Not Your Everyday Trucks
Written by Peter Buxbaum
MLF 2011 Volume: 5 Issue: 7 (August)
Mine resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles are most often thought of as instruments of force protection. The United States military started to acquire them during the second half of 2003, when the fast-paced, mechanized, expeditionary Iraq campaign turned into a slogging counterinsurgency operation, often staged on complex urban terrain. The MRAP’s height and weight shield the troops sequestered inside and its V-shaped undercarriage deflects the force of improvised explosive devices blast away from the underbody of the vehicle.
But MRAPs play important roles in logistics as well. The vehicle morphed into several different variants, each configured for specialized missions such as the movement of weapons and general cargo as well as the removal of casualties from the battlefield. “Many mission types require MRAP survivability protection, and that includes warfighters running vehicle recovery and support missions,” said Archie Massicotte, president, Navistar Defense.
The RG33 variant of the MRAP, built by BAE Systems, in fact was developed to specifications of the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) to include blast protection from nose to tail, shielding the cargo areas as well, a feature not to be found on all MRAPs. The U.S. military has also recently placed orders for recovery and ambulance MRAPs with Navistar, and has begun to take delivery of upgraded heavy-duty tactical trucks. With the anticipated drawdown of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, MRAPs have begun to be reallocated and repurposed.
BAE Systems last year was awarded a $170 million contract to deliver 32 SOCOM armored utility vehicles (AUV) to the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command. The U.S. SOCOM AUV is one of several MRAP variants based on the RG33 family of vehicles. The contract also included providing upgrades, including the installation of independent suspensions, to 250 existing vehicles.
“We turned that delivery order ahead of schedule, in 10 months, with zero defects,” said Beach Day, MPV program director at BAE Systems. “The first batch is already sitting in theater in Afghanistan.”
The RG33 USSOCOM AUV MRAP is a modified commercial off-the-shelf vehicle designed to reduce casualties and increase survivability for personnel subjected to mine explosions, IED detonations, and small arms fire. The vehicle provides 12,000- pound cargo payload and 36,000-pound towing capability. It features an Automatic Fire Suppression System and a V-shaped hull that provides blast protection against a variety of explosive hazards.
“This allows the vehicle to be driven away after being subject to threats that would completely destroy normal vehicles and disable other mine protected vehicles,” said Michael Bate, the RG33 program director at BAE Systems.
The RG33 is equipped with a 600 horsepower engine which gives the vehicle a high horsepower per ton ratio, according to Day. “It’s also got mine protection all the way to the cargo bed,” he said, “so that it protects the cargo as well as the crew.”
“The blast protection requirements for the SOCOM vehicle is different,” added Bate, “because special operations teams use this for just about everything, from towing boats to hauling their own 4-by-4 vehicles in the back. They were developed and are utilized for special missions including early reconnaissance missions. They can haul pretty much anything on the back of this truck from one forward operating base to the next to ensure mission success.”
To date, BAE Systems has produced around 350 SOCOM MRAP vehicles, 2,200 RG33 MRAP vehicles, and 6,400 total MRAP vehicles through $5 billion in contract awards. The BAE MRAPs incorporate eight different variants, all of which have been fielded in combat zones. BAE Systems also provides troop carrier, route clearance and ambulance variant of the RG33 to the U.S. military.
“The route clearance variant carries robots that do the actual route clearance,” said Bate. “All of these vehicles have essentially the same body types and heavy armor and all have been deployed to theater.”
Upgrades will be performed on nearly 250 SOCOM vehicles to incorporate new independent suspension systems and other design improvements to ensure superior mobility and performance. The 32 latest U.S. SOCOM AUV MRAP vehicles were all built with the improvements already built-in.
MRAPs might normally thought of as fighting vehicles, but Navistar’s MaxxPro MRAP includes variants that are put to work for logistical purposes. “The MaxxPro is becoming a family of vehicles that include wreckers and flatbeds,” said Archie Massicotte, president of Navistar Defense. “We can modify the platform to what the customer is looking for.”
Navistar Defense recently announced that it received a $357 million delivery order for an additional 471 International MaxxPro Dash vehicles. A month earlier Navistar received a $183 million order from the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command for 250 MaxxPro Dash MRAP ambulances. Most recently, in July 2011, Navistar received a delivery order for 140 International MaxxPro Recovery vehicles with rocket-propelled grenade nets from the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command. Navistar has grown its fleet of MaxxPro vehicles to more than 8,700 units, encompassing nine variants.
MaxxPro MRAPs are being used for a number of missions outside the wire, according to Massicotte. “The MaxxPro Dash was the first MRAP to be modified specifically for the Afghan terrain and we have continued to enhance its capabilities all along the way,” he said. “The addition of independent suspension on our vehicles helps combine mobility and survivability. They are also used for troop transport in convoys.”
The MaxxPro Dash ambulance is the company’s latest MRAP variant. “All our MaxxPro units share commonality and this allows us to respond rapidly to changing mission needs with vehicle enhancements and fleet support,” said Massicotte. The $142 million order for MaxxPro Recovery vehicles also includes parts and support for MRAPs. Navistar received its first MaxxPro Recovery vehicle order in November 2010.
“To meet urgent needs, we completed delivery of the last MaxxPro Recovery vehicle order two months ahead of schedule,” said Massicotte. “We are proud that these vehicles are performing well and we will work swiftly again to deliver these additional trucks.”
The MaxxPro Recovery vehicle is based on the same Work-Star, or International 7000-MV, platform that Navistar uses for other of its growing family of vehicles. The vehicle’s ballistic, mine and IED protection aids two- to three-man crews as they retrieve damaged or disabled vehicles and carry out other support missions. The recovery vehicles will be delivered in October and November 2011.
Within the last year, Oshkosh Defense began delivering upgraded versions of the Palletized Load System (PLS) and the Heavy Equipment Transporter (HET), two of the vehicles within the U.S. Army’s family of heavy tactical vehicles (FHTV), under a contract awarded in 2008. The company anticipates delivering 6,000 new vehicles under the contract. Oshkosh also upgrades some of the older FHTV vehicles to make them compatible with the latest requirements. The Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) is also a component of FHTV.
The PLS, used for Army distribution and resupply, is built to transport ammunition and other battle supplies. The HET is designed to rapidly transport battle tanks, fighting and recovery vehicles, armored vehicles and construction equipment, as well as their crews. The HEMTT A4 is available in several variants for a wide range of operations including equipment transport.
“We are now in production with the PLS A1,” said Mike Ivy, vice president and general manager for Army programs at Oshkosh Defense. “We have made significant improvements to the platform. A transportation unit out of the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base was the first to receive the truck earlier this year and they were delighted with it. The trucks are now coming off the assembly line.”
The PLS A1 has an improved power train with a 600-horsepower Caterpillar C13 engine, an independent front suspension for improved off-road mobility, and electrical upgrades. Its new cab is common with the HEMTT C4 and is armor ready.
“The HET A1 is in low rate initial production while testing continues,” said Ivy. “We are making the final configuration changes and plan to ramp up to full-rate production in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012.” Ivy expects the delivery order for 1,000 vehicles, valued at $440 million, to be completed by June 2012.
The new HET A1 will all have armored cabs, including armored floors. That additional weight has necessitated an upgrade to the 700-horsepower Caterpillar C18 engine. The latest Oshkosh HET A1 also includes higher capacity front suspension, electrical upgrades and standard air conditioning.
Oshkosh has also been active in recapitalizing military vehicles, including the PLS and HEMTT, recently reaching the 10,000-vehicle milestone. To meet the latest HEMTT A4 configuration, the suspension in the recapitalized vehicle is improved and a fully air-conditioned and armor-ready cab is installed, in addition to a more powerful drive train.
Oshkosh also has a contract for the Army’s family of medium tactical vehicles (FMTV), deliveries of which began around a year ago. The FMTV consists of 17 models, including cargo, tractor, van, wrecker, tanker and dump truck variants. The FMTV transports troops and hauls equipment in support of a wide range of tactical operations. Ivy expects Oshkosh to deliver 13,000 of these vehicles, which were not upgraded as part of the new contract award.
For all the important work performed by MRAPs in Afghanistan and Iraq, the drawdown of U.S. forces from those areas of operations spell an end to the demand for the vehicles, at least for now. “Right now, there is no future demand for these vehicles,” said Day. “As MRAPs are being drawn down they are being redistributed within the battle command setup. Some are being tailored for different missions.”
Day predicts some MRAPs will be converted to trainers or repurposed for other mission types. This will provide more work for contractors, as the trucks will need to be reconfigured with different equipment, from radios to gun turrets. ♦