The Troopship GEV is used to get infantry to and from the front lines, rapidly and safely. It is fast enough, and armored well enough, to get troops to the frontlines.
The Troopship GEV is based on the same chassis as the Assault GEV. There is no front turret, instead there is an armored compartment which holds up to 6 heavily armed soldiers. The armored compartment has dual swing-up armored doors, to allow troops to enter and exit from either side. The Troopship GEV also has unique rotating pick-up and drop-off arms to allow troops to be picked up or dropped off without stopping.
To drop off troops the GEV slows down to about 50 km/h and raises the assault doors. If the GEV is under fire and the drop can't be aborted, only one door may be raised, the door coming under less fire.
The drop-off arm rotates into position. The soldier stands in the open doorway, holds his weapon in his outer hand, and firmly grabs the drop-off arm overhead.
The drop-off arm then whips backward, decelerating the soldier until his ground speed is only 10 kmh. The drop-off arm stops moving with the grip parallel to the GEV, and the soldier slips off and drops safely to the ground.
In the photo to the left, we can see a soldier armed with an assault rifle with attached rocket launched grenade being rotated backwards by the drop-off arm, while a soldier carrying an squad automatic weapon waits his turn.
Finally, in the left photo we see that soldier landing on the ground at a relatively slow 10 km/h, rifle up and ready to provide covering fire for his comrades being dropped next. This photo also shows in good detail the thrust vectors at the turbofan nozzles. The thrust vectors also act to diffuse the IR signature of the turbofans.
Cargo can also be dropped off this way, and on an all cargo drop the cargo can be packaged so as to be dropped at speeds up to 80 km/h, for quick and safe resupplying of sites under heavy enemy fire. With heavy weapons and engineer teams, troops and cargo are drooped alternately, and the soldiers pick up their dropped packages before continuing to their destination on foot.
The troops get ready to be picked up by standing (or crouching if they are under fire) to the side of the troopship's path, about 40 meters apart. while the troopship slows to about 50 km/h. The pilot of the troopship activates the pick up arms, which extend forward and down to allow the soldiers to grab them.
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In the photo to the left, we see the GEV rushing towards a soldier, pick-up arm extended, while the soldier stands up, arm raised, ready to grab the pick-up bar.
The soldier reaches out and grabs the pick up arm, which automatically accelerates, rotates and rises towards the cabin.
In the photo, we see that the soldier has grabbed the pick-up arm and is lifted off his feet. One of his comrades waits on the GEV to assist his entry into the cabin, and slow him down a little as he lets go of the bar.
The pick up arm then guides the soldier into the cabin. The first soldier in quickly rises to his feet to help the next soldiers in. A little bruising from the impact usually results, but everyone agrees that this is preferable to being in a stopped GEV that is will be targeted by a missile.
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