Storm Search and Rescue Tactical Vehicle
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The Storm Search and Rescue Tactical Vehicle (SRTV) is an all-terrain light military vehicle developed by the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It was the winner of the Guardian Angel Air-Deployable Rescue Vehicle (GAARV) competition awarded by the
Air Force Life Cycle Management Center The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), headquartered at Wright-Patterson AFB, is one of six centers reporting to the Air Force Materiel Command.AIR FORCE LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT CENTER (AFLCMC) Posted 8/3/2012 Printable Fact Sheet L ...
(AFLCMC). The competition was named for the pararescuemen and combat rescue officers known as the "Guardian Angel Weapon System." The Storm SRTV is to be used by the
United States Air Force Pararescue Pararescuemen (also known as PJs) are United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Air Combat Command (ACC) operators tasked with recovery and medical treatment of personnel in humanitarian and combat environments. These speci ...
.


History

In 2004, BC Customs (BCC) designed the SRTV-3 for USAF Guardian Angel Forces and fielded it in 2007. The SRTV was included in the
Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...
's (ANG) FY09 Weapons Systems Modernization Requirements documents specifically for Guardian Angel use. BCC worked with the ANG on Airdrop and multiple MDS (aircraft type) ITV certifications while awaiting the
Air Combat Command Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and i ...
(ACC) GAARV Solicitation process."SRTV from BC Customs"
Soldier Systems, August 1st, 2011.
In February 2012, the
Aeronautical Systems Center The Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) is an inactivated Air Force product center that designed, developed and delivered weapon systems and capabilities for U.S. Air Force, other U.S. military, allied and coalition-partner warfighters. ASC managed ...
(ASC) solicited proposals for a Guardian Angel Air Rescue Vehicle (GAARV). The purpose was to acquire an asset for air-deployable, surface rescue platform capable of maneuvering over adverse terrain in order to search for and recover Isolated Personnel (IP) and/or equipment, while also providing the capability of transporting the rescue team and the IP from an area of high threat to a defendable location for recovery by aircraft or self recovery to the final destination. On September 25, 2012, HDT showed the Storm SRTV for the first time at the Modern Day Marine show. It addressed the requirements of the Air Force National Guard (ANG) Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) units, and Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The SRTV can carry a tactical special team of six, plus three passengers on litters"HDT Presents the Storm SRTV for Special Ops"
Defense Update, September 25, 2012.
or four crew members and four patients."Combat rescue vehicle for medical evacuations unveiled"
Air Force Times, October 2nd, 2013.
A team is composed of
Combat Rescue Officer Combat Rescue Officer (CRO) is a Special Warfare Officer career field in the United States Air Force. Its Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) is 19ZXC and it was created to strengthen USAF Special Warfare personnel recovery capabilities by providing ...
(CRO),
Pararescue Pararescuemen (also known as PJs) are United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Air Combat Command (ACC) operators tasked with recovery and medical treatment of personnel in humanitarian and combat environments. These speci ...
(PJ), and Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) careerfields."USAF Selects Storm SRTV as GAARV"
Soldier Systems, January 19, 2013.
On January 17, 2013, the USAF announced the selection of the HDT Storm SRTV as the GAARV. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) awarded the company's Expeditionary Systems Group the Guardian Angel Air-Deployable Rescue Vehicle (GAARV) contract to produce the HDT Storm Search and Rescue Tactical Vehicles (SRTV). On August 28, 2013, the first production vehicle was formally unveiled in Geneva, Ohio. The first two vehicles had started safety certification testing. On November 18, 2013, the USAF's 88th Test and Evaluations Squadron (TES) in
Nellis Air Force Base Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military ...
, Nevada took delivery of the initial set of the GAARV for operational testing. Tests were scheduled to commence in March 2014 and will validate the vehicle's suitability and effectiveness for the Guardian Angel (GA) weapon system. The 88th TES is focused on maximising
HH-60 Pave Hawk The Sikorsky MH-60G/HH-60G Pave Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. It is a derivative of the UH-60 Black Hawk and incorporates the US Air Force PAVE electronic system ...
,
HC-130 Hercules The Lockheed HC-130 is an extended-range, search and rescue (SAR)/combat search and rescue (CSAR) version of the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, with two different versions operated by two separate services in the U.S. armed forc ...
, and the GA weapon systems capability.


Mission

Guardian Angel is an USAF non-aircraft weapon system program designed to execute USAF Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) and Personnel Recovery (PR) across the full spectrum of military operations. Currently, Guardian Angels can reach casualties by parachute or helicopter. The new vehicle enables the team to be dropped off well outside the range of the enemy’s anti-aircraft weapons to infiltrate, exfiltrate, and recover downed aircrew and personnel. It will expand the radius of operation of air-assets. The vehicle would make the Guardian Angels susceptible to a different style of
Search and Rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
(SAR) traps, where an enemy would try to purposely draw in rescue personnel. They may set up a different kind of trap with
improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...
s (IEDs) or vehicle-borne IEDs. Operating from a vehicle offers more avenues to get to a victim and get out, as well as transport all the gear necessary.


Design

The Storm SRTV is based on an original design by BC Customs (BCC) of Utah, originally submitted for the Ground Mobility Vehicle System (GMV 1.1) competition hosted by SOCOM. It is in the tactical family of SXOR Mobility Vehicles of SXOR Motorsports. It is a highly mobile 2-door
off-roading Off-roading is the activity of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain. Types of off-roading range in intensity, from leisure drives with unmodified vehicl ...
pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...
design with
all-wheel-drive An all-wheel drive vehicle (AWD vehicle) is one with a powertrain capable of providing power to all its wheels, whether full-time or on-demand. The most common forms of all-wheel drive are: ;1x1 : All unicycles Reflecting one axle with one w ...
. The light-weight tactical vehicle has a high performance
mid-engine In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle. History The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive format can be considered the original layout of ...
for maximum stability with 430 horsepower and 425 lb-ft of torque. The SRTV can exceed double its curb weight in payload while performing missions. The engine will run using standard gasoline, 87 Octane or higher, diesel, and JP-8. The SRTV is constructed of MIL-STD aircraft tubing, minimizing weight, maximizing strength, and providing a skeletal base for multiple types of
commercial off-the-shelf Commercial off-the-shelf or commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) products are packaged or canned (ready-made) hardware or software, which are adapted aftermarket to the needs of the purchasing organization, rather than the commissioning of ...
(COTS) ballistic and blast armoring. The vehicle utilizes identical components with multiple body configurations, hence, it provides multi-role configurations. The SRTV is measured to be carried internally by the M/HC-130P/N/J,
C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...
/
C-130J The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems. The C-130J is the newest v ...
,
KC-130J The Lockheed Martin (previously Lockheed) KC-130 is a family of the extended-range tanker version of the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. The KC-130J is the latest variant operated by the United States Marine Corps (USMC), with 48 delivered ...
and C-17 fixed-wing aircraft as well as the
CH-47 The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name ...
and
CH-53 The CH-53 Sea Stallion (Sikorsky S-65) is an American family of heavy-lift transport helicopters designed and built by the American manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. It was originally developed in response to a request from the United States ...
helicopters."HDT Storm™ SRTV Light Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle"
HDT Global Brochure version 1.1, 2014
It is too wide for the
V-22 The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed to combine the functionality of a convention ...
. The V-22 compatible version can carry a team of three with two patients on litters in the roll protected cage. The vehicle can be delivered through various methods including Low Velocity Aerial Delivery (LAPS) or via Joint Precision Airdrop System (JPADS), guided parachutes, methods. The SRTV has a range of up to 350 miles, and can operate in difficult environmental conditions, and including at 10,000 ft (3,048 m) above mean sea level. The vehicle can travel at a speed over 100 mph and climb vertical grades over 70 degrees, move on side slopes angles of over 60 degrees and climb vertical steps over three feet. It can turn on a 20' (6.1 m) diameter curb to curb. Maneuverability is enhanced with cutting brakes allowing U-turns on steep hills within the length and width of the vehicle, also allowing high speed J-turns. The vehicle provides rollover safety for all occupants without limiting mission operational performance. Storm can carry up to three litters inside the rollover protection frame, without modifications, while still maintaining 360° of weapon field of fire.


Weapons

There are weapons mount options: Fore and aft crew-served weapon mounts, 360 degree turret with roll protection, and standard swing arm mounts. BCC has been working with Garwood Industries (GI) to integrate their
M134 Minigun The M134 Minigun is an American 7.62×51mm NATO six-barrel rotary machine gun with a high rate of fire (2,000 to 6,000 rounds per minute). It features a Gatling-style rotating barrel assembly with an external power source, normally an electric ...
, FN Herstal to integrate their light Weapon Stations, and Military Systems Group (MSG) for multiple weapon stations.


Variants

The BCC SRTV-5, nicknamed the “Warthog”, has an internal crew of three with options for up to two additional crew and two internal (roll protected) patients. BCC had fielded an SRTV-5 variant to the US Border Patrol special operations group BORSTAR. The BCC SRTV-22 (Osprey) variant has an internal crew of three with options for two additional crew or two (roll protected) patients, but loses either one crew member or patient as required. The variant is designed to quickly load and unload from the V-22 with no major adjustments other than collapsing the roll protection. Additionally, it is less than 900 lbs per wheel, making it ideal for use as an Internally Transportable Vehicle (ITV) and can be ordered with the V-22 trailer.


Non-military usage

In 2022, the
Extreme E Extreme E is an FIA-sanctioned international off-road racing series that uses spec silhouette electric SUVs to race in remote parts of the world, such as the Saudi Arabian desert or the Arctic. All racing locations are chosen to raise awareness ...
racing series began using two heavily modified Storm SRTVs as rescue vehicles for crashed drivers. Dubbed the "MDD-1" and "MDD-2", the vehicles' repurposing was performed by Extreme E team
Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...
and
Whelen Engineering Company The Whelen Engineering Company is an American corporation that designs and manufactures audio and visual warning equipment for automotive, aviation, and mass notification industries worldwide. Founded in a Deep River, Connecticut garage in 1952 ...
. The Storm SRTV makes appearances in the 2013 multiplayer action-adventure game ''
Grand Theft Auto Online ''Grand Theft Auto Online'' is an online multiplayer action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 1 October 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, 18 November 2014 for PlayStation 4 and Xbo ...
'' as "Barrage" and the 2021 first-person-shooter ''
Battlefield 2042 ''Battlefield 2042'' is a first-person shooter, developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It is the twelfth main installment in the ''Battlefield'' series and was released on November 19, 2021, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Wind ...
'' as a "LATV4 Recon" light attack vehicle.


See also

*
General Dynamics Flyer The Flyer Advanced Light Strike Vehicle platform has been developed by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS), in partnership with Flyer Defense LLC, for the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Ground Mobility Vehicle Program ...
* Growler (vehicle) * Ultra Light Combat Vehicle *
SPECTRE light vehicle The SPECTRE is a lightweight all-terrain vehicle originally intended to replace the AM General High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle ( HMMWV) in some roles. As development of the Joint All-Terrain Modular Mobility Asset (JAMMA) vehicle (later ...


References


External links


HDT Storm™ SRTV
{{Post-WWII US Soft Vehicles Military vehicles of the United States Military light utility vehicles Off-road vehicles All-wheel-drive vehicles 2010s cars Military vehicles introduced in the 2010s