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The Army�s Spearhead TSV-1X is a high-speed troop transport that has been in operation since 2002. The TSV-1X stands for troop support vehicle number one experimental.

The US military became interested in High Speed Vehicles (HSV) when they saw the vehicles successfuly used by the Australian Navy during the East Timor crisis in 1999. The Navy, Marines and Army are all presently expirementing with such craft using slightly different designs.

TSV-1X is a converted Australian commercial ship. Before its conversion it was used as a high-speed ferry between the Australian mainland and Tasmania.

The Spearhead is an all-Army endeavor, operated by the 469th Transportation Detachment, Fort Eustis, Va. TSV missions have included hauling two Patriot missile battalions from Qatar to the Kuwaiti naval base in a joint effort with the LSVs in theater.

The TSV also moved the 101st Airborne Division military police from Djibouti to Kuwait, making the 2,000-mile trip in two and a half days. A traditional LSV would have taken 10 days. The TSV also carried 500 tons of ammunition from Jordan's Aqaba Port to Kuwait.

Currently the Spearhead is operating in Korean waters as part of Reception, Staging, Onward movement, and Integration/Foal Eagle exercises.