What Happened?

If you pay federal taxes, you're helping fund a new fleet of trucks for the U.S. Army. The Army raised its procurement goal for lightweight, unarmored Infantry Squad Vehicles to 11,582 in February, more than four times the 2,593 it set in March 2023. In The U.S. Army's Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV), the Congressional Research Service (CRS) analyzed the Army's plan to raise its ISV target and framed questions for Congress to consider. The Army says the increase reflects "exponential growth" driven by soldier feedback and operational demand. ​

The vehicle is built by GM Defense on a Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 platform, with about 90 percent of its parts drawn from standard commercial components, and the military intends it to move nine soldiers and their gear across terrain where heavier vehicles may be less practical.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

The Army's fiscal 2026 budget request included $308.620 million to buy 1,275 Infantry Squad Vehicles. As of November 2025, the Army had fielded at least 1,105 ISVs across 10 units, approximately 43% of that full-rate production objective. The Army adopted the commercial-parts approach to minimize costs and field the vehicle quickly.

Both Sides, Now

The CRS report raises questions for Congress, including how relying on a single vendor for commercial parts affects the vehicle's lifecycle costs and supply-chain resilience.

On the other side, federal testers have raised reliability, training and survivability concerns. The Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) found in December 2021 that the ISV worked well as a troop carrier in permissive environments but flagged reliability and training problems in combat roles. In its 2023 follow-up evaluation, DOT&E reported reliability improvements after corrective actions, but said its survivability assessment remained unchanged from December 2021.

What Happens Next?

On March 30, the Army released a Commercial Solutions Opening for a heavier variant, the ISV-Heavy, under which it could award up to three contracts for 606 vehicles. The CRS report asks Congress to weigh how adding an ISV-Heavy line would affect the original program, whether industry can sustain a fleet of 11,582 or more vehicles in wartime, and how the expanded ISV family fits with the Army's broader set of light tactical trucks.

Will lawmakers fund the Army's full ambition, scale it back, or demand answers on survivability first?

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