18 décembre 2020 | International, Terrestre
GM Defense begins renovating N.C. facility to build ISVs
By Christen McCurdy Dec. 17 (UPI) -- GM Defense announced Thursday that it has started renovation of an existing General Motors building to support production of the Infantry Squad Vehicle, an all-terrain troop carrier designed to transport a nine-soldier infantry squad. The 750,000-square-foot facility is located in Concord, N.C. Construction at the facility is likely to continue into early spring, with the production line delivering vehicles in April. "We have tremendous momentum behind our ISV win, featuring a first-of-its-kind tactical wheeled vehicle that gives our Soldiers speed, durability and performance to enhance mission success," said Tim Herrick, interim president of GM Defense. "GM Defense is responsible for the design, engineering and manufacturing of the ISV. This facility will enable us to meet our customer's timeline for delivery while continuing our journey to bring commercial technologies and transformative mobility solutions to the defense market." The 5,000-pound ISV is based on the 2020 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 midsize truck architecture and uses 90 percent commercial-off-the-shelf parts, but is engineered to fulfill military requirements and designed to provide rapid ground mobility. The ISV is light enough to be sling loaded from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter and compact enough to fit inside a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, and includes a Rollover Protection System for transportability on any battleground. The facility is slated to manufacture 649 ISVs in support of the production of the 2,065 vehicles GM Defense is contracted to deliver per a $214.3 million award awarded to GM Defense in June. The deal is the first major award since GM created a defense subsidiary in 2017. GM Defense delivered its first ISV to the Army in October. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/12/17/GM-Defense-begins-renovating-NC-facility-to-build-ISVs/4241608253661/