Menu

Airless Tire Technology - Phase IV

Home / Ncms Project / Airless Tire Technology – Phase IV

Airless Tire Technology – Phase IV

NCMS Project #: 142164

Problem: Currently, pneumatic tires have an inherent potential for air loss resulting in immobility of the vehicle and potential loss of control of the vehicle jeopardizing the safety of the operator, surrounding vehicles, and the general public, as well as the cargo it carries.  High maintenance costs and significant vehicle maintenance down-time are the result of conventional pneumatic tires.  In order to keep commerce moving in a timely manner, ensuring a more consistent and improved flow of goods and services while reducing transportation costs to end consumers, a better solution is needed.

Benefit: Understanding and documenting the parameters for airless tire technology development will allow for scalable development for current vehicle sustainment platforms used by the general public, commercial industry and Department of Defense to provide improved maintenance and sustainment cost solutions.

Solution/Approach: The overall objective of the Airless Tire Technology effort is to demonstrate and validate airless tire technology solutions on a Light Tactical All-Terrain vehicle system which can be scaled to other vehicle systems in the future.  The objective of Phase IV is to demonstrate and validate performance by conducting an extension of the testing to include soil conditions, including managing the logistics, providing technician support, running the test and completing a test report that encompasses the full realm of airless tire technology potential for use across a wide variety of vehicles.

Impact on Warfighter:

  • Improve mobility and safety in hazardous environments 
  • Lower maintenance and logistics costs 
  • Decrease vehicle weight and enhance fuel efficiency 
  • Reduce environment emissions and pollution 
  • Maximize warfighter readiness and lethality 

DOD Participation:

  • U.S. Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) 

Industry Participation:

  • TRAX International
  • Michelin
  • NCMS

Benefit Area(s):

  • Cost savings
  • Maintenance avoidance and reliability
  • Obsolescence management and continued maintenance capability
  • Positive environmental impact
  • Safety
  • Maintenance management improvement
  • Improved readiness
  • Survivability
  • Durability
  • Reliability improvement

Focus Area:

  • Reliability improvement (hardware)