Four teams have been awarded Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements totaling $24.25 million to develop prototypes for the U.S. Army’s Common Tactical Truck (CTT) program.
Vying for the multibillion-dollar program are the American Rheinmetall Vehicles/GM Defense team, Mack Defense, Navistar Defense, and Oshkosh Defense. Each competitor will deliver three prototypes for evaluation – a M915 Line Haul Tractor and M1088 Medium Tractor, a Palletized Load System (PLS), and a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT). Vendors will also provide digital designs of all variants and a design study for a wrecker.
American Rheinmetall Vehicles and GM Defense will compete in the CTT program with the HX3 tactical truck. Oshkosh Defense will offer a design based on its Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles (FHTV) platform for the CTT prototypes. Mack Defense, part of the Volvo Group, is expected to offer a design based on its Granite line of vehicles. Navistar Defense has yet to announce details on its submission.
One team that did not move forward was AM General and IDV, the latter a company of Italy’s Iveco Group. The team planned to offer a newly launched High Mobility Range Vehicle (HMRV) CTT, specifically designed for military use.
The aim of the multi-phased program is to replace the Army’s family of heavy tactical trucks with production of up to 40,000 trucks valued at up to $14 billion. Initial production that could entail the purchase of approximately 5,700 vehicles at a value of around $5 billion.
The CTT program is a U.S. Army rapid prototyping effort that uses a middle tier acquisition strategy and OTAs to enable the Army to quickly procure and test tactical truck prototypes to replace its family of heavy tactical trucks. This rapid prototyping phase aims to inform the Army whether commercially based variants can meet military requirements. The CTT program seeks to mitigate current gaps in driver safety systems, autonomy, fuel consumption, and predictive maintenance. The Army’s top priorities for the truck are that it 1) features maximum commercial elements, 2) is able to perform military missions, and 3) can bring commonality among mission roles.
The prototypes will be developed over seven months, with evaluation set to begin in 2024. A final competition will then be conducted in FY25 and a winner selected by the end of FY26. CTT fielding is projected to begin in FY28.
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A military history enthusiast, Richard began at Forecast International as editor of the World Weapons Weekly newsletter. As the Internet grew in importance as a research tool, he helped design the company's Forecast Intelligence Center and currently coordinates the EMarket Alert newsletters for clients. Richard also manages social media efforts, including two new blogs: Defense & Security Monitor, covering defense systems and international issues, and Flight Plan, which focuses on commercial aviation and space systems. For over 30 years, Richard has authored the Defense & Aerospace Companies, Volume I (North America) and Volume II (International) services. The two books provide detailed data on major aerospace and defense contractors. He also edits the International Contractors service, a database that tracks all the contractors involved in the programs covered in the FI library. More recently he was appointed Manager, Information Services Group (ISG), a new unit that encompasses developing outbound content for both Forecast International and Military Periscope.
