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The ground support crew at Robins Air Force Base has found it a bit easier recently to haul equipment in the tight quarters of hangars and around airplanes, due to a technology that was originally shelved after 9/11. Re-emerging nearly five years later, the Omni Directional Vehicle has aimed at carving a niche for itself in military GSE.

A New Direction
The Omni Directional Vehicle, developed and patented by Hammonds Technical Services Inc., made its ground support introduction at Robins Air Force base in Georgia in 2005. A circular vehicle, the technology has presented itself as an easier way to manipulate bulky equipment on the ground.

The first of its kind, the vehicle was designed as a tractor to pull heavy loads, but meant to rival the conventional. Maneuverability was a key ingredient in the design, with its ability to turn 360 degrees with a zero-turn radius.

The ODV’s ability to maneuver proved a main selling point for the AFB. As the first and only base to have implemented the machine with traditional tugs, ground workers have witnessed an operational advantage first hand. “It helps maneuver around in tight places tremendously,” Dwayne Markham says, a hydraulic technician at the base. “You don’t have to have somebody wait for you. We would have somebody help you hook up the old tractor. You couldn’t get out there and do it yourself.”

In addition to a modest turn radius, a rotary hitch was designed to run the circumference of the vehicle. A Pintle connection was added to lock in the front or the rear. With the body left free to swivel, the ODV has made switching operations more efficient at the base. “If you are in situations where you need to pull something instead of push … you can pull the lever on it and spin it around 180 degrees, and then you are pulling instead of pushing,” Markham says.

Since it was conceptualized in 2001, the ODV has evolved into a series of four models — G18, G30, G60 and G90 — each available with diesel, electric, propane and gas engines.

Correlating with the total towing capacity, the G90 can tug up to 90,000 pounds. The AFB currently has nine G30 units. Though the ODV is not being used for towing aircraft at Robins, the base has found multiple uses for it. “We mostly tow GPUs, electric generators, power generators, mobile air conditioners, heavy trailers, transport door on dollies,” Markham says.” The ODV has helped us tremendously. Where we can only take one at a time, we can take at least two at a time now.”