Dominant Logistics

Amphibious Tracked Support Vehicle

The design proposed for the Tracked Support Vehicle makes another excellent capability possible for this vehicle - amphibious operations.  If we do nothing more than encase the cargo area of the TSV with sidewalls and a tailgate, it should be capable of nominal ampbihious action while being propelled by the tracks but another option exists that would make this a very versatile machine.

Inflatable bladders have been used to allow equipment to float for many years.  Because the TSV would be powered by a hyrid powertrain, we can incorporate a much larger air compressor than is typically found on vehicles.  This would allow for very rapid inflation of bladders allowing the TSV to float high in the water.  If we include electrically powered waterjets in the equation and install a bow on the front of the vehicle, it is entirely possible to propel this vehicle at speeds as high as 20+ knots in the water. 

What would be required to make this application truely functional is a multi-section bladder that will normally be folded up within a sort of case, attached to the sides of the TSV.  These will run the full length of the vehicle on each side.   When released, the case will tilt outward from the body and the outer half will fall open.  The inner half of the case will form a 90 degree angle with the sidewall of the TSV while the outer case half will fall down to a vertical position extending downward from the inner case.  Braces can be run from the TSV sidewall extending to the seam where the inner and outer case halves meet to assist in supporting the weight of the vehicle.  These should be powered to open and close the bladder case - the case provides an additional layer of protection for the bladder while at the same time providing space for loose gear or even personnel to ride on the side in the amphibious mode.

Once extended, the high output compressor rapidly inflates the bag and we're ready to swim.  Waterjets will be used to power the vehicle while the bladders hold the vehicle well up in the water to allow for high speeds while the tracks remain lower than the bags so if we hit a sand bar or similar obstacle we can simply drive over it.  Valves allow the bags to deflate when finished and we could probably include a small vacuum capability in the design to fully retract the bags inside the case when it closes.  And because we can use a high output compressor, the entire sequence should take no more than a minute or two and it could probably even be performed while already in the water.

Throw in some bilge pumps and we have a fully amphibious TSV.   What makes this particularly advantageous is that we still get all of the operational advantages of the TSV in an amphibous vehicle.  Any system that is TSV compatible (pallet systems) can now swim at low or high speeds.  It can even run off of battery power for a sort of stealth mode.  With the bags inflated, it will be high enough in the water that some types of pallets could even be deployed in the water like floating bridge sections.

From a combat perspective, besides being able to carry personnel in a high speed amphibious vehicle, we could also carry ADA and artillery systems, which would also be operational while in the water.  Engineers would be able to deploy bridges in a fraction of the time currently required to do so.  And in the logistics area, we can carry out support operations from ships that are a considerable distance out to sea.  And with the exception of the amphibious-specific hardware, everything on this vehicle is interchangeable with the standard TSV.

References

http://www.g2mil.com/amphibians.htm
http://www.g2mil.com/amphib-1.htm
http://www.oocities.org/armysappersforward/sappertanks.htm
http://www.oocities.org/armysappersforward/amphigavins.htm
http://www.oocities.org/lightmechsappers

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