Image: Jennifer DeHaan, Army via U.S. DoW ©
The US Army has increased its Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) procurement objective to 11,582 units, an 18-fold rise from the original 2019 target, according to a recent press statement.
From Niche Requirement to Mass Fielding
The ultra-light tactical vehicle carries nine soldiers and their equipment across the battlefield. It was designed to fill a gap left by heavier platforms such as the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and Humvee, which can prove impractical in certain missions.
The programme launched in 2019 with a target of 649 vehicles. That figure rose steadily through soldier feedback gathered under the Army’s Transformation in Contact initiative, reaching 900 by February 2021 and later climbing to 2,593. The Army approved a utility variant in April 2025, pushing the combined objective to 5,733 vehicles before this year’s jump to 11,582.
Susan Fung, deputy project manager for the Maneuver Ground mobile brigade combat team, commented that the growth reflected operational demand rather than requirements creep. She added that soldiers “validated the capability in the combat training environments and demanded more.”
Speed Over Bureaucracy
John Hufstedler, product director for ground mobility vehicles, commented that the programme prioritised transportability, mobility and payload from the outset. He added that leadership resisted pressure to add extra equipment, preserving the vehicle’s full nine-seat capacity for missions.
By relying on commercial off-the-shelf components rather than custom military specifications, the Army fielded the first ISV unit within 24 months, a fraction of the four-to-ten-year timeline typical of traditional acquisition.
Next Steps
Fung said the team is now developing an ISV heavy variant with enhanced onboard power generation to support future command and control equipment.
Learn more on the U.S. DoW website
