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By: Robert Janis
The U.S. Military’s
New Secret Weapon -- ATVs!
It almost seems a given. All-terrain vehicles
(ATVs) are perfect vehicles for military use.
The four-wheeler machines could be used to haul
things within military camps and could be used
to overcome tough terrain our troops encounter.
However, according to Justin Burke, marketing
communications specialist for Polaris Defense,
the division of Polaris Industries that sells
ATVs to the military, after some starts and
stops, the U.S. military didn’t really begin to
use ATVs until the early 2000s.
The industry started selling ATVs or
side-by-sides directly to the military sometime
after the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon in
Washington, D.C. and the World Trade Center in
New York on September 11, 2001. Sales steadily
increased during the U.S. involvement in wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan. “Polaris first started
selling ATVs to the U.S. military in 2004,” said
Burke.
The reason the military has begun using ATVs
is still a little unclear. The military finding
themselves in desert terrain, we assume they
realized that they needed something to fill the
gap between the foot soldier and the Humvee. A
natural fit for that was the ATV,” said Burke.
Polaris now sells a variety of ATV models to
the U.S. military. They include standard
consumer products like the Sportsman XP and
models that are modified specifically for
military use. Polaris calls these ATVs Military
Commercial Off-The-Shelf Machines. These include
the MV 700 4x4, a Ranger version dubbed the
MVRS700, and the RZR SW a newer model, which is
based off the Polaris RZR S. Polaris modifies
these models in-house to Department of Defense
requirements.
“The Defense Department approached Polaris in
2002 to build a military specific ATV, and that
became the MV700 4x4,” explained Burke. “The
base, chassis, and engine package are what you
would have found on the Polaris 700cc Twin
Sportsman. We added front and rear winches, dual
gas tank for extended range, run-flat tires,
heavy-duty front and rear racks, a joint
receiver hitch and some more military specific
stuff like infrared lighting, black-out
lighting, a weapon mount, the ability to haul a
NATO stretcher, saddle bags, and more; and we
reinforced the frame, racks, and floor board.”
Burke noted that Polaris sells other ATVs to the
military which are then modified by a third
party vendor. These ATVs have multiple
configurations such as Fire units and Search and
Rescue. The third party vendors who do the
modifications specialize in each of these
disciplines.
Burke said that there are about 1,000 MV700
ATVs active in Afghanistan which are being used
for logistical support as well as tactical
operations. This includes combat.
Burke concluded that the market is growing
and currently the industry sells from 2,000 to
3,000 machines to the U.S. military a year.
Polaris Defense Web Site:
www.polarisdefense.com
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