GM Defense and Ricardo win U.S. Army Infantry Squad Vehicle production contract

The U.S. Army awards GM Defense LLC $214.3M contract to produce the Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) – positioning Ricardo to support key product logistics and fielding requirements

The U.S. Army announced today that GM Defense, along with Ricardo as its strategic partner, has been awarded a $214.3M production contract to build, field, and sustain the Army’s new Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV).  The ISV is designed to provide rapid ground mobility transportation in a highly flexible, light, all-terrain, air-droppable vehicle intended for use by a nine-solider infantry squad moving within “close battle areas”. The GM Defense ISV is founded on the award-winning 2020 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 platform and leverages 90 percent commercial off-the-shelf parts, resulting in high manufacturing efficiencies, ease of maintenance, and a low risk global supply chain.
 
In 2019, GM Defense partnered with Ricardo after the U.S. Army awarded three $1 million contracts to competing industry consortia to develop ISV prototypes for testing, evaluation, and down-selection for the developmental testing, solider evaluations, and a rigorous source selection process, the U.S. Army has announced the selection of GM Defense as the winner of the ISV full production contract. 
 
Ricardo will lead the ISV Integrated Product Support (IPS) portions of the contract, which include technical manual development, new equipment training, provisioning, total package fielding, and field service support. In addition, Ricardo will assist GM Defense in technical areas that include safety, reliability, and cybersecurity.
 
“The entire Ricardo team is proud to continue our work with GM Defense on the ISV contract, and to provide our infantry troops in harm’s way with this highly-capable, and much needed vehicle,” said Chet Gryczan, president of Ricardo Defense. “Being awarded the ISV program is a testament to Ricardo’s success in developing and delivering key integrated product logistics and life cycle sustainment plans for our customers’ top priorities. The ISV will showcase the speed at which the Army can rapidly produce, field, and sustain new equipment by leveraging a proven commercially available vehicle and the global supply chain infrastructure of General Motors, supported by Ricardo.”

“Combining Ricardo’s experience with military fleet readiness, performance, and sustainment with GM’s expertise in engineering, manufacturing, and product quality has created a powerful team we can be proud of,” said David Albritton, president of GM Defense. “Ultimately, our combined goal is to provide the best-in-class product and sustainability to help ensure our warfighters have confidence with the ISV throughout its lifecycle on and off the battlefield.”