US Army testing Michelin’s Tweel technology
The US Army is testing Michelin Tweel airless tyre technology via its Yuma Proving Ground operation and specifically its Tropic Regions Test Center (TRTC).
While the deserts of Southwest Asia have been the most common location of American military involvement for nearly twenty years, the US Army reports that the majority of the world’s conflicts have occurred in tropical areas. Amongst the US Army’s key questions: will muddy, biomass-laden jungle terrain destroy the integrity of wheels and tyres on a combat vehicle?
In order to find some answers, one recent TRTC test involved the Polaris MRZR, a military version of the popular off-road vehicle that American forces have used in places like Afghanistan in recent years. The MRZR under test was fitted with Tweels instead of standard tyres.
”In addition to the obvious advantage of never having to worry about flat tyres, utilizing Tweels has second order effects that are useful for Soldiers”, the US Army wrote in its report dated 30 July, adding: “One reason for this technology is to reduce weight on those small vehicles so you don’t have to carry a spare tyre, jacks, or materials to fix a puncture”, and continuing:
“The Tweels also have the ability to conform to multiple different terrain types and can last three times as long as standard tyres. Putting the Tweels through their paces on land deep within the jungle of the nation of Suriname that TRTC have utilized in previous vehicle tests gave the evaluation a particularly realistic operational flavour.”
Tweels are also designed to power through serious damage for far longer than even run-flat pneumatic tyres. Using a drill bit, testers damaged the Tweels to simulate as if they had been shot prior to some of the evaluations.
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