U.S. involvement in the limited warfare of Southeast Asia has imposed a new set of environmental problems on automotive engineers engaged in the design and development of military equipment. This paper is addressed, in general, to the identification and solution of the mobility related problems encountered in limited warfare and, in particular, to describing LTV’s approach to providing a response to the specialized and immediate needs of the armed forces in Southeast Asia.
Essentially, LTV’s approach involves an initial analysis of the environmental conditions being encountered, and logically identifies the vehicular design parameters necessary to cope with these factors within the framework of the tactical situations encountered in limited warfare. Circumventing much of the time-consuming design, development, and testing effort normally required, LTV’s engineers were able to progress from the initial concept to an operational test bed, capable of satisfying the unique demands of limited warfare, within only 8 months.
