News

2015-08-01

OSHKOSH DEFENSE FMTV

Following a $184 million order from the US Army, Oshkosh Defense will produce 698 Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) trucks for the Army. Deliveries will begin in 2016.

“The Oshkosh FMTV delivers unprecedented durability and reliability while meeting the demands of the mission and our soldiers on today’s battlefields,” said John Bryant, senior vice president of defense programs at Oshkosh Defense.

By Lee Yadav

Oshkosh began producing FMTVs for the US Army in 2010. Since then, Oshkosh has delivered more than 22,000 trucks and 11,000 trailers including a recent order in December 2014 for 256 FMTVs. The US Army and National Guard rely on the FMTV at home and abroad in tactical and combat operations, relief efforts and unit resupply missions.

The Oshkosh FMTV equips soldiers with crew-protecting armor and advanced technologies to provide the versatility, mobility and protection as they perform their missions.

STANDS ALONE

The Oshkosh FMTV stands alone as the get-things-done resource for military operations. Crew-protecting armor and advanced technologies work in concert to provide the capability, versatility, mobility and protection to move troops and supplies, recover vehicles and weapon systems or haul equipment wherever the mission requires.

For durability, reliability and advanced performance, the FMTV has been proven time and time again. It meets the demands of the mission, of the battlefield and of the military personnel who rely on it. Commonality of parts – over 80 per cent – across chassis variants significantly reduces the logistics burden as well as operational and support costs. And with a long-term armor strategy-compliant cab and other advanced technologies, military personnel get the enhanced protection they need to confidently complete their missions.

The United States Department of the Army announced in 2010 that it had re-evaluated the contract award decision for its FMTV originally made in 2009. This change was based on Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) recommendations. Accordingly, Oshkosh Corp. was awarded a competitive, five-year requirements contract for production of up to 12,415 trucks, 10,926 trailers, and associated support and engineering services.

RE-EVALUATED

The total estimated contract value at award was $3.023 billion. The Army originally awarded the contract to Oshkosh, but BAE Systems, Tactical Vehicles LP and Navistar filed GAO protests against the contract award to Oshkosh. From Dec. 21, 2009, to Jan. 22, 2010, the US Army re-evaluated the proposals in accordance with the GAO’s recommendation. Subsequently, there was an Office of the Secretary of Defense peer review affirming the Army’s re-evaluation process.

Oshkosh already produces the Army’s FHTV and works with nearly every one of the FMTV current component suppliers across the country as integral partners in other military programs. Oshkosh is the only current manufacturer of both medium and heavy tactical wheeled vehicles in the US defense industry, having produced more than 70,000 military-class vehicles in its manufacturing facilities
.

The Oshkosh FMTV is a series of 17 models and 23 configurations ranging from 2.5-ton to 10-ton payloads. Commonality of parts of over 80 per cent across chassis variants optimizes logistics efficiency and reduces operational costs. The long-term armor strategy-compliant cab and other advanced technologies give military personnel the enhanced protection they need to confidently complete their missions.

The components are primarily non-developmental items integrated in rugged tactical configurations. The FMTVs, all automatic, come in 14 variations of 2.5-ton cargo and van models and five-ton cargo, tractor, van, wrecker, tanker and dump-truck models. Eighty per cent commonality of parts - same engines, transmissions, drivelines, power trains, tires, cabs - in the new trucks is expected to save the Army millions of dollars in maintenance costs.

The LMTV has a 2.5-ton capacity (cargo and van models). The MTV (Medium Tactical Vehicle) has a five-ton capacity (cargo and long-wheelbase cargo with and without material handling equipment, tractor, van, wrecker, and dump truck models. Three truck variants and two companion trailers, with the same cube and payload capacity as their prime movers, provide air drop capability.

WORLDWIDE

Van and tanker variants of the MTV will be developed concurrent with the production of other models. The FMTV will perform line haul, local haul, unit mobility, unit resupply, and other missions in combat, combat support, and combat service support units. Vehicles will operate worldwide on primary and secondary roads and trails. The FMTV will replace over-aged and maintenance-intensive trucks currently in the medium tactical vehicle fleet.

The US Army’s medium tactical vehicle inventory, which consisted of approximately 95,460 2.5-ton and 5-ton vehicles, was costly to maintain and operate. Also, the 2.5-ton vehicle had key operational limitations. The Army planned to modernize the medium tactical vehicle inventory through the FMTV Program.

The FMTV Program features non-developmental items whereby existing commercial components are modified as required and integrated into vehicles intended to meet military needs. The FMTV Program was structured to acquire 85,401 medium tactical vehicles by 2021. The Army estimated that the total cost of the program would be $16.3 billion.

The Army’s old five-ton trucks were involved in 428 accidents, 128 of them roll-overs that killed 41 soldiers and 13 civilians, between 1992 and 1995 When the Army chose to develop new trucks, safety was a key concern.

The FMTV program initially experienced some bad press following 13 accidents involving A0-model trucks. One of the accidents resulted in a rollover attributed to a driveline design flaw. A March 1998 safety message to drivers noted that the vehicles can operate at fairly high highway speeds. But at the 45- to 58-mph range, they found a resonance or vibration in the engine-transmission-driveshaft combination. The vibration stressed the truck’s u-joints, which could cause the driveshaft to fail.

RETROFIT

Before the recall, soldiers were allowed to operate the vehicles at 55 mph, and most didn’t have any real problems. Stewart and Stevenson subcontractors continued to upgrade A0-model FMTVs to reinforce the vehicles’ drivelines and u-joints. Besides the company’s own on-site retrofit facility, co-located with its assembly facility in Sealy, Texas, retrofit centers were located throughout the Army.

The trucks had a number of headaches, with numerous glitches truck unit soldiers experienced. Their “headaches” included alternator, battery and headlight failures. Other problems such as bent tail-light brackets, doors and tailgates are primarily due to the large number of aluminum parts that replace the sturdier steel parts of the Army’s old trucks. Rear bumpers came off in some instances when drivers failed to raise the trucks’ mud flaps before backing up. When the flaps are down, the wheels ride over them, putting so much pressure on the bumper it tears off.

The old 800-series trucks, reputed to be among the best inventions ever for the Army, weren’t without problems after initial fielding either. In fact, there were four versions of that vehicle. And when the Humvee was first introduced, broken bolts were a common problem.

TESTING

In early 2000 Army acquisition executive Paul Hoeper approved production of modified (A1) versions of the 2½-ton (M1087A1) and five-ton (M1083A1) trucks after prototypes successfully completed 90,000 miles of testing at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. This will produce and field a truck with eight times the reliability, availability, and maintainability of the old `deuce-and-a-half’ truck it replaces.

The A1’s will be manufactured according to military specifications, but the FMTV contractor, Stewart and Stevenson, will use commercial components. This process will enable the Army to purchase more trucks at less cost. The new trucks have been engineered to make them easier to airlift, and some models will be designed specifically for airdrop.

According to officials, the Army needs 85,000 new trucks to replace its aging fleet. Soldiers were scheduled to start receiving the new A1’s in March. FMTV trucks issued to Army units since January 1996 will be refitted with stronger U-joints and flywheel housings and larger diameter drive shafts.

Every identified problem in the original A0 model will be fixed in the newer model Al. The manufacturer did a good job of going to the field and talking to soldiers to find out what needs to be done. Noted difficulties aside, the original A0-model FMTV demonstrated more than double the contract-specified reliability requirements for some variants.

Those results prompted the Army to almost double the standards for the A1 model FMTVs. The contract required that the A1 operate for 5,500 miles without any hardware failure. During those tests, the vehicles recorded more than 13,000 failure-free miles.

Ref Photo/text: Oshkosh defense

Comments () Views (6777 ) Print

Send To Friend