IDV demos advanced vehicle systems at DSEI

Above: IDV’s new Military Utility Vehicle (MUV).
Courtesy IDV 

Held biennially at London’s Excel Centre, DSEI UK is the nation’s flagship defence event and gives visitors the opportunity to experience the latest innovations in the defence industry. 

IDV is exhibiting the new Military Utility Vehicle (MUV), a purpose-designed, 4×4 light truck family created to fulfil a number of logistics roles and carry payloads up  four-tonnes, the new Medium Tactical Vehicle (MTV) and the VIKING, a dedicated 6×6 Uncrewed Ground Vehicle with a hybrid electric powertrain. 

MTV is ideally suited to fulfil the MoD’s requirement for a Medium Protected Vehicle and offers a solution for the Land Mobility Programme (LMP). MTV’s modular design and extensive scope for modification ensure that it can meet the needs of the UK MoD without any compromise on performance or capability. 

With these two flexible vehicle platforms available in a range of different configurations, IDV can fulfil a wide range of roles and mission requirements including Troop Transport, Cargo Carrier, Medevac, Pick-up, and Command Post. Capable of driving over the toughest terrain and in the harshest environments, both the MTV and MUV are engineered for extreme robustness, ease of maintenance, and low full-life costs while delivering exceptional operational efficiency in every role.

The broad range of configurations and optional equipment kits allow customers to tailor each vehicle to their exact requirements, while maintaining a high degree of commonality and standardisation within the core architecture, therefore minimising additional logistical burden. 

VIKING is a versatile multirole uncrewed platform capable of navigating and executing missions with a wide range of payloads. With its hybrid powertrain and independent suspension designed by IDV’s automotive engineering specialists, VIKING boasts a class-leading power-to-weight ratio and chassis design enabling it to carry heavier payloads at greater speeds over complex terrain. Its spacious, easy access and highly configurable payload area means VIKING can be repurposed rapidly. Roles include last-mile resupply, casualty evacuation, surveillance, CBRN detection and fire support. 

Fulfilling heavy-duty logistics and tactical roles is IDV’s Modular Military Range of trucks. Offering from 4×4 up to 10X10 drivelines, six-cylinder bi-fuel powerplants rated from 350-700 hp, tractor and chassis cabs, and protection against ballistic, mine, and IED threats, it delivers unrivalled adaptability and mobility. The Modular Military Range is widely adopted by European NATO forces and is extensively used in prime mover missions including the transportation of Main Battle Tanks. 

Claudio Catalano, IDV CEO, said: “We are a trusted partner to the global defence industry, and we have built that trust by developing class-leading vehicles that deliver the capability, flexibility, and dependability that those serving in the Armed Forces know they can rely on. The new Multirole Tactical Vehicle and Military Utility Vehicle platforms we’re showcasing at DSEI UK continue that proud tradition and have been designed to serve in a wider range of roles than ever before. 

“We know that those roles are evolving at an ever-faster rate. That’s why we invested in the UK to deliver the pioneering technology essential to be at of cutting-edge of Uncrewed Ground Vehicles and Robotic Autonomous Systems, and they will revolutionise the effectiveness and efficiency of our future programmes.” 

IDV in the UK
Recent conflicts and geopolitical tensions are not only reshaping the technical requirements for land vehicles, but also the procurement processes for them. The MoD’s Land Industrial Strategy highlights the strategic need for a stronger UK defence industry and a greater role for UK supply chains in order to rebuild sovereign capability and operational independence.
 
IDV is committed to providing all the capabilities required for the future vehicle programmes needed by the British Army and supporting the strategic requirements considered critical to MoD investment decision making. 

In particular, recognising that autonomous capability will be a core element of future programmes and is an essential lethality multiplier, IDV continues to build its expertise in this space – for 20 years it has supported the UK MoD with the delivery of its vision in Robotics and Autonomous systems through its investment in UK capability and will continue to do so. 

Uncrewed technology
Developed in the UK, IDV’s Modular Autonomous Control Equipment (MACE) is a full stack system that provides end-to-end capability for uncrewed and autonomous vehicles, for both retrofit and new vehicle programmes, built on 20 years of continuous development and testing, and recently proven in exercises including the Alpine Star exercise in Italy, and the AUKUS TORVICE trials in the UK, USA and Australia. 

Integral to MACE’s game-changing performance is the ATLAS, AI based GNSS denied navigation system. ATLAS uses neural networks with terrain perception, object detection and recognition, and map database creation to provide accurate, cost-efficient and ECM-proof guidance in GNSS-denied and contested environments. 

Serving as both a technology demonstrator for MACE and as a vehicle platform in its own right is VIKING: a multi-role, 6×6 plug-in series hybrid diesel Uncrewed Ground Vehicle (UGV) capable of autonomous, remote and teleoperation across a wide range of use-cases including reconnaissance, last-mile resupply, logistics, and remote weapon station with Human-In-The-Loop control. 

VIKING has a high power-to-weight ratio of 50kW/tonne, an electric-only range of up to 30km, a maximum speed of 45km/h and can carry a 750kg payload. The hybrid system provides exceptional tactical flexibility in contested areas thanks to inherently low noise levels and low thermal signature when running on the motor only – exploiting the inherent advantages of electric propulsion ensures VIKING is very difficult to trace.