The Marine Corps plans to award a follow-on contract to Polaris Government and Defense for Ultra-Light Tactical Vehicle production in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, according to a government notice.

The sole-source award is expected to buy additional Logistics (ULTV-L) and High-Power (ULTV-HP) vehicle variants, which provide Marines with infantry logistics and casualty evacuation capabilities and serve as host platforms for a variety of other systems.

With five kilowatts of 24-volt exportable power, the high-power ULTV can directly support systems like the Light Marine Air Defense Integrated Systems (L-MADIS) and the Common Aviation Command and Control System (CAC2S).

According to John LaFata, ULTV program manager at Polaris, this built-in power capacity eliminates the need for a secondary generator and frees up deck space for other purposes.

“It keeps the entire bed space open for whatever they need to put on there. If they didn't have a system on there, you could still put casualties there if they need to do a [casualty evacuation] situation. But if they did need to integrate a big system, they have the entire deck to play with,” LaFata said last week at the Modern Day Marine conference.

Polaris, the ULTV original equipment manufacturer, received an initial $109 million contract in 2020 through U.S. Special Operations Command. The company has delivered more than 575 ULTVs to the Marine Corps to date, including 66 of the high-power variant.

For the Marine Corps, the ULTV replaces the legacy Utility Task Vehicle and serves as an important force design platform, capable of internal transport on the MV-22 Osprey and CH-53E and CH-53K helicopters.

The service received about $7.8 million for ULTV procurement in FY-26. It is requesting less than $1 million for program sustainment in FY-27.