Posted on 06/27/2011 4:39:18 AM PDT by James C. Bennett
When Local Motors won DARPA's XC2V private "crowd-sourced" competition about 14 weeks ago, they secured the right to build a prototype that could eventually serve as a next-gen military vehicle for U.S. armed forces. Not a lot of time!
As you can see, however, they delivered. The fruits of their labor are on display above.
Now, while a new kick-ass military vehicle is cool, the true goal of DARPA's competition was to see how much faster a crowd-sourced project could go from concept to prototype than traditional means.
Turns out the answer was "much faster," with Local Motors completing their task before schedule (the 14 weeks). Even if they had completed it exactly on deadline the process would have still been about five times faster than a traditional build.
The beast is named FANG, by the way (Fast Adaptable Next-Generation Ground Combat Vehicle) and it could represent a much more privatized future for the U.S. military.
Wow, the radio controller for this must be huge.
Molon Labbie wins the thread!
ROFLMAO...been YEARS since I heard a reference to MF.
TWO THUBS UP!
I want to see it take off and land in the back of a flying C-130.
looks cool, but also a) vulnerable - no armor, b) weak - no weaponry, and c) clumsy - I imagine getting in and otu of it in a hurry, with full gear would be problematic.
may be great for the 4x4 crowd, but I’m not sure I’d like to be in enemy country in that.
teh origin of the jeep was with Bantam corporation. they ended up with teh contract - to build the TRAILER, not the jeep.
My thought, too. Looks like a silly 20-something concept vehicle designed by people who have never been in combat or experience an IED explosion.
Where do you mount the CROWS?
I will take one with the digital woodland paint job and the Ma Deuce option.
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