Navistar to build $12.5 million vehicle

A unit of Navistar International won a $12.5 million contract yesterday to build a demonstrator armoured vehicle for the US Army.

Navistar’s International Military and Government division and Lockheed Martin were selected to build the tactical utility vehicle (UV) during the next 18 months, narrowing the competitors for the eventual build from four companies to two. The contract takes the US Army a step closer in their plans to replace their current fleet of vehicles, including the Humvee.

International say that under their Future Tactical Truck System (FTTS) program, the new UV would be modular so it can be reconfigured for an assortment of combat missions and would also incorporate the latest commercial technology. The initial monetary award is for a single Utility Vehicle and the US government expects to exercise a further option for one Companion Trailer in the near future.

International competed against military suppliers Lockheed Martin, AM General and Stewart & Stevenson Vehicle Services to develop demonstrator models of the FTTS-UV. The initial stages of the FTTS research and development effort relied almost entirely on modelling and simulation.

The US Army views its FTTS programme, which besides the utility vehicle includes a heavier vehicle to replace current medium tactical vehicles and the heavy fleet of cargo trucks, as a necessary step in modernising its tactical wheeled vehicles and making its troops easier to deploy.