American Rheinmetall and GM Defense will use the HX3 family as the basis for its CTT prototype designs. (Photo: Rheinmetall)
On 27 January, the US Army announced Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements with four bidders on the CTT programme: Mack Defense; Navistar Defense; Oshkosh Defense; and an American Rheinmetall/GM Defense team. The combined contract value is $24.25 million.
Under the OTAs, the contractors will provide three prototypes of each variant for the CTT Family of Vehicles, aimed at replacing the M915 Line Haul Tractor and M1088 Medium Tractor; Palletized Load System (PLS); and Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT).
The bidders will also provide digital designs of all variants and a design study for a wrecker model. This rapid prototyping phase will inform the army whether commercially based variants can meet military requirements.
AUSA 2022: Common Tactical Truck competition attracts AM General-Iveco bid
Rheinmetall demonstrates art of the possible for autonomous trucks
'The CTT effort brings an increased level of standardisation to the army’s tactical truck fleet,' Program Executive Officer Combat Support & Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS) Brig Gen Luke Peterson said. '[CTT] will... seek to streamline the army’s supply, maintenance and training requirements.'
Wolfgang Petermann, project manager, Transportation Systems, PEO CS&CSS, added that the programme is intended to redesign the fleet to integrate commercial technologies such as driver assist systems, foundations for future autonomy, fuel efficiency, exportable power and prognostics and predictive maintenance.
Evaluation of prototypes is due in early 2024, after which the PEO, will present a Capabilities Development Document to the Army Requirements Oversight Council for a decision in FY2026.
If approval is granted, the PEO will then conduct an open competition, with bidders delivering production-representative vehicles for run-off testing, leading to a production contract.
Mack Defense's bid is believed to be based on the company's Granite range of vehicles; Oshkosh Defense will submit modernised versions of its Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles line; while American Rheinmetall and GM Defense will use the HX3 design as the basis of its prototypes. Navistar had not publicised any details of its submission at the time of writing.
The CTT programme could run to production of 40,000 vehicles worth $14 billion,
Thales launched Storm-H in 2012 as an EW system equipping individual dismounted troops, and a decade later revealed details to develop the improved and more powerful Storm 2.
Drones and military ground vehicles are increasingly being designed to operate together as a single platform or even to convert crewed systems to automated ones.
The acquisition, which is part of the country’s broader defence package worth DKK58 billion (US$9.2 billion), goes against the grain with many other European countries opting for the US’s popular Patriot platform.
The UK’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP) seems set to be delayed once again but industry is jockeying for position to partner in what would be one of the biggest ever buys for the British Army.
AM General’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) A2 is in low-rate initial production and the company is looking for export orders, notably the UK’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP), to add to a recent approval for Canada to buy vehicles.
The UK’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP) to replace thousands of vehicles is in flux as the tender for the Light Mobility Vehicle segment planned for November is set to be missed. IDV Robotics’ Dr Geoff Davis is calling for the UK government to focus broadly on indigenous capability for procurement and to do it faster.
Connect with us on socials
