired ability for the vehicle "to include a field-installable weapons mounting provision for Military Systems Group H24-6 Machine Gun Mounts"--further identifying the "threshold" requirement to mount the MSG SA-10 swing arm at the front and rear passenger positions as well as an "objective" requirement for mounting provisions for an optional rear-facing seating position.

Additionally, an identified alternative for the objective solution involved "mounting provisions for medium and/or heavy machine guns located on top of the [roll-over protection system] with a 150-degree forward field of fire."

Other early identified capabilities ranged from a "field configurable... track conversion system to allow high mobility in deep snow" to the threshold capability "of securely carrying one standard military Talon II model 90C litter loaded with one fully equipped male SOF operator longitudinally in the rear of the vehicle" with an objective desire to double that litter capability, the document said.

In early June 2020, Polaris Government and Defense announced its receipt of a General Services Administration contract for the company to satisfy the follow-on requirement.

Since that announcement, the company has publicly displayed several of the specialized modifications developed for that platform.

Nick Francis, vice president, Polaris Government and Defense, said the MRZR Alpha is "our most modular vehicle to date in terms of mission configurations."

"We have the cab kit on the vehicle, and we have climate control inside that cab kit as well, to expand the use cases for this type of vehicle and give some occupant...