You Wish You Owned This

You Wish You Owned This

Dan Miller
By  Dan Miller , Progressive Farmer Senior Editor
The DAGOR is the largest of the Polaris-designed combat vehicles. It carries up to nine combat-loaded soldiers. DAGOR runs off jet fuel and has a range of 500 miles.

They are off-road vehicles unavailable to the agriculture market, but it’s fascinating still to see the work ATV and side-by-side manufacturers are doing with them inside their defense divisions. The work gives insight into the manufacturers’ thinking about product design and technologies built for the toughest—and most hostile—of all off-road environments. Sometimes these military-grade technologies work their way into civilian models. You might recall the revolutionary tires Polaris mounts on a military-version Sportsman MV 850. They are the nonpneumatic, honeycombed TerrainArmor tires that can sustain hits from large-caliber weapons and still maintain operability for more than 350 miles. The TerrainArmor tires are a military-grade feature now mounted onto a civilian ATV model, the Polaris 2014 Sportsman WV850 H.O. It boasts a military-grade transmission, to boot.

Polaris Defense, a division of Polaris Industries Inc., has just unveiled its newest defense offering, the DAGOR ultralight combat vehicle. This is the sixth vehicle in its combat and reconnaissance line—and the largest of them all, coming in at 4,500 pounds. The company told The Wall Street Journal that it invested $10 million in the project. The DAGOR sells for a reported $149,000.

In addition to the DAGOR, Polaris builds two military versions of its Sportsman ATVs and three of its two-seat and four-seat RZRs. It also produces a tactical trailer that carries a half-ton of cargo.

These vehicles all feature long-range, high-ground-clearance, high-performance suspension and nonconsumer capabilities, such as blackout and infrared-capable lights. Polaris military models carry heavy combat loads. The front and back racks of the Sportsman MV 850 carry 600 pounds. The vehicles are speedy. The Polaris RZR SW, designed for law enforcement and border patrol, as well as various military applications, has a top speed of 68 mph over rough terrain.

The DAGOR is a unique vehicle for Polaris. It is capable of carrying nine combat-loaded soldiers and a roof-mounted heavy weapon. Fully loaded, it weighs 7,750 pounds, including 3,250 pounds of cargo. Its turbo-diesel engine runs on JP8 fuel, a jet fuel commonly used across many military vehicle lines, and has a 500-mile range. It can be carried into operations by the CH-47 Chinook helicopter or sling-loaded under a UH-60 Black Hawk.

For ease of maintenance and sustainment in combat operations, the DAGOR uses a commercial, off-the-shelf driveline, operator controls and other civilian-market components. Polaris says the DAGOR was designed and tested, and now is in production, all in less than two years.

Polaris has no plans at this time to sell a civilian version of the DAGOR. To see Polaris’ entire defense line, visit www.polaris.com/en-us/military.

(BAS)

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Dan Miller