Surface Mobility Technology CASPER : Stealthy, Modular, Amphibious, Small Armored Vehicle

CASPER is a new vehicle designed for stealthy shipping, transportation and deployment, amphibious operations, and modular construction, to create a low-cost family of vehicles and platforms. The vehicle is to use an electric drive, with an engine-driven high-speed electric generator, providing power to electric motors for driving tracks, waterjets and other needs. Innovation lies in the overall design concept, and in layout of the vehicle and its subsystems. The proposed effort will conduct preliminary design, performance projection and feasibility evaluation for the new vehicle system, and will define plans for continued work including sub-scale demonstration in Phase II. Proposed Phase I activities include more detailed definition and optimization of the vehicle system, evaluation and selection of enabling technologies including the engine and the generator-control-motor-drive system, prediction of vehicle performance, and evaluation of technical and financial feasibility of the vehicle. The Phase I-option would define a sub-scale demonstrator vehicle, identify appropriate test facilities and develop test plans for validation testing.