Marine Corps announces multiple upgrades for Utility Task Vehicles

As a means of enhancing safety and performance, Marine Corps officials said the branch’s Utility Task Vehicles (UTV) are undergoing a series of revisions.

“We bought the vehicle as a [commercial-off-the-shelf] solution, so it’s not going to have everything we want right from the factory,” Jason Engstrom, lead systems engineer for the UTV at PEO Land Systems, said. “Even though we’re in the operations, maintenance, and sustainment phases with the vehicle, it’s such a new vehicle, and we’re seeing Marines constantly push the limits of the truck. Every day we’re seeing Marines come up with new ideas on how to use the truck.”

Changes include high clearance control arms, new run-flat tires, floorboard protection, a road march kit, a clutch improvement kit, and an environmental protection cover.

The UTV team is taking advantage of the vehicle’s general maintenance schedule to implement the upgrades, officials said, which will be done alongside regular maintenance and services.

“We try to meet customer needs within the requirement (determined by Marine Corps Combat Development and Integration),” UTV Team Lead Lorrie Owens said. “If we can meet the customers’ need to make it more reliable and durable, we will certainly do so within the realm of the requirement.