U.S. Army Tactical Truck Retrofit Program Accelerates
WASHINGTON --- The Army is improving the performance of its initial-model Family of Medium Tactical Vehicle trucks through a force-wide retrofit program.
The trucks are now being fitted in the field with sturdier u-joints, larger-diameter drive shafts, and a stronger flywheel housing, said Col. Robert B. Lees, FMTV project manager, Program Executive Office, Ground Combat and Support Systems. PEO-GCSS is a tenant organization of U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command at Warren, Mich.
"The retrofits are going according to schedule; we've accelerated it, with a target completion date of June 2000, rather than December 2000," said Lees. Contractor personnel are performing the retrofit work, he added.
Lees said more than 10,000 two-and-a-half-ton (M1078AO) and five-ton (M1083AO) FMTVs delivered to the Army and other Department of Defense organizations since January 1996 will be retrofitted. These FMTVs were produced in 12 variants, such as wreckers, dump trucks and tankers, he added.
Officials note that FMTVs have proven to be one of the Army's most durable pieces of equipment with a 97 percent operational readiness rate. However, the first batch of FMTVs had some "bugs" that needed to be worked out. A total of 11 accidents - all involving no injury or minor injury - have been reported since fielding the original model FMTV trucks, said Army officials.
Army and contractor officials found that the original model's drive line was susceptible to vertical flexing and vibration when the vehicle was driven above 45 mph on paved highways for long distances. Resultant vibration-induced stress on u-joints connecting the transmission to the drive shaft caused the drive shaft to break off in three accidents cited, officials said.
Retrofits have been completed on trucks in Korea; Fort Myer, Va.; Fort Carson, Colo., and the job is 85 percent complete involving a total of 500 vehicles in Hawaii, said Lees.
Work involving 2,600 trucks at Fort Bragg, N.C., started in October, he added, with 280 having been retrofitted, thus far.
"The retrofits have produced a safer and more reliable vehicle, which can now operate at normal highway speeds, 55 mph," said Lees.
Lees said other FMTV retrofit operations are scheduled at Fort Stewart, Ga.; Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Campbell, Ky.; Fort Drum, N.Y.; Fort Huachuca, Ariz.; Fort Hood, Texas; and Fort Lewis, Wash. Retrofit operations at these installations, he said, will start concurrently during January and February.
In September, the Army gave the go-ahead for the production of improved, A1-model FMTVs, said Lees. These trucks have the retrofitted improvements plus other modifications, to include a more powerful engine and smoother transmission, he said.
Delivery of FMTV A1 models to the field is expected to begin during the third quarter of fiscal year 2000, said Lees.
Army officials describe the FMTV program as "revolutionary." While older trucks were mostly custom-designed and engineered to meet military specifications and performance standards unmet by commercial vehicles under acquisition regulations at the time, recent acquisition-rule reform has enabled the Army to use more "off-the-shelf" components and commercial technology for its new trucks.
FMTVs are manufactured according to military performance specifications, but the contractor selects and assembles the commercial-source components, according to Army officials. This more-efficient process enables the Army to purchase more trucks at less cost to taxpayers. FMTV trucks have also been engineered to make them easier to airlift during deployments, with some models specifically designed for airdrop.
Officials said the Army needs 83,000 new tactical trucks to replace its aging fleet. FMTVs were designed to replace 30-year-old two-and-a-half-ton (deuce-and-a-half) and five-ton vehicles.
(by Gerry J. Gilmore, Army News Service)
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U.S. Army Tactical Truck Retrofit Program Accelerates
