Growler Manufacturing and Engineering, formerly American Growler, Inc., is an automotive manufacturing firm producing light tactical vehicles, originally based in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...

, then in Robbins, North Carolina, and now in the

HUBZone HUBZone is a United States Small Business Administration (SBA) program for small companies that operate and employ people in Historically Under-utilized Business Zones (HUBZones). The HUBZone program was created in response to the HUBZone Empower ...

in Star, North Carolina. For over ten years, it has built a line of

military light utility vehicle Military light utility vehicle, or simply light utility vehicle (LUV), is a term used for the lightest weight class military vehicle category. A Jeep (disambiguation)#Jeep-like vehicles, Jeep-like four-wheel drive vehicle for military use by defin ...

s partly derived from drivetrains from M151 Jeeps. Versions range from $7,000 in price kit form, a $15,500 tactical

dune buggy A dune buggy — also known as a beach buggy — is a recreational off-road vehicle with large wheels, and wide tires, designed for use on sand dunes, beaches, off-road or desert recreation. The design is usually a topless vehicle with a rear ...

, and a $33,000 version sold to the Dominican Republic's military.

History

Growler Manufacturing and Engineering started as Utility Vehicles Inc. in 1999 who designed new frames and bodies and remanufactured drive trains from military vehicles, primarily M151 jeeps, purchased through surplus sales. Through several acquisitions and renamings they ended up based in Star NC where Growler produces light tactical vehicle and equipment trailers for the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

Light Strike Vehicle

Growler's most expensive model at over $200,000 each, is the Growler Light Strike vehicle. It was specially designed to be transported in the small cargo hold of the

V-22 Osprey The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-use, tiltrotor military transport aircraft, military transport and cargo aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and short takeoff and landing (STOL) capabilities. It is designed ...

tilt-rotor aircraft along with the Expeditionary Fire Support System towed mortar.Mobile mortar system for Osprey delayed
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North County Times The ''North County Times'' was a local newspaper in San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of U ...

'' 4 January 2008 The V-22 cargo compartment is five feet wide, five feet tall and less than 17 feet in length. In 2005, the Marines planned to buy 400 of the vehicles in a contract that combined with the mortar system was expected to total $296 million.

Notes

{{Automotive industry in the United States Companies based in North Carolina Defense companies of the United States Truck manufacturers of the United States https://www.youtube.com/c/rasmussenequipment