Army rolling out smart truck
- By George I. Seffers
- Jan 25, 2001
The Army is preparing to unveil a new concept truck—smarTruck—that is
touted as having "James Bond-like" capabilities.
The light tactical vehicle, a production model Ford F-350, is designed
to provide the Army with an electronic platform to test, integrate and showcase
cutting-edge technologies entering the market from the automotive industry.
The initiative allows the Army to insert the latest wireless communication,
situational awareness and soldier safety technologies into its tactical
wheeled vehicles. The objective is to demonstrate these technologies through
the integration of commercially available intelligent subsystems using a
standard data link.
The truck is capable of disorienting the enemy with its headlights,
fending off attackers with electrified door handles, and emitting smoke
screens to obscure a pursuer's line of vision, among other things.
It will be unveiled at 2 p.m. March 5 at the Society
of Automotive Engineers' World Congress in Detroit. The truck will be at
the Tank-automotive and Armaments Command's
National Automotive Center booth.
The National Automotive Center
is an element of TACOM and is the Army's focal point to develop automotive
technologies in partnership with industry, academia and other government
agencies. It integrates commercial and military research to improve the
performance of military ground vehicles. It accelerates the exchange and
implementation of automotive technologies by fostering relationships and
forming cost-sharing partnerships.