GM enters Combat Mode as it hopes to woo British Army with new squad vehicle
The Armed Forces' vehicle fleet is about to undergo a massive overhaul.
As part of the MOD's Land Mobility Programme, 19 vehicles have been earmarked for retirement in 2030.
Companies like General Motors are hoping to pick up lucrative contracts to replace some of them – with GM's Infantry Squad Vehicle being one of them.
The secret mode
On the dashboard there is an intriguing little button. It simply says "Combat Mode".
"What does that do?" I ask my instructor, Pat, as we strap ourselves into this £180,000 military vehicle.
"I can't possibly talk about that, that's top secret," he says with a warm Irish laugh.
I've come to Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire to test drive General Motors' ISV, an all-terrain beast that it's hoping to sell to the British military.
One big change is the number of vehicles the Armed Forces are going to use.
Filling the Armed Forces' shopping basket
Currently, the Army has more than a dozen light patrol and protected platforms. In future, that could well be cut to just three.
The MOD's shopping list includes three different types of vehicles.
As well as a new Light Mobility Vehicle to replace the Land Rover, it's also after a protected version to replace the Foxhound, Panther and Husky.
And with the Mastiff, Wolfhound and Ridgeback also leaving service, there's a need for a new Medium Protected Mobility Vehicle weighing less than 20 tonnes as well.
General Motors is one of the companies bidding for that LMV category, and to strengthen its pitch, it has teamed up with two other defence giants, BAE Systems and NP Aerospace, to form what they call Team Lionstrike.
If GM did win the contract, BAE would assemble a British military version of this ISV at one of its factories in Yorkshire, while NP Aerospace would take on the maintenance side of the deal.
In service with the US and Canada already
To show off some of the vehicles it's offering, GM invited a few journalists to Bedfordshire for a test drive.
As we sped around Millbrook's ridiculously muddy off-road test track, Bradley Watters, a senior manager with GM Defence, told me all about the Infantry Squad Vehicle.
"The US Army has it deployed with the 82nd Airborne, the 101st Airborne, as well as the Rangers," he told me.
"And the Canadians actually have it forward-deployed with their Nato brigade in Latvia."
The big selling point of the squad vehicle, according to GM, is the fact that it's adapted from an existing off-road platform, the Colorado ZR2 pick-up truck.
"It's about building and delivering at scale, but also at the right price point," explained Mr Watters.
"And that's where you look at vehicles that we call MILCOTS – military, commercial, off-the-shelf – and the ability for you to be able to take what is commercially available, slightly modify it and utilise it for military operations."
This, says GM, is a far more cost-effective way of procuring military vehicles than designing and building a model from scratch.
Capability versus the competition
Then it was my turn to take the ISV for a spin.
"It's so easy to drive, you could take it to the shops," said Pat, as we eased over the top of a 60 degree slope.
Having driven a few Land Rovers, I can confirm he was right. With an automatic gearbox and a gutsy 2.8L turbo diesel engine, it feels just like driving a rather plush pick-up truck.
But of course, GM Defence is up against some stiff competition.
The Thales Hawkei, which is in use with the Australian Defence Force, is another strong contender, as is Babcock's General Logistics Vehicle, a militarised version of the Toyota Land Cruiser.
The decision on what replaces the Land Rover, and several other vehicles, is expected in October next year, with the Armed Forces' new vehicles due to enter service some time before 2029.
As for Combat Mode? Well, I never did find out what that mystery button does.
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