WARREN, Mich. (February 8, 2018) -- The U.S. Army on Feb. 7 awarded Oshkosh Defense, LLC, located in Oshkosh, Wis., a firm, fixed-price requirements production contract spanning up to seven years for the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) A2 variant. The initial estimated contract value is $476.2 million.
For decades, the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles has formed the backbone of the Army's local, line haul, and unit resupply missions in combat, combat support, and combat service support units. These trucks, consisting of 15 variants sharing a common chassis and components, play an important role as the prime mover for several weapon, sensor, and communication platforms. Keeping the fleet current with the latest technology is essential ensuring Active, Reserve, and National Guard Soldiers remain ready to meet new challenges and mission demands at home and abroad.
"During recent conflicts, we added more protection to our medium trucks, which added weight, along with high-tech systems that require more power," said Alvin Bing, the Army's product director for medium tactical vehicles. "That gave the crew the protection they needed and kept them connected to modern battlefield technology, but it also took away from how the vehicles were originally intended to perform. So we launched the A2 effort to restore the performance we had traded, while preparing the fleet to grow with tomorrow's Army."
The Army already owned the FMTV's blueprints or "technical data package" and used it to re-compete the FMTV fleet in 2008. Owning the program's technical data gave the Army an advantage in shaping how to move forward with the A2 program and build on the existing fleet's strong legacy.
"We listened to a lot of Soldier feedback, and we spent a lot of time talking with industry about what was most important and how we could maximize value for Soldiers and taxpayers," said Col. Dan Furber, the Army's project manager for transportation systems. "We held multiple industry days, evaluated demonstrator vehicles, and made sure everyone had plenty of time to understand today's truck and what we wanted to change. As a result, we're going to give Soldiers a great truck with a stronger chassis, better protection, more power, and new safety features that provide them much better ride quality, while making them safer and more effective."
For the FMTV A2, the Army asked vendors to propose a series of changes to the truck's design, known as Engineering Change Proposals, along with a plan to take the updated design and begin producing new trucks. Those new trucks will feature a higher capacity chassis to carry enhanced protection, a higher output alternator to simplify the electrical system and feed the growing demand for power, support enhanced vehicle diagnostics, increase engine power and performance, and introduce key safety features like electronic stability control.
FMTVs first entered production in 1991 to replace the iconic 2.5-ton "deuce and a half" and 5-ton trucks. Since then, multiple vendors have produced, upgraded, and improved more than 75,000 of these vehicles. Over this period, the Army has also pursued several improvements to its Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, most recently with the competitively awarded "A1P2" version in 2008.
The Army and Oshkosh Defense will now finalize the FMTV A2 designs, conduct required testing, and then launch into production. New vehicles should begin rolling off the production line in 2020.
The U.S. Army's Program Executive Office, Combat Support & Combat Service Support, headquartered here, oversees the Project Management Office, Transportation Systems, including all of the Army's tactical wheeled vehicles and watercraft. With more than 150 programs in active management and an annual budget of more than $3 billion, PEO CS&CSS is responsible for managing the design, development, and delivery of the majority of equipment across the Army's transportation, engineer, quartermaster, and sustainment portfolios.
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