GRIZZLY, the new US Army combat engineer vehicle, will begin testing this December. The first battalion to get the Grizzly will receive 35 of them in 2004. The Grizzly is built on an M1 tank chassis, but doesn't have the armor of a real tank. Even so, it should be proof against anything short of a tank cannon or heavy anti-tank missile. The Grizzly has a full-width dozer blade able to grade roads, clear obstacles, fill in ditches, or in a pinch to plow its way through a minefield. The best part of the Grizzly, however, is a remotely operated "bucket arm" which is mounted on the right front corner of the vehicle. This can reach out nearly 20 feet and pull items as heavy as 4,000 pounds. This could allow the Grizzly to dig up enemy bunkers, pull apart barbed wire fences, dig up concrete "dragons teeth", or even pull a wrecked truck out of a road. The two-man crew of Grizzly remains inside the vehicle, viewing the battlefield through seven television cameras and various periscopes and view ports. The vehicle's 12.7mm machinegun can be fired by remote control from inside the vehicle.--Stephen V Cole
