thedrifter
12-22-07, 07:08 AM
Light on the wheels but heavy on duty
Long popular among civilians, the all-terrain vehicle has been called up and 'ruggedized' for the U.S. military.
By Susan Carpenter
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
9:05 PM PST, December 21, 2007
Kelly Mixson remembers storms so fierce, they dumped a foot of sand in minutes. The deluge of grit was enough to sink a Humvee.
What worked better in the Middle East sandscape was an ATV, "a lighter vehicle," recalls Mixson, an Air Force master sergeant who served at Balad Air Base in Iraq, "that can cross those areas more easily."
One trip to the California desert on a winter weekend and you see what she means.
All-terrain vehicles are everywhere. Climbing dunes and crawling over rocks and chaparral, these off-road four-wheelers, with their low-pressure tires and all-wheel drive, are impervious to many obstacles. Which is why they're being "ruggedized" and pressed into service by the U.S. armed services.
Since the '80s, when the first four-wheeled "quad" rolled onto the market, America has been having a love affair with the ATV. There are 7 million in use in the U.S., owing to their versatility, ease of use and relatively low cost, which averages about $5,000.
In 2006, almost 900,000 ATVs were sold, more than the number of street bikes and triple the number of dirt bikes purchased in the same year.
Most ATVs are in the private sector, but the U.S. Forest Service, the National Guard, the Border Patrol and other federal agencies also like them. The Defense Department has employed ATVs since the vehicles first became available, but their use has increased significantly with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It really took hold after 9/11," says Mark McCormick, managing director of Polaris Defense, the defense arm of ATV, snowmobile and motorcycle manufacturer Polaris Industries. "Parts of the military were in need of an ability to travel over extreme terrain. Foot, mule, donkeys and other things weren't proving very successful."
The Kawasaki Mule, the Suzuki King Quad 400 and the Polaris MV800 are among the many models that have been deployed across the armed services since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began, including by special operations forces and regular Army and Marine Corps units.
The Polaris MV800, introduced in October, is the first ATV to run on military-standard JP8 fuel, in addition to gasoline and highway diesel. The fuel-injected, 40-horsepower quad is outfitted with a steel exoskeleton (instead of the plastic fairings on consumer models), its ignition is keyless, and the low-pressure tires have been replaced with "run-flat" versions that can lose all their air and still function. It also has a heavy-duty D ring, so it can be airlifted or attached to other equipment.
Polaris has sold "several thousand vehicles" to the military, according to McCormick, "but to really get that additional big step in growth, the Patriot [JP8] engine is fundamental because a broader use and applicability to the military will really come into play when they don't have to make special arrangements to use the gasoline-powered engine."
The company, based in Medina, Minn., is one of six major ATV manufacturers, most of which are Japanese, and the only one that deals directly with the armed services through a dedicated military business unit.
Single-rider ATVs and multiple-passenger utility-type vehicles, or UTVs, occupy the low-cost, lightweight and versatile middle ground between foot soldier and Humvee.
An up-armored M1114 Humvee is 6 feet wide and 18 feet long, weighs 8,000 pounds, can haul 3,000 pounds and costs $150,000. It's best used "in front of the fence" -- in enemy territory -- on roads and in areas that are prone to improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
By contrast, a militarized ATV or UTV is 4 feet wide and easily fits on a helicopter. It weighs 1,000 to 1,700 pounds, can haul 1,000 pounds and costs $10,000 to $20,000. Some have been modified to run more quietly, and therefore more stealthily, on the occasion the vehicles are used for reconnaissance.
"They're a unique product in that they allow you to cover rough terrain," says Tom Kaiser, associate editor of ATV Magazine. "They're a pretty natural fit for a lot of situations."
Dirt, rocks, sand. Grass, mud, hills -- ATVs and UTVs are equipped to handle a diversity of off-road terrain, with heavy-duty suspensions and transmissions that can switch between two- and four-wheel drive.
Specific uses for ATVs or UTVs vary by individual armed service and country of operation. Single-rider ATVs often are used by security forces to patrol fence lines in rough-terrain areas, whereas UTVs frequently are employed as carriers of multiple people and heavier loads.
Because they lack armor, both are commonly used "behind the fence" -- on base -- to move equipment, run supplies and messages and transport ammunition and fuel.
Dirt bikes also are used for such duties, but they don't haul as much, are less stable and are more difficult to ride in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, which are prone to high winds and sandstorms.
"A couple years ago, we had a high demand for military motorcycle training on the combat side," says Kevin Frantum, who teaches ATV and dirt-bike safety classes to the Marines at Camp Pendleton.
"Since Iraq's developed, the training desired has gone way down. As the commanders need different vehicles and different support in theater, training adjusts."
The adjustment: an increase in ATV training.
"It's easier to teach someone how to ride an ATV than a dirt bike," Frantum says. "You don't have a balance issue."
Ease of use is part of the reason ATVs and UTVs are so widely used, not only by the military but by fire and police departments and other government agencies.
"The biggest advantage the ATV has is going where there may not be an actual road," says Mixson, the Air Force master sergeant. "I've used a Humvee to do similar missions, but an ATV gives you the ability to go where a normal vehicle would not be able to go."
susan.carpenter@latimes.com
Ellie
Long popular among civilians, the all-terrain vehicle has been called up and 'ruggedized' for the U.S. military.
By Susan Carpenter
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
9:05 PM PST, December 21, 2007
Kelly Mixson remembers storms so fierce, they dumped a foot of sand in minutes. The deluge of grit was enough to sink a Humvee.
What worked better in the Middle East sandscape was an ATV, "a lighter vehicle," recalls Mixson, an Air Force master sergeant who served at Balad Air Base in Iraq, "that can cross those areas more easily."
One trip to the California desert on a winter weekend and you see what she means.
All-terrain vehicles are everywhere. Climbing dunes and crawling over rocks and chaparral, these off-road four-wheelers, with their low-pressure tires and all-wheel drive, are impervious to many obstacles. Which is why they're being "ruggedized" and pressed into service by the U.S. armed services.
Since the '80s, when the first four-wheeled "quad" rolled onto the market, America has been having a love affair with the ATV. There are 7 million in use in the U.S., owing to their versatility, ease of use and relatively low cost, which averages about $5,000.
In 2006, almost 900,000 ATVs were sold, more than the number of street bikes and triple the number of dirt bikes purchased in the same year.
Most ATVs are in the private sector, but the U.S. Forest Service, the National Guard, the Border Patrol and other federal agencies also like them. The Defense Department has employed ATVs since the vehicles first became available, but their use has increased significantly with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It really took hold after 9/11," says Mark McCormick, managing director of Polaris Defense, the defense arm of ATV, snowmobile and motorcycle manufacturer Polaris Industries. "Parts of the military were in need of an ability to travel over extreme terrain. Foot, mule, donkeys and other things weren't proving very successful."
The Kawasaki Mule, the Suzuki King Quad 400 and the Polaris MV800 are among the many models that have been deployed across the armed services since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began, including by special operations forces and regular Army and Marine Corps units.
The Polaris MV800, introduced in October, is the first ATV to run on military-standard JP8 fuel, in addition to gasoline and highway diesel. The fuel-injected, 40-horsepower quad is outfitted with a steel exoskeleton (instead of the plastic fairings on consumer models), its ignition is keyless, and the low-pressure tires have been replaced with "run-flat" versions that can lose all their air and still function. It also has a heavy-duty D ring, so it can be airlifted or attached to other equipment.
Polaris has sold "several thousand vehicles" to the military, according to McCormick, "but to really get that additional big step in growth, the Patriot [JP8] engine is fundamental because a broader use and applicability to the military will really come into play when they don't have to make special arrangements to use the gasoline-powered engine."
The company, based in Medina, Minn., is one of six major ATV manufacturers, most of which are Japanese, and the only one that deals directly with the armed services through a dedicated military business unit.
Single-rider ATVs and multiple-passenger utility-type vehicles, or UTVs, occupy the low-cost, lightweight and versatile middle ground between foot soldier and Humvee.
An up-armored M1114 Humvee is 6 feet wide and 18 feet long, weighs 8,000 pounds, can haul 3,000 pounds and costs $150,000. It's best used "in front of the fence" -- in enemy territory -- on roads and in areas that are prone to improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
By contrast, a militarized ATV or UTV is 4 feet wide and easily fits on a helicopter. It weighs 1,000 to 1,700 pounds, can haul 1,000 pounds and costs $10,000 to $20,000. Some have been modified to run more quietly, and therefore more stealthily, on the occasion the vehicles are used for reconnaissance.
"They're a unique product in that they allow you to cover rough terrain," says Tom Kaiser, associate editor of ATV Magazine. "They're a pretty natural fit for a lot of situations."
Dirt, rocks, sand. Grass, mud, hills -- ATVs and UTVs are equipped to handle a diversity of off-road terrain, with heavy-duty suspensions and transmissions that can switch between two- and four-wheel drive.
Specific uses for ATVs or UTVs vary by individual armed service and country of operation. Single-rider ATVs often are used by security forces to patrol fence lines in rough-terrain areas, whereas UTVs frequently are employed as carriers of multiple people and heavier loads.
Because they lack armor, both are commonly used "behind the fence" -- on base -- to move equipment, run supplies and messages and transport ammunition and fuel.
Dirt bikes also are used for such duties, but they don't haul as much, are less stable and are more difficult to ride in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, which are prone to high winds and sandstorms.
"A couple years ago, we had a high demand for military motorcycle training on the combat side," says Kevin Frantum, who teaches ATV and dirt-bike safety classes to the Marines at Camp Pendleton.
"Since Iraq's developed, the training desired has gone way down. As the commanders need different vehicles and different support in theater, training adjusts."
The adjustment: an increase in ATV training.
"It's easier to teach someone how to ride an ATV than a dirt bike," Frantum says. "You don't have a balance issue."
Ease of use is part of the reason ATVs and UTVs are so widely used, not only by the military but by fire and police departments and other government agencies.
"The biggest advantage the ATV has is going where there may not be an actual road," says Mixson, the Air Force master sergeant. "I've used a Humvee to do similar missions, but an ATV gives you the ability to go where a normal vehicle would not be able to go."
susan.carpenter@latimes.com
Ellie