The division of the company Polaris, engaged in the production of military products, presented a new model of military equipment. It is reported that the company's new product is an ultralight combat vehicle called DAGOR. The official presentation of the novelty will take place on October 13-15, 2014 in Washington DC as part of the annual convention of the US Army Association. The ultralight combat vehicle is designed in such a way that it can carry a 9-man squad of infantrymen at high speed over any terrain, including highly rugged terrain. It is reported that these vehicles will be supplied to SOCOM - the US Special Operations Forces Command, as well as to buyers abroad - the special forces of the Allied countries.
At present, DAGOR has already been fully designed and tested, there are first orders for the machine, it has been put into production. The entire process from the initial idea, engineering development to the start of production took Polaris less than 2 years. It is reported that the created ultralight combat vehicle is easy to operate and maintain. This is done in order to facilitate the use of the vehicle in combat conditions as much as possible.
Representatives of the manufacturer have not yet disclosed whether DAGOR is an acronym. According to them, they have already signed the first contracts for the supply of their new items. At the same time, agreements were concluded not only with the American army, but also with a number of elite units of other states. According to the Wall Street Journal, we are talking about the armed forces of one so far unnamed Asian country. It is reported that the first DAGOR vehicle will enter service with the American special forces in November 2014. At the same time, one combat vehicle costs the customer 140 thousand dollars. It is reported that the project itself is estimated at more than $ 10 million, but at the same time the head of Polaris, Scott Vine, believes that he will be able to earn about $ 500 million from car sales in the United States, as well as abroad.
The Defense Update is quoted as saying by Jed Leonard, manager of the Polaris Defense division. According to him, the company has designed the DAGOR combat vehicle for very demanding customers who are interested in very high mobility and lightness of the vehicle. The ultralight combat vehicle successfully combines the optimal balance of increased mobility, payload volume, and readiness for rapid air transport. Rick Haddad, general manager of Polaris Defense, notes that DAGOR is bigger than their previous similar offerings, such as the MV850 and MRZR. The new development is a step forward in terms of carrying capacity and dimensions of military equipment produced by Polaris.
The highly maneuverable vehicle is perfectly optimized for the needs of a small 9-man special forces detachment. The cockpit has space for 4 people with a driver, 4 more people can be accommodated in the back. There is a separate place for the machine gunner in the car. If there is a need for additional enhancement of firepower, then several more carriages for relatively heavy types of weapons can be installed on the existing hinge mounts.
The vehicle is reported to be powered by a diesel engine. The curb weight of the combat vehicle is 2,040 kg. The width of the DAGOR makes it very easy and without any problems to load it inside the military transport helicopter CH-47 "Chinook". Also, another popular American UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter can easily transport the vehicle on cables as a possible cargo. At the same time, a large transport aircraft is able to airlift an entire unit in DAGOR vehicles. Among other things, the combat vehicle received a certificate that assures its reliability in the event of transportation by air and dropping from a low altitude.
Polaris engineers have tried to simplify the interior and design of the car as much as possible. The design mainly uses parts that are readily available commercially. This is done taking into account the possibility of urgent repairs at the moment when the special forces are cut off from military bases and warehouses. The car runs on standard diesel fuel, one tank filling is enough to drive more than 800 km.
Unlike the famous army Hummer SUV and the MRAP armored car, the DAGOR light combat vehicle carries virtually no armor. Its creators deliberately sacrificed power protection in order to achieve greater speed and maneuverability of their brainchild. This decision also coincides with the course of the American special forces command, which is interested in increasing the mobility of its forces when conducting an operation deep in the rear of a potential enemy. Mobile spetsnaz detachments equipped with such equipment will be able to move quickly and unnoticed through enemy territory.
Commenting on this development for the publication "Russian Planet", Alexander Khramchikhin, who holds the post of director of the Institute of Political and Military Analysis, noted that despite the natural commonality of all the special forces of the world, their tasks are somewhat different. According to Khramchikhin, domestic cars are usually heavier than American ones for a number of objective reasons. Our troops must operate on their territory, or at a short distance from it, which facilitates the transfer process. In the same Crimea in February 2014, Russian "Tigers" did not hit by air, but by sea. In addition, in the mountains of Chechnya, for example, stealth is more important, and in the Iraqi deserts - speed, since it is still difficult to hide there. The expert noted that today "buggy" cars are very popular among the American military, which, in fact, consist of practically one frame - and it is almost impossible to knock them down, since there is nothing to get into.
