Military Vehicle Technology and Mobility for Practitioners is a five-day onsite course that develops applied engineering knowledge and skills for technical professionals involved in combat, logistic and amphibious vehicle design, development and evaluation. Designed primarily for mechanical, mobility, design and systems engineers, the course progresses from identifying required data and operating conditions to performing calculations, analyzing vehicle behavior and evaluating defined design and technology alternatives. First year university mathematics are recommended.

Structured workshops address automotive performance, wheeled-vehicle handling, tracked-vehicle skid steering and suspension analysis. Using supplied data and engineering relationships, participants calculate road load, tractive effort, steering forces and moments, and suspension response to different terrain inputs. Supporting learning covers powertrain matching, tire and track technology and whole-body vibration. Terramechanics examines terrain-vehicle interaction and mobility assessment, while amphibious vehicle topics explain how buoyancy, stability and land-mobility requirements influence design.

The emphasis is on interpreting analytical results and using technical evidence to support defensible engineering judgments. Participants examine the effects of changing vehicle parameters, consider the assumptions and limitations of analytical methods, and compare defined alternatives against operational and performance criteria. Tutorial problems connect calculation with practical design trade-offs and require participants to justify preferred options within stated constraints. The course strengthens integrated technical analysis, supports more rigorous participation in design and evaluation activities, and helps defense organizations develop deeper military vehicle engineering capability.

Course Learning Outcomes

On completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• • Identify the vehicle parameters and operating conditions required for automotive, handling, steering, and suspension calculations.
• • Explain how requirements for land mobility, buoyancy, and stability influence amphibious vehicle design.
• • Calculate road load, available tractive effort, and resulting automotive performance limits using supplied vehicle and powertrain data.
• • Calculate tracked vehicle steering forces and moments for specified operating conditions.
• • Calculate suspension natural frequency using supplied stiffness and mass values.
• • Analyze the effects of tire characteristics and vehicle parameters on wheeled vehicle handling using supplied engineering relationships.
• • Analyze terrain mobility results in relation to soil properties, vehicle characteristics, and the assumptions of the assessment method.
• • Evaluate alternative vehicle design choices against stated operational and performance criteria, justifying a preferred option using calculations and technical evidence developed during the course.