Creating the Perfect Crew Seats

Just because troops with different jobs might be travelling together in the same military vehicle doesn’t mean that the seating solutions they require will be identical. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the different crew roles in a military vehicle, the crew seats considerations, and the reason why military forces across the world continue to select MOBIUS PS as their blast-resistant crew seats provider of choice.

The Driver

As its name suggests, the driver in a military vehicle is the one who physically operates the vehicles that transport troops, supplies, and equipment on the battlefield. Drivers operate a wide range of vehicles in support of different mission requirements, across a wide assortment of terrain types. While drivers also carry out preventive maintenance measures on many military vehicles, much of their time is nonetheless spent behind the wheel.

A seating solution for a driver should therefore be one that is comfortable and ergonomic, while protecting them against any injuries — accidental or intentional — that might come their way on the battlefield. In order to fit the wide multitude of vehicles that military drivers must operate, a seat intended for this role must be capable of fitting any and all military vehicles.

MOBIUS PS’s Driver Seat combines superior performance with the kind of ergonomics and high-level functionality you would hope for. Mounted on the floor, it can be adjusted to fit into almost any modern military vehicle, and boasts reclining back and adjustable headrest for added comfort. The driver seat system can also be adjusted to the right height level and boasts a fore-and-after mechanism: adding up to the best driving experience out of any comparable product.

The Gunner

Many military vehicles will have a dedicated gunner. These troops operate the heaviest firepower of anyone travelling in a particular vehicle. They will have the best view of anyone travelling in the vehicle, since they are charged with providing 360-degrees of coverage to those on-board. The gunner is often positioned at the top of the vehicle, and must scan the surrounding area to keep tabs on what is going on in the vicinity.

If the vehicle is travelling as part of a convoy, they may also have to watch for what is going on around the convoy as a whole (depending on which vehicle in a convoy they are travelling in, the role will change slightly in terms of strategy). The gunner must be aware of possible threats so that they may communicate these to the driver, other gunners in a convoy, and whoever else needs to be informed.

Due to its placement in the vehicle, the gunner’s seat must often be compact and capable of being mounted on the vehicle in different ways, such as floor, wall, and ceiling, depending on the specification of the vehicle and where the gunner is located. Because the gunner must be able to access weaponry while on-board the vehicle, it is also crucial that the seats offer a suitable amount of versatility.

The MOBIUS PS Gunner Seat differentiates itself from the standard crew seats with a folding back, along with a standing platform for elevating the gunner where needed. This quick-folding back mechanism is designed to allow soldiers to both sit and stand safely during transport and battle scenarios. Adjustable features allow for changes of height for the seating solution in order to achieve better positioning in the gun turret.

The Commander

The commander of a military vehicle is the one with ultimate operational control over the vehicle. They tell the driver where to go, the gunner which targets to select and shoot at, and more. They are also the main communicator on the radio. A commander is in the middle of the action, and requires crew seats that offer a combination of ergonomic and comfortable design, and protection.

MOBIUS’s Troop Seat boasts folding back and pan, adjustable headrest, and mounting on wall, floor, or roof depending on the design of the vehicle. It’s a perfect all-round solution for the person with a job that covers every action that takes place on a military vehicle.

What brings these together

Good seating solutions can — and do — save lives. They can keep troops safe from the threat of IEDs and anti-tank mines, while ensuring troops are delivered to their final destination in comfort and safety. At the same time, many troop roles, like the ones mentioned here, have important jobs to carry out while they are travelling.

Only an expert military seating solutions company with substantial experience in the field can be expected — and trusted — to produce reliable long-term solutions to meet all these criteria.

We’ve already stressed the differences in what is expected from different types of seating, depending on the role of the person who will be seated in them. But there are other factors that remain the same regardless of the role, the vehicle the seating solution is deployed in, or other variations such as the terrain and location of a battlefield. Safety, ergonomic designs, high-end functionality, and top-of-the-range engineering are all requirements that you should look for in a seating solution aimed at everyone from gunners to drivers to other troop types. So too is customizability depending on the vehicle, easy access for seat adjustment to accommodate a range of crew member sizes, easy ingress and egress, and more.

MOBIUS has the seating solution expertise

There are endless components to the perfect crew seats, and each client of ours has different requirements. And this is precisely why we offer the widest range of crew seats on the market.

Our blast-resistant seats are built around our patented SPIRAL technology: a small, yet incredibly efficient and powerful energy absorption element that achieves extremely low Dynamic Response Index (DRI) measures, when it comes to allowing our seating solutions to effectively mitigate the effects of damaging blasts. It achieves these even under multi-hit assaults and the most drastic deformations. Our technology is the only patent in the world that can be designed to fit any requirement and constraint in the vehicle, which is why it is so widely used by the world’s leading armies over the past decade.