Marines call off light truck procurement: Corps says it wants 'transformational technology' for future tactical vehicles.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.

Delays in the development of the V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft have prompted the cancellation of the Marine Corps' light truck program known as the internally-transportable vehicle.

The ITV program began two years ago, with a goal of purchasing up to 2,700 light trucks for Marines and Special Operations Forces. The vehicle would be small enough to fit inside the cargo bay of the V-22 Osprey aircraft and heavy-lift helicopters. At that time, the Osprey was scheduled to enter the fleet in fiscal year 2003. Given the short time available to develop a new vehicle from scratch, the Corps selected, in 2000, two commercial vehicles as candidates for ITV--the DaimlerChrysler four-wheel drive Gelandeswagen and the Flyer II, made by the Flyer Corp., in Los Angeles. As an interim vehicle to fill the gap until the ITV was chosen, the Marines purchased about 90 Gelandeswagen.

A series of V-22 crashes, meanwhile, led to a major redesign of the aircraft and delays in the test program. The deployment schedule of the Osprey remains open-ended, pending its performance in upcoming tests. Under the circumstances, the Corps decided that there was no point in hurrying to buy an ITV.

"The delay in the V-22 program has eliminated the need to field an ITV in the near term, and gives us the opportunity to reassess our acquisition strategy for such a vehicle," said a Marine Corps Systems Command spokesman. "Our initial strategy ... left little flexibility for us to look beyond what was then available in the commercial marketplace. We now have the opportunity to focus beyond those limits and actively pursue a vehicle that incorporates transformational technology."

During the summer of 2001, the Marines tested the two ITV candidates. "Our testing showed that although the vehicles generally met the operational requirements, they were marginally suitable due to width, weight and operational restrictions that the vehicles would place on aircraft operations," the Marine spokesman said.

Rushing to buy a vehicle now, the Marines reasoned, would deny them the opportunity to take advantage of next-generation vehicle technology in areas such as suspension, power train, signature and sensors. The availability of these technologies, said the spokesman, would help the Corps "meet all critical operational requirements without the tactical compromises that present ITV candidates impose."

A military vehicle expert who spoke on background said that the ITV cancellation was a smart move by...