USMC Eyes Options for Light Vehicle: As the US Marine Corps returns to its expeditionary roots, it is planning a safety and reliability upgrade — and a possible replacement — for its internally transportable vehicle (ITV), designed to fit in an MV-22 Osprey.
The efforts dovetail with higher demand in operations and the service's Expeditionary Force 21 concept, which emphasizes lighter forces, such as its quick-reaction Marine expeditionary units (MEUs), a Corps official said. When the last dozen or so MEUs have deployed, each has brought as many as 20 ITVs with them.
"Dispersed company operations are our way forward, and with this platform we are finding, with the infantry community, a desire to reduce the load they're carrying on their backs," said Mark Godfrey, transportation branch chief at the Marine Corps' logistics division and capabilities integration directorate.
The efforts also run parallel with US Special Operations Command's effort to develop an Osprey-transportable vehicle.
This fall, the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory is conducting a limited objective experiment and a limited technical assessment to define the need and find vehicles that could fill it. Though originally designed for light-strike missions, such a vehicle is also considered a contender for logistics and casualty evacuation missions.
