The US Army has awarded four companies: Mack Defense, Navistar, Oshkosh and the American Rheinmetall Vehicles/GM Defense team prototyping agreements totalling $24.2 million to build variants for the Common Tactical Truck, or CTT. The contractors will provide three prototypes of each variant for the CTT family of vehicles.

The prototypes will represent their offering for the M915 Line Haul Tractor and M1088 Medium Tractor; Palletised Load System (PLS); and Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT).

The CTT will replace the Army’s family of heavy tactical trucks: the M915 Line Haul Tractor and M1088 Medium Tractor; PLS; and HEMTT; with the production of up to 40,000 trucks valued at up to $14 billion. 

The “rapid prototyping phase” aims to inform the Army whether commercially based variants can meet military requirements. The CTT programme seeks to mitigate current gaps in driver safety systems, autonomy, fuel consumption and predictive maintenance.

The CTT program is also designed to bring a greater level of standardisation to the Army’s Tactical Truck fleet. Program Executive Officer Combat Support & Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS) Brig. Gen. Samuel L. Peterson has described the CTT programme as the “Liberty Truck of the 21st century,” as it seeks to streamline the Army’s supply, maintenance and training requirements, much like the Liberty Truck did during WWI.

The CTT program will integrate commercial technologies such as advanced driver assist systems, be autonomy ready (foundation for future autonomy), fuel-efficient, exportable power, and prognostics and predictive maintenance. The Army is also looking for open modular designs and interchangeable repair parts across the fleet, to streamline supply chains and reduce total lifecycle costs.

Commenting on the awarding of the prototyping agreements, Matthew Warnick, Managing Director for American Rheinmetall Vehicles, said it will deliver a transformational truck that leverages the commercial strengths of its partners, Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles and General Motors, and the commonality of the HX3-CTT design.

The HX3-CTT features an advanced, interchangeable protected cab design, ADAS, and drive-by-wire operation. Its open systems electrical architecture allows for rapid integration of leader-follower, tele-operation, and fully autonomous capabilities.

The CTT’s desired characteristics, according to a US Army article, include:

• Drive by wire and active safety
• Mission roles
• Commonality
• Digitization and autonomy ready
• Energy
• Force protection
• Survivability
• Sustainment