The U.S. Army’s new Infantry Squad Vehicle or ISV may look like a bespoke troop carrier, but the surprising thing is that it shares 90 percent of its components with something far humbler: the Chevrolet Colorado.

The ISV is meant to provide rapid ground mobility, carrying a nine-soldier infantry squad throughout the battlefield. It’s light enough to be sling-loaded from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter and compact enough to fit inside a CH-47 Chinook helicopter for air transportability.

Initially, the U.S. army will take in 649, though the approved target production is 2,065 units.


Going back to its origins, the ISV is based off the 2020 Chevrolet Colorado, particularly the off-road centric ZR2. It uses 90 percent commercial off-the-shelf parts including the Multimatic dual spool-valve dampers and Chevrolet Performance suspension components. The durability and performance of those components have been proven in the grueling Best in the Desert race series, where Colorado is one of only four vehicles to complete 11 consecutive races (out of a total of 434 competitors).

All ISV models will be equipped with an occupant and cargo superstructure powered by a 186-horsepower, 2.8L Duramax turbo-diesel engine, and six-speed automatic transmission.