Army picks four companies to build tactical truck prototypes

The U.S. Army announced Friday that it had selected four companies to build tactical truck prototypes. 

In a release, the branch awarded Mack Defense, Navistar Defense, Oshkosh Defense and the American Rheinmetall Vehicles/GM Defense team deals worth a combined total of $24.25 million.

The contractors will provide three prototypes of each variant for the Common Tactical Truck (CTT) Family of Vehicles. 

Each team will build three prototypes of each variant, including the M915 Line Haul Tractor and M1088 Medium Tractor, the Palletized Load System (PLS) and the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT).

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The Army noted that vendors will also be required to provide digital designs of all variants and a design study for a wrecker. 

The goal of the rapid prototyping phase is to inform the Army of whether commercially based variants can meet military requirements, and the release noted that the CTT program aims to mitigate current gaps in driver safety systems, autonomy, fuel consumption and predictive maintenance.

“The CTT effort brings an increased level of standardization to the Army’s Tactical Truck fleet. This effort is reminiscent of the original Liberty Truck, a heavy-duty truck produced by the United States Army during World War I,” Program Executive Officer Combat Support & Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS) Brig. Gen. Samuel Peterson said. 

The Common Tactical Truck (CTT) Family of Vehicles
(Conceptual renderings courtesy of U.S. Army)

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“It was designed by the Quartermaster Corps with help from the Society of Automotive Engineers in 1917 to help standardize the immense parts catalogue and multiple types of vehicles then in use by the U.S. military. It was the first official standardized motor vehicle adopted and produced by the U.S. military,” he continued. “The CTT program can be viewed as the Liberty Truck of the 21st century, as it will similarly seek to streamline the Army’s supply, maintenance and training requirements.”

U.S Army badge is seen on a uniform of American soldier.
((Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images))

“This approach allows the Army to modernize at the pace of industry, integrating new technologies as they are developed. Additionally, commonality in the CTT Family of Vehicles will enable open modular designs and interchangeable repair parts across the fleet, resulting in streamlined supply chains and reduced total lifecycle costs,” said Wolfgang Petermann, the Army’s Program Executive Office for Combat Support & Combat Support’s transportation project manager.

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Evaluation of the initial delivered prototypes is scheduled for the beginning of 2024.