Oshkosh Defense is unveiling a new version of its MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) tactical ambulance variant at the 2010 Association of the United States Army’s (AUSA) Institute of Land Warfare (ILW) Army Medical Symposium and Exposition, which is being held May 18-20 in San Antonio, Texas.
“We’ve created an additional M-ATV tactical ambulance variant to offer a side-by-side patient litter layout in response to feedback from the military,” said Ken Juergens, Oshkosh Defense vice president and general manager, Joint Programs. “We developed the M-ATV ambulance to allow military operations to provide critical casualty care services in the unforgiving landscapes where tactical missions must operate. It is very important to us to attend events like the ILW Army Medical forum to meet with the officers and soldiers who will be using our vehicles in theater. Their input is crucial as we build the best possible vehicles for our Warfighters.”
The tactical ambulance variant offers a new mission profile and expanded medical capabilities while maintaining the durable, best-in-class mobility and superior crew protection of the original M-ATV offering. The vehicle seats three crew members plus two litters or four ambulatory patients. Like the standard M-ATV, the tactical ambulance variant provides 16 inches of independent wheel travel and uses 370-horsepower engine, an Allison 3500 SP transmission and a two-channel central tire-inflation system with four terrain settings. To ensure medics can reach and safely evacuate wounded Warfighters in the severe and uneven terrain where they must operate, the tactical ambulance uses the Oshkosh TAK-4 independent suspension system to achieve a 70 percent off-road profile capability.Oshkosh continues to expand the M-ATV into a family of vehicles. This tactical ambulance variant joins another version of the M-ATV ambulance as well as the M-ATV utility variant. To date, Oshkosh has received orders to deliver 8,079 M-ATVs for operations in Afghanistan, where those M-ATVs already fielded are providing superior off-road mobility for harsh mountainous landscapes and unimproved road networks.
