What is known now as the Mobile Strike Force Vehicle M1117 and by the company that produces it as the Commando Select is perhaps one of the more compelling evolutions of a lightly armored squad vehicle developed anywhere in the world.
This is a vehicle meant for dispersed operations across large expanses, it is meant to function in the way the Humvee was deployed by the US in Afghanistan and Iraq initially, without being an overly expensive or complicated platform. Crucially it was designed to be naturally resistant to IED/mine attacks with its hull geometry and the light armor while not fit for intense combat creates a good platform to build a vehicle that can survive drone strikes.
Unlike most US armor designs, this vehicle was designed to be affordable, able to be produced and fielded in large numbers, and optimized to be easily maintainable. Four wheels because in mass production that reduces maintenance and production costs… The M1117/Guardian/MSFV is truly a vehicle designed for border guards, for security and patrols, and it is an ideal armored vehicle for the dispersed massive frontline of Ukraine where small groups of infantry must work over large distances while independently supporting themselves.
https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=zkNkfnea8Tk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkNkfnea8Tk&t=1
Note how all the moving parts on this vehicle are fairly simple and that the vehicle is simple enough to drive that the person interviewing after a brief instruction was able to drive it herself. Considering this is a lightly armored vehicle with a mine resistant hull that carries a heavy machine gun, grenade launcher and also features a separate compartment to stow anti-tank rocket launchers for infantry as safely as possible… that is impressive.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1117_armored_security_vehicle
It is an odd quirk of history that this vehicle did not play a larger role in Afghanistan and Iraq as Hurricane Katrina knocked out the production facility in Louisiana for an extended period right exactly when the vehicles were needed most… and as a result this odd vehicle that has gone under many names continued on in obscurity. In production numbers however this vehicle is now used worldwide. In my opinion this vehicle is nearly categorically superior to a JLTV or equivalent light MRAP which weighs almost the same exact amount and makes the hyperfocus on unarmored vehicles by the US military like the ISV (basically a chevy colorado pickup with the doors ripped off) seem amnesic.
https://www.textronsystems.com/products/commando-family-products


