Special Forces are pretty bad ass. Their equipment has to be just as bad ass. A challenge that manufacturers face when designing equipment for the Special Forces is size and weight. Special Forces go deep into enemy territory and they generally require very small, lightweight equipment with a high level of protection.

Recently, General Dynamics received an order form SOCOM (United States Special Operations Command) for 82 of their Flyers. Ten of these were for the Flyer 60 (video above), which earns it name because it is 60 inches wide (required to fit into the V-22 Osprey) and 72 of these are the Flyer 72 (yep, 72 inches wide, video at the bottom).

Special Operations Units regularly use the V-22 Osprey built by Bell-Boeing.

According to the General Dynamics website, “The Flyer vehicle was developed to fill operational gaps in fixed and rotary wing ground mobility deployment requiring a lightweight, mobile, air transportable vehicle capable of being rapidly reconfigured for a variety of mission needs. As a reliable and high performance vehicle, the Flyer offers safe and fast operating speeds with superior levels of mobility and maneuverability. It’s highly adaptable to severe, ruggedand restrictive terrains while providing off-road, cross-country mobility in all types of weather conditions.”

A little 1.9l DOHC diesel producing 195 horsepower and 295 ft.lb of torque is able to take the Flyer 72 at full 10,600 pound curb weight 350 to 650 miles on a single tank. The Flyer 60 at 8500 pound curb weight has a range of 450 miles and is estimated to get 24 miles per gallon when cruising at 40 miles per hour.

Exploded view of the armored Flyer 72.

Some other specs on these awesome little machines are:

• 60% max grade
• 40% dynamic side slope
• 30 inches fording depth

It is always amazing to see what companies are able to come up with to keep our soldiers safe in combat. Keep an eye out for these vehicles as they could become the new “go to” vehicle for the Special Forces. While highly capable, light weight and small, they certainly fit the bill on paper.