Boeing’s [BA] Phantom Works division is showing off its Phantom Badger internally transportable vehicle after it completed more than 5,000 miles of durability testing this summer and continues to gain various transportability certifications from the military services.
The Phantom Badger was designed to meet the Marine Corps’ need for an ITV that fits in its MV-22 Osprey, but the 5-foot-wide truck is also compatible with the Chinook helicopter, C-17 and a range of other aircraft, spokesman Garrett Kasper said Sept. 24 at the Modern Day Marine military exposition at Marine Corps Base Quantico.
The vehicle has four-wheel steering that allows for tight circles and a crabbing maneuver, and the durability testing proved it was survivable in virtually any type of terrain a V-22 might land in.
“What it really did was validate the design of basically the frame and chassis,” program manager John Chicoli said of the durability testing at the Nevada Auto Test Center. “No matter what the terrain was, it’s survivable, no issues with that.”
Aside from durability, the company has spent significant time proving the ITV’s transportability. Chicoli said the company has worked with both Naval Air Systems Command and the Army’s Natick Soldier Systems Center for air-drop testing, slingload testing and V-22 internal transportability testing.
“We’re acquiring all those certifications right now so we can get to all those places in the world” that the durability testing proved the ITV could navigate, Chicoli said.
Kasper said the company has sold “some” vehicles so far, but he could not name the customer or elaborate on the details of the contract. Kasper and Chicoli said the company was demonstrating the vehicle to the Marine Corps, U.S. Special Operations Command and international customers to let people see what Phantom Badger can do up close and decide if it would meet their needs.
Kasper said Boeing has been working with MSI Defense Solutions in North Carolina to design the vehicle, which also comes with different modules for the rear section of the truck. A utility mode allows the driver to carry around cargo or passengers, and a litter mode includes racks for two to six patients in a medevac mission. Kasper said it takes about 15 minutes to undo six bolts and swap out modules to switch from one mission to another.
“Your mission one day might be an assault mission. Your mission one day might be escort and just utility. Your mission the next day might be medical evacuation, or some combination thereof,” Kasper said. “So to have the flexibility to switch out within a matter of 15 to 20, 30 minutes at the most, that gives the warfighter a lot of flexibility and also offers the affordability.”
He added that the companies were looking forward to working with future customers to design even more modules if needed for missions they haven’t yet considered.