ARMOR FOR THE ARCTIC
the vendors’ vehicles. In August 2022, the U.S. Army announced BAE as the selected vendor to produce up to 163 CATVs. BAE will start deliveries in 2023 supporting a first unit equipped date in late fiscal year 2023.
As the Army prepares to take delivery of the new CATV, renew- ing its capability to conduct operations in extreme cold weather on the frozen tundra of Alaska and other cold regions within the continental United States, should there be a planned armored- version CATV in the future extending additional crew protection and vehicle survivability beyond the CATV’s current capability?
FUTURE REQUIREMENTS From the U.S. Army Regaining Arctic Dominance, part of the Army’s Arctic Strategy released in January 2021, “the Army will field a Multi-Domain Task Force-enabled division and adjust our Alaskan-based brigade combat teams to regain the U.S. Army’s Arctic dominance.” Te strategy also stated that multidomain formations must be able to converge their effects with the rest of the joint force as well as allies and partners.
Te Army must enable Army Alaska units to employ a capable force posture that is credible to deter potential attacks and be that first line of defense. In addition, Army Alaska units must be capable to partner with allied nations that share the Arctic region. Army Alaska units must be able to use effective and suit- able equipment to conduct operations in the Arctic beyond a set of specialized equipment sets. U.S. Army Alaska units must have equipment that can partner with other capabilities in formations that can perform their missions and withstand the extreme cold weather environment. Tis capability must increase the Army’s ability to operate in extreme cold weather and be adaptable to how the Army plans to generate, posture, train and equip Army Alaska units in a multidomain task force.
To take full advantage of Alaska-based world-class training facilities, U.S. Army units must have capable program of record equipment sets as part of their organic structure coupled with adequate sustainment funding. Because multidomain task forces are forward-stationed, unit formations must be capable to perform their missions at the onset of need regardless of weather condi- tions. As Alaska has the least number of roads per square mile than any other state, the Army must also strike a balance due to mobility concerns as conditions in summer months pose chal- lenges to wheeled vehicles because of thawing conditions on the tundra. Part of addressing this balance point supports removing some Army units’ Stryker platforms. CATV procurement in its current configuration supports ensuring continued air mobility
104 Army AL&T Magazine Summer 2023
to the extent possible, which is critical to its listed operations and mission sets.
ENABLING CATV TO DO MORE With the added armor, CATV could still support year-round training, as well as conduct the previously mentioned mission sets, provided it has a road network or maintains some level of sling load capability. In addition, it would become an armored personal carrier, protecting against any small arms and artillery fire. From BAE, the armored CATV is capable of supporting anti-armor and air defense missile systems, mortar systems and remote weapon stations that can be integrated with weapons up to M2 .50-caliber. Also, with added armor, CATV would become a much more capable vehicle in the first line of defense and in combat unit formations.
To decrease peacetime sustainment costs, it may be more prudent to procure a limited number of armored cabs and store them at points of need, keeping the lighter body on a portion of the current CATVs for the bulk of its mission sets. Army Alaska units will need a number of armored CATVs to conduct unit training relative to their first line of defense mission, as well as conducting and sustaining driver’s training in order to maintain crew profi- ciency and situational awareness on the differences between the unarmored and armored vehicle types. More important to the overall CATV capability is transitioning the CATV to a program of record with a full materiel release. With that transition will be the identified sustainment costs that will be critical to support the CATV fleet for its service life.
CONCLUSION Delivery of the CATV in fiscal year 2023 is necessary to replace the aging SUSV fleet in its current role and use in U.S. Army Alaska units and other cold region locations. Te program office will procure CATV quantities up to the Army Requirements Oversight Council requirements and support the CATV through a contracted logistic support arrangement that is program office funded at first and will eventually transition to unit funding.
However, looking deeper into the U.S. Army Arctic Strategy and the current CATV limitations, it may be necessary to go a step further and start the procurement action for an armored CATV or similar system. Buying a completely new system doesn’t fully leverage the current CATV procurement, but it is an option, albeit a more expensive one for which the Army may not have the facilities and other infrastructure to support once it takes deliv- ery of the entire fleet of CATVs. Te retrofitted armor cab option on the current CATV would take full advantage of the current
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