Who Will Build U.S Army's New Medium-Weight Truck?

The race is on for a multibillion-dollar contract to produce the next generation of trucks and trailers for the U.S. Army's family of medium tactical vehicles.

FMTVs are the Army's sturdy 2.5-ton and 5-ton trucks. The 2.5-ton version--traditionally called a "deuce and a half"--is officially known as a light medium tactical vehicle. The 5-ton truck is called a medium tactical vehicle.

Both are small enough to be airlifted by C-130 air transports and helicopters, but large enough to carry heavy loads of troops, ammunition and other supplies under battlefield conditions, explained Col. Robert B. Lees Jr., medium tactical vehicles project manager at Army Ground Combat and Support Systems, in Warren, Mich.

FMTVs have been deployed to Kosovo, Korea and the Persian Gulf, Lees said. They may be in the environs of Afghanistan, he added, but that couldn't be confirmed at press time.

Previous generations of Army trucks were mostly custom-designed to meet military specifications, Lees explained, but FMTVs use more "off-the-shelf" technology. "They come in 14 variations, including troop carriers, cargo trucks, vans, wreckers and dump trucks," he said. "But they share more than 80 percent of the same parts." This interchangeability of parts substantially eases maintenance and reduces costs, he noted.

The Army began developing the FMTV a decade ago. The plan is to build more than 85,000 of such vehicles over a 32-year period. Thus far, more than 14,000 FMTVs have been built by Stewart & Stevenson Tactical Systems LP, of Sealy, Tex., according to company spokesman Paul Justice. Another 5,800 are to be produced by March of 2003, he said. In addition, more than 100 FMTV trailers have been built, with 1,500 to be delivered by 2003.

Now, the Army is preparing to acquire another generation of FMTVs. Earlier this year, it awarded contracts to Stewart & Stevenson and Oshkosh Truck Corp., of Oshkosh, Wis., to provide prototypes of the new vehicles, to be evaluated in 2002 at the service's Aberdeen Test Center in Maryland. When those tests are completed, the Army plans to use the results to award a $2 billion contract for construction of 14,000 more trucks and trailers over the next five years.

Oshkosh makes a variety of military trucks. Last year, it began full-rare production of the U.S. Marine Corps' new seven-ton truck, known as the medium tactical vehicle replacement. Oshkosh also produces the Army's 8x8 heavy expanded mobility tactical truck, the eight-wheel drive heavy equipment transporter and the palletized load system, a five-axle, all-wheel drive truck and trailer system.

During the prototype phase of the competition for the first contract, beginning in 1988, Stewart & Stevenson subcontracted with Steyr-Daimler-Puch, AG., of Austria, for vehicle design and development, according to a report by the General Accounting Office, a congressional watchdog agency. Steyr based its design on a truck that it had produced for the Austrian army, the GAO said.

The Army awarded a $1.2 billion contract for Stewart & Stevenson to produce approximately 11,000 2.5-ton and 5-ton vehicles over five years. But Steyr did nor participate in the production phase of the program, the GAO noted.

Production of this first version of the FMTV--known as the AO, or "A Zero"--was not completed until 1999, years behind schedule. Furthermore, the GAO said, the first 4,955 of those trucks failed to meet the Army's corrosion-protection requirements.

"The contract specified that the trucks were designed to prevent corrosion from perforating or causing other damage requiring repair or replacement of parts during the initial 10 years of service," said the report. But "corrosion was found on the cabs of trucks less than three years old," the study noted.

Stewart & Stevenson agreed to repair the damage and to provide a 10-year warranty against future corrosion. Ultimately, however, the Army and the contractor concluded that steel cabs were needed to meet the corrosion-prevention requirement, and the contract was modified to make that stipulation.

The GAO cited Stewart & Stevenson's inexperience in truck production as a factor in the FMTVs corrosion problems, but the firm challenged that assertion, citing decades of work in the field. "Stewart & Stevenson has been assembling and manufacturing vehicles since World War II, when the company built and rebuilt trucks for the U.S. Army," said Richard Waiter, the firm's vice president and general manager. "In recent years, the company has built or rebuilt thousands of trucks, buses, airline ground-support vehicles and tactical trailers for U.S. and foreign customers."

Responding to the GAO report, George R, Schneider, director of strategic and tactical systems for the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and technology, noted that improvements had been made in FMTV corrosion protection. "The contractor continues to be required to meet corrosion-protection requirements," Schneider said, "and we are confident that the fielded vehicles will economically provide the required service life."

In 2000, two FMTVs tested at Aberdeen became the first military vehicles ever to pass a full-scale, 22-year accelerated corrosion and durability test. By comparison, Lees said, manufacturers of civilian automobiles--which typically operate in relatively moderate surroundings--offer seven-year corrosion warranties.

Overall, the FMTV has proven to be one of the Army's most durable pieces of equipment, with a readiness rate above 95 percent, Lees said. Nevertheless, early versions of the vehicle had other "bugs" that needed to be corrected, he noted.

In 1997, drivers began to complain that the FMTV's drive line was susceptible to vertical flexing and vibration when the vehicle was driven above 45 mph on paved highways for long distances. In at least three cases, the drive shaft actually broke off When the problem was identified, the Army issued a Safety-of-Use Message, limiting the trucks to 30 mph--the speed at which they normally operate in off-road conditions.

The Army then embarked upon a force-wide power-train retrofit program, installing stronger u-joints, drive shafts and flywheel housing. "The retrofits have produced a safer and more reliable vehicle, which can now operate at normal highway speeds, 55 mph," Lees said.

In 1999, the Army authorized Stewart & Stevenson to produce an improved, second-generation FMTV, called the A1. Under this $1.4 billion contract, Stewart & Stevenson agreed to build approximately 7,800 A1s, plus trailers, through 2003.

The A1 has higher horsepower; a smoother, seven-speed automatic transmission; a new anti-lock brake system; improved emissions technology in the diesel engine, and interactive electronic training manuals, said Justice. It has almost 40 additional upgrades, such as more durable seating material and cargo tarp, stronger door hinges and reinforced sections that can be used as footholds to gain access to the cargo area.

Many of the enhancements were suggested by the soldiers who actually drive the trucks, Lees explained. For example, he said, the A1 has handles near the doors to make it easier for crew members to climb into the cab, which sits high atop the engine.

The A1s come with companion trailers that have the same cube and payload capacity as their prime mover, effectively doubling the load that they can carry, Lees said. Previous trailers had a 1.5 ton capacity.

The new trailers share more than 80 percent of the same components with the trucks, including tarps, bows, suspension components and tire and wheel assemblies.

The third generation of FMTVs--which the Army hopes to begin receiving in 2003--probably won't be much different from the A1s, Lees said. The changes, he predicted, will be slight. There will be at least two additional variants, he said.

A 5-ton load-handling system will incorporate the latest lift-system innovations. It will be capable of:

* Self-loading and unloading.

* Transporting standard, 20-foot shipping containers weighing up to 8.8 tons.

* Loading rapidly on and off C-130s aircraft.

* Compatibility with all standard Army flatbeds.

A 5-ton FMTV chassis also is being tested as the launch platform for the high-mobility artillery rocket system, or HIMARS, being developed for the Army and Marines. HIMARS is a C-130 transportable, wheeled, indirect-fire missile system.

In a spin-off from the HIMARS project, Stewart & Stevenson, in 2001, signed an agreement with O'Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt Armoring Company, of Fairfield, Ohio, to develop an armored cab for the FMTV fleet that is similar to the one that they designed for HIMARS. The HIMARS cab is designed specifically to provide crew protection from toxic fumes and flash and launch debris expelled at high speeds during rocket deployment, Justice explained.

The two companies will conduct research and development efforts to further expand FMTV armoring capabilities to include ballistic and mine protection. In an earlier project, they produced an armored FMTV door capable of defeating 7.62 mm M80 rounds.