In for the Long Haul
MLF 2010 Volume: 4 Issue: 1 (February)
The military loves its acronyms, and often the general public falls in love with those same catchy little phrases too. Often they enter the pop-culture lexicon, such as Snafu, or more recently, the high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle, or HMMWV, more commonly known as the “Hummer” or “Humvee.”
The majority of the public is familiar with the HMMWV as a combat vehicle. This was the role popularized by the media in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and also the way the vehicle was portrayed in several motion pictures.
However, few outside of the military realize that one of the primary purposes of the HMMWV, since it was first introduced in the early ’80s, was to be the replacement for the Army’s primary workhorse, the M151 series 1/4-ton Jeep and companion M416 1/4-ton trailer. HMMWVs and their compatible trailers, known as high-mobility trailers (HMTs), are used to haul just about anything from utility lights to tactical UAVs.
The HMMWV was designed to bounce over obstacles, climb mountains and ford rivers—so there had to be trailers designed and built that could keep pace. HMTs have been undergoing an evolution since they were redesigned to operate specifically with HMMWVs in the late ’90s. In a report issued at that time, Nancy P. Moulton, then project manager, light tactical vehicles, U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command, (TACOM) Warren, Mich., stated, “The HMT provides the Army with a greatly needed capability to move cargo over all types of surface conditions at all required speeds, and will reduce the Army’s logistics burden as it takes on payloads now carried by other HMMWVs.”
HMTs Today
Today HMTs and the HMMWV are in many cases the military’s prime mover. Given the sordid history of safety and stability problems of the HMT, which prompted Moulton’s aforementioned 2001 overhaul and report, HMMWV-compatible trailers are now mostly referred to as light tactical trailers (LTTs). The light tactical trailer heavy chassis (LTT-HC) category consists of trailers with payload capacities that range from about 2,000 to 3,000 pounds. LTTs nearly double the cargo-carrying capacity of a HMMWV. Of course, the key is that any such trailer needs to be able to go wherever the HMMWVs go.
The trailers have been designed with the same wheelbase, and the same “run flat” tires as the HMMWV. That means, as required by military specifications, currently a HMMWV and tethered LTT has at least 90 percent of the mobility of the HMMWV alone, at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour traveling cross-country while fully loaded. Oregon-based Silver Eagle Manufacturing Co. is a regular supplier of LLTs to the Army.
In October 2008, Silver Eagle was awarded a five-year contract to deliver the trailers. Under the terms of that contract over 64,000 trailers may be ordered with an estimated value of $500 million. In a company press release announcing that award, Silver Eagle President Jay Wilson said, “Silver Eagle Manufacturing is very excited with the news of the award. This five-year, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity [IDIQ] order solidifies Silver Eagle as the front-runner in light tactical trailer manufacturing. We look forward to our ongoing relationship with the U.S. military.”
Also that year, Schutt Industries Inc. was given a smaller LTT contract for the Marines. Delivery by Schutt to the Marines began in September of 2009.
The development and deployment of LTTs is occurring simultaneously with the larger scale, ongoing Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program for the Army and Marines. The goal of JLTV is to create a family of vehicles and adjunct trailers that are mission capable of performing multiple roles and are built to provide “protected, sustained, networked mobility” for personnel and payloads across the full range of military operations. To date, there are 10 vehicle/trailer configurations/sub-configurations under JLTV in three payload categories. According to TACOM, as of October 2009 contracts in excess of $165 million dollars have been made under the Technical Development Phase of JLTV. The awards were made to BAE Systems Land & Armaments, Ground Systems Division, Santa Clara, Calif.; General Tactical Vehicles, Sterling Heights, Mich.; and Lockheed Martin Systems Integration, Owego, N.Y. Other potential contractors under JLTV include Raytheon Company, Network Centric Sensors, Combat Systems, Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc. and Caterpillar Inc. Upon the completion of the technology development phase, the Army and Marines currently anticipate conducting another full and open competition with award of two contracts for the engineering, manufacturing and development phase, with anticipation of full production and deployment to begin in 2013.
The Heavy Hitters
The three payload categories in development under JLTV and in the current use of HMMWVs and LTTs are great when it comes to moving generators, small UAV launchers or communications gear quickly and efficiently over a variety of terrains. But when it comes to the transport of heavy equipment such as tanks, munitions and shelters, that’s where the “big boys” come in.
Towed by heavy expanded mobility tactical trucks (HEMTTs), trailers such as the heavy expanded mobility ammunition trailers (HEMATs) are used to transport rocket pods and ammunition pallets weighing up to 11 tons.
In 2005 DRS Technologies, Parsippany, N.J., was awarded a five-year IDIQ contract to deliver up to 583 HEMATs designated M989A1. In June 2009 the company announced that it received its ninth delivery order for the trailers, valued at more than $22 million. This latest order came from TACOM in Warren, Mich.
HEMATs are used to transport multiple launch rocket system pods, conventional ammunition and other equipment on paved, secondary or cross-country roads. These heavy spec trailers have been essential to logistics operations for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In a company press release Thomas G. Cornwell, vice president and general manager at DRS-SSI, said, “This key transport system continues to demonstrate reliability, durability and versatility under extremely harsh conditions, ensuring continuous readiness for military operations.”
Over the years, another provider the military has often turned to for all manner of dependable heavy logistical equipment has been Terex Corp., and trailers are no exception. Several models of Terex Load King trailers have been supplied to the U.S. Army and its allies, including the Israeli Ministry of Defense through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program. According to Thomas Manley II, vice president, Terex government programs, “our trailers are deployed worldwide. We supply our commercial trailers through commercial and government contracts in support of military operations around the globe. Military bases and stations worldwide use our trailers to support daily equipment haul operations. Wherever you see major installations or training bases, you shouldn’t be surprised to see Load King trailers hauling armored vehicles, construction equipment or cargo.”
As with any equipment provided for military logistics, designing long haul trailers for the military means form, function and integration. Unlike when hauling ordinary freight, the military truck/trailer needs to function as a combat system. This can present particular challenges to the supplier. “The most critical element,” said Manley, “is making sure you fully understand the requirement upfront. This especially holds true for designing and building trailers for the military. It is not sufficient just to understand how to design trailers. For military applications, one has to understand the unique interface of a trailer to its prime mover, understand special payload concerns and understand the overall mission environment. The challenge is balancing design for U.S. military operational requirements, which can be extreme in terms of physical environment, required terrain traffic ability and deployment transportability, against what can be manufactured consistently in a high quality and cost-effective way.”
Line Haul
The military’s primary line haul truck and trailer has long been the heavy equipment transport system (HETS).
HETS consists of the Oshkosh Truck M-1070 truck tractor and the M-1000 heavy equipment transporter semitrailer manufactured by Systems & Electronics, and can transport payloads up to 70 tons, such as M1 Abrams. Despite its size, strength and payload capacity, HETS is surprisingly maneuverable, conducting logistical operations across the globe on highways, secondary roads and cross-country.
The Oshkosh M-1070 HEMTT has proven itself many times in battlefield deployment. Yet it is among an aging fleet in need of an upgrade—which may have just arrived. On June 15, 2009, Oshkosh announced it received a delivery order from TACOM to supply more than 100 new HEMTTs to the Army National Guard. The delivery order is the first the company has received for its new A4 vehicle under a prior contract award. In the press announcement, Andy Hove, executive vice president and president, Oshkosh Defense, said, “Whether mobilized for disaster relief at home or in-theater operations abroad, National Guard units will continue to rely on these heavy-payload vehicles for their many different logistics missions.”
In December of 2009, Oshkosh received a $56 million delivery order from the U.S. Army TACOM to supply the Army with its first light equipment transporters (LET), which are a variant of the A4. The delivery order calls for Oshkosh Defense to provide more than 200 M983 HEMTT A4 LETs, with delivery expected to be completed in September 2010. The award brings the U.S. Army’s total family of heavy tactical vehicles contract to more than $3.2 billion. According to Oshkosh’s Hove, “The Oshkosh HEMTT A4 LET expands the capabilities of the U.S. Army’s logistics fleet with the transportation of various light equipment in challenging environments and as part of the Stryker recovery system.”
The recognition of the need to improve and upgrade the Army’s aging fleet of trailers and other heavy equipment goes back at least to 2007. It was then that Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), helped to secure a $2.9 million contract for Fontaine Trailer Military Products (FTMP) to manufacture and assemble Army National Guard trailer refurbishment kits. The refurbishment kits were designed to upgrade the National Guard’s 22.5 ton semitrailers. The kits provide new better-protected wiring, new suspension and axle systems, and anti-lock brakes, among several other additions all designed to improve the mobility of the trailers. At the time of the award, Whitfield said, “With the average semitrailers being over 20 years old, it is necessary to not only maintain but also to improve the older semitrailer fleet, so they can continue providing support to our troops. This new technology will save the government money and reduce the maintenance burden on our soldiers by 75 percent.”
FTMP has been recognized for its expertise in these kinds refurbishments, but President Mark A. Keller said that is only one part of their military logistics story. “We also are focused on another part of the military, where we provide what we call a highly engineered trailer, and it is in support of ‘Star Wars’ and other sophisticated missile and aerospace stems. That is all I am at liberty to say, but a big part of our business is delivery of these highly-engineered trailers.”
Keller explained that FTMP has about three different projects right now that are aerospace related. Still the workhorse of FTMP is the supply of theMH71A3 heavy trailer. “Our main focus for this year will continue to be the delivery of the MH71A3. We have built several hundred of those this year,” said Keller. “Right now we have just finished producing a large number of these trailers that are painted tan, so they are presumably going to the dessert in Iraq or Afghanistan. We are committed to meeting all the requirements that TACOM has, if they give us a deadline we commit our entire staff to that deadline.”
Next Generation
FTMP’s refurbishment kits and Oshkosh’s A4 are prime examples of the next generation of military trucks and trailers, where the challenge will be to continue to balance durability and strength with maneuverability and fuel economy. Composites will likely play an increasing role. Composites offer a lightweight yet high tensile strength. For military truck and trailer applications, composites offer the added advantage of prevention of rust and corrosion, which is very important in vehicles that are often fielded for 20 years or more.
As far back as 2004, Martin Marietta Composites’ manufacturing plant in Sparta, N.C., rolled out its first all-composite truck trailer. The completed trailer hailed the culmination of a 10-year relationship started with CompositTrailer of Belgium. The military has not yet ordered any of these lightweight trailers from MMC, but according to the company, its Transonite composite technology has been used for matting and protective panels on military vehicles.
However, it is TPI Composites Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz., in conjunction with Volvo America, that is working under a $15 million contract with the U.S. Army and the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) to develop an all-composite armored vehicle. It was TPI that designed the all-composite cab demonstrated in Oshkosh’s A3 HEMTT.
“TPI is committed to applying its technology to provide solutions that will help the warfighter,” said Steven C. Lockard, president and chief executive officer of TPI. “The lightweight, all-composite armor-ready cab is a great example of how advanced composite material and process technology can be applied to enhance performance in military vehicles.”
On January 19th, 2010, TPI announced that it successfully completed both accelerated durability testing and road testing of its all-composite military vehicle (ACMV). It is believed to be the first completely composite tactical vehicle to accomplish such a milestone for the U.S. Army. The next round of testing for the ACMV will be blast testing, which is expected to take place early this year.
In a report titled, “Future Technology for Today’s Army,” TACOM described its 21st century truck initiative as “government agencies and industry collaborating to improve fuel efficiency, reduce emissions, increase safety and reduce the cost of ownership for the nation’s commercial and military trucks.”
A military’s success depends entirely upon its ability to sufficiently support its warfighters, and the foundation of any professional fighting force is its logistics system. Light- to heavy-duty trailers play a key role as the backbone of the Army’s truck fleet. No matter how they change and evolve, trailers will long be an integral part of logistics for the deployment of assets and as the base for key weapons systems. ♦