AUSA NEWS: Mack Protection Submits Bid for Military Tactical Truck Program
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Mack Protection, the Military’s supplier of heavy dump vans, has submitted a bid for the service’s Widespread Tactical Truck program, the corporate’s president confirmed Oct. 11.
The Widespread Tactical Truck, or CTT, program is the Military’s effort to modernize its tactical wheeled automobile fleet, changing the service’s present heavy tactical autos such because the M915/M1088 Tractors, Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck and Palletized Load System.
A number of trade groups have entered the competitors for CTT, with Mack Protection submitting its bid on the finish of August, firm president David Hartzell mentioned throughout a media briefing on the Affiliation of america Military annual convention in Washington, D.C.
AM Basic, producer of the Humvee, introduced Oct. 10 that it was partnering with Italian truck maker IDV to bid on the Widespread Tactical Truck. IDV, part of the Iveco Group, is a companion with BAE Programs on the Marine Corps Amphibious Fight Car program. “The group’s Excessive Mobility Vary Car structure for CTT might be based mostly on a newly launched extremely modular vary of vans, particularly designed for navy use,” a press release mentioned.
Communication from the Military in the course of the 2022 Floor Car Programs Engineering Know-how Symposium in August indicated the service is trying to award contracts for the prototype section of this system in December, Hartzell mentioned.
Mack Protection presently produces the M917A3 heavy dump truck for the Military as a part of a seven-year contract the service awarded Mack Protection in 2018. The corporate is a part of the Volvo Group, “the second largest business automobile producer on this planet” in keeping with Hartzell.
The business sources at its disposal give Mack Protection a possible benefit within the CTT competitors, he mentioned.
“What we’re touting is the truth that we come from one of many largest business automobile producers,” he mentioned. “We’ve that world functionality, now we have that world maintainability supporting infrastructure … we’re in lots of circumstances already the [original equipment manufacturer] creating and bringing that expertise to the market.
“We’re leveraging all of that functionality,” he continued. “The federal government’s not going to pay us to develop an lively security system, or they are not going to pay us to develop an autonomous functionality. We’re bringing that expertise growth with us — in lots of circumstances, we’re the forerunners in that functionality, in that sort of expertise.”
Most of the capabilities wanted for the CTT automobile units are already a part of the Mack Protection’s choices, Hartzell mentioned.
“The essential truck design, the body programs, the cab, the non-armored cab, the electronics, the engine, all that form of stuff — it is going to be our business base platform,” he mentioned. “The diploma of commonality throughout that complete vary of CTT goes to be very optimized for the U.S. Military, so from a upkeep, coaching, sustainability perspective, they’re gonna get a extremely good proposal.”
Moreover, because the Military seems to be to scale back greenhouse fuel emissions as a part of its local weather technique, Mack Protection’s CTT bid contains “gasoline demand discount” programs that already existed throughout the Volvo Group, Hartzell mentioned.
One other key functionality the Military has emphasised for the brand new truck is autonomous operations. Mack Protection labored with the corporate Robotic Analysis as a part of its bid “to guarantee that we did not have any gaps in functionality,” he mentioned. Robotic Analysis was a really perfect companion due to its expertise engaged on navy purposes for autonomous expertise, together with participation within the Military’s leader-follower program, he added.
Hartzell expressed confidence in Mack Protection’s means to fulfill the Military’s necessities.
“We’re displaying the Military the extent of functionality; here is business automobile trade, here is how we are able to take that business base platform … and we are able to militarize it, and we are able to meet your efficiency necessities, or exceed them,” he mentioned.
“We’re hoping to fulfill the Military’s objective-level necessities, and hoping that helps differentiate us … that positions us effectively to compete for the manufacturing contract.”
Matters: Fight Autos, Tactical Wheeled Autos