To alleviate some of the headaches that breakdowns during deployment or battle create, the Marine Corps is testing a new satellite-driven application to monitor electronic subsystems on its Light Armored Vehicles. The 14-ton vehicles are a staple of the Corps’ fighting fleet; the service has more than 700 LAVs.

The Corps is working on the tests through the end of the year with Delphi, the Troy, Mich., maker of mobile electronics systems, and the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences. The Ann Arbor, Mich., center has partnered with DOD to study ways to improve military maintenance services (www.ncms.org).

Delphi is installing a custom version of its wireless vehicle diagnostics system on 10 LAVs. The test suite on each LAV will include a control module, a network of on-board sensors and built-in diagnostics to feed data to the Delphi DS800 Diagnostic System. The system will pinpoint any problems within an LAV electronic architecture.

“We are adapting and modifying what we know about integrated electronic systems in the automotive industry in order to advance the LAV for the military,” says Ben Johnson, director of product management for Delphi Product & Service Solutions.

The DS800 has a satellite interface to transmit information from the LAVs to a fleet manager. This will allow for immediate support during a breakdown or regular servicing, but it also lets the service look at how multiple vehicles were performing and spot systemic problems across the fleet.

Mark Gerhard, a Corps logistics management specialist for the LAV program manager’s office, says easing maintenance will let the LAV “regain its claim to supremacy on the battlefield in the reconnaissance environment.”

Based on the test results, the service will decide whether to proceed with a program of upgrading all its LAVs with the diagnostic application.

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