It’s always intriguing to me to imagine what transportation systems and vehicles are going to look like in the future. A prime place to look for those ‘leading indicators’ is the Department of Defense, where much of the heavy-lifting R&D gets done---think, for one example, of GeoPositioning Systems! 

So we got a glimpse of what’s en route recently when the Marines announced a replacement for their MTVR (Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement), its all-terrain vehicle (carries 15 tons on highway, 7 tons off-road).

As far as branding goes, it ain’t a Madison Avenue launch (the name of the new vehicle is LVSR (Logistic Vehicle System Replacement) but its does get a pretty hot tag line from its manufacturer Oshkosh: “Because the Highway to Freedom Isn’t Paved!”

When you get to the operational specs, its pretty impressive: independent suspension, databus self-diagnostics, a Central Tire Inflation System (CTIS), and advanced electronics. The LVSR can ford five feet (1.5 meters) of water and move at up to 105 kilometers an hour on roads, and go for 480 kilometers on a tank of fuel. These vehicles are often equipped with a ring mount and a machine-gun when operating in combat zones.

Cost: $388,000 per vehicle with 500 on order and plans to purchase 2,000 more---by my reckoning close to over $950 million.

The competitive advantage: Get your forces into places no other truck can go!