The Navistar Saratoga was originally designed to target a gap in the light tactical vehicle market. This light tactical vehicle was developed by Navistar Defense as a private venture. Navistar’s Saratoga light tactical vehicle was launched by Navistar in October 2011, after the company had conducted its own automotive and blast testing. Navistar Defense submitted a bid in 2012 to compete for the US military’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) programme, submitting its Saratoga vehicle. Currently this vehicle is ready for production, but it has received no production orders to date.
This vehicle has a payload capacity of 3,260 kg. It can also tow trailers or light artillery pieces. The cab accommodates a driver and three fully equipped troops, plus and optional gunner. The Saratoga can be tailored to suit many needs. The Saratoga can be fitted with add-on metallic or ceramic armor for increased protection. This tactical vehicle withstands small arms fire, artillery shell splinters and IED blasts. This tactical vehicle can be armed with roof-mounted 7.62-mm or 12.7-mm machine gun, or 40-mm automatic grenade launcher. It can be also fitted with remotely controlled weapon station. The Saratoga uses a number of already available Navistar automotive components. This tactical vehicle is powered by a MaxxForce 6-liter turbocharged diesel engine, developing 340 hp, which was also developed by Navistar. The engine is coupled with Allison 6-speed automatic transmission. The Saratoga is fitted with a central tyre inflation system. Vehicle has a hydropneumatic suspension and can kneel down, so its height is reduced to 1.93 m. This feature is used for transportation by air and storage on ships.
“We made a significant investment in developing the Saratoga on our own nickel because that’s what we do commercially – it is part of our DNA, the Saratoga is a solid design and now that we have seen the requirements of the JLTV migrate toward our vehicle capabilities, we are in a position to modify the Saratoga to fit those requirements.” said Archie Massicotte, president, Navistar Defense.
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