The U.S. Marine Corps plans on giving infantry units 144 new off-road vehicles that recently went through testing with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division while in Poland.
Polaris Defense’s MRZR-D ATV went through the training gauntlet during NATO exercises this summer and is primed to become a part of 18 Marine infantry units. A spokesman for the company was on hand at the Modern Day Marine 2016 expo in Quantico, Virginia, this week discuss the ultra-light tactical vehicle.
“We are not comparing this to a JLTV or an up-armored Humvee or anything like that. It’s designed to stay off road; it’s designed to enable you to be unpredictable,” Joaquin Salas told Military.com on Tuesday. “It’s a mule. It’s designed to be there at the most tactical level.”
Military officials like the MRZR-D because of its design — the four-seat vehicle was engineered to fit inside V-22 Ospreys for long-distance deployments — and its ability to carry a 1,500-pound payload.
“When [troops] get to the ground they are not stuck with only their feet to move logistics,” Mr. Salas told the website.
Polaris will begin producing the vehicles in October.
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