GM Defense is the military product subsidiary of General Motors, and it’s doing some wild things. For example, one of its current projects is the ZH2 hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric truck, based on a Chevrolet Silverado chassis. The concept is to provide a stealthy drive system that lowers the truck’s noise, smell, and thermal signature dramatically while providing extreme off-road capability. Taking that concept further, however, is the Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) concept.
Rather than being an offensive vehicle, the UGV is planned as a silent logistics and casualty evacuation tool, but the possibilities are much broader.
The UGV Is Built On A Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD Platform
GM Defense UGV ConceptGM Defense
GM Defense introduced the UGV concept at the US Army’s AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition, and while the press release talks about logistics and casualty evacuation, the display had the UGV kitted out with a counter-drone laser weapon and an acoustic drone-detection sensor. As we can see, it arrives as a chassis with only a flat bed and a front end, so it can be built out for any purpose.
“The modern defense landscape demands advanced capability, rapid fielding and sustainable scale. We do not begin with a blank sheet of paper. By transferring GM’s world-class engineering, supply chain and manufacturing scale directly to the service member, we are transforming customer needs into mission-ready capability faster than ever before.”
– Steve duMont, president of GM Defense.
While the UGV concept is based on the Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD Platform, Chevrolet doesn’t offer a heavy-duty all-electric. The platform is based around a skateboard chassis, and as it is unmanned, that means it is autonomous and uses drive-by-wire controls. The specs show a 100-kWh rechargeable energy-storage system and an 8,000-pound maximum payload.
How Are Unmanned Vehicles Used?
The language is deliberate here, using the term unmanned rather than autonomous. Not all unmanned vehicles are autonomous and not all autonomous vehicles are unmanned. Unmanned indicates that the point is to avoid putting people in danger, but still be controlled by people. The military does use unmanned vehicles already, as do firefighters and other emergency services.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters
The General Motors Defense Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) went into service with US armed forces in 2021, with thousands expected to land up in service aorund the world.GM Defense
Mass deployment of unmanned vehicles is still a way off, but we’re seeing more than proofs of concept now. In this case, the UGV is currently in trials and GM Defense aims to have a technology demonstrator of the UGV ready for Army use by June 2027. But, the bigger picture is selling trucks to the military. Like commercial fleets, a military contract is a big earner for automakers, and competition is fierce.
At the same time as showing the UGV concept, the US Army’s planned requirement for its Infantry Squad Vehicle program has jumped from 649 units to a revised order of 12,000 vehicles. As a result, GM Defense expects its Infantry Squad Vehicle Utility (ISV-U) to come out of prototype stage and make its way to 39 active-duty and National Guard mobile brigades.
