Mack Defense was featured in Army Magazine, discussing the new dump truck testing and its importance to the mobility efforts of the Army. Read more…
Heavy Dump Trucks
Mack Defense Featured On Front Page of Truck & Off-Highway Engineering
Mack Defense was featured on the front page of Truck & Off-Highway Engineering in April, featuring our newly designed HDT vehicle. Read more…
Mack’s First New Heavy Dump Truck Test Vehicles Readying For Army Testing
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo.—The first test vehicles for the Army’s future heavy dump trucks have already rolled off the Mack Defense production line and are undergoing final fittings before delivery to the service in late May or early June for a 40-week round of testing, a company official said here last week.
The first production lot test vehicles are armor capable but won’t be outfitted with armor for the upcoming testing. The company expects to receive another order this spring for five to seven more vehicles in the armored cab configuration for a separate round of blast and survivability testing that will follow the initial testing, Rob Gordon, senior director of Business Development, told Defense Daily April 9 during the Army Engineer Association Industry Exhibition.
The Army’s Mission – Destroy The Mack Heavy Armored Truck
The U.S. Army plans to pay Mack Truck’s defense unit nearly $300 million to build armored dump trucks. But before the new trucks go into the field, the military will try to destroy one or more test models.
“We will literally shoot it with machine guns and blow it up and see what happens,” Lt. Col. Jeff Jurand, the Army’s product manager for heavy tactical vehicles, told Trucks.com.
The Army wants to make sure that soldiers in the armored compartment can survive the effects of a large-scale blast.
“The most important asset to the Army is the soldiers,” Jurand said. “I can buy dump trucks. But I can’t buy, train and replace soldiers.”
Mack Defense Enters Production Vehicle Testing Phase of Heavy Dump Truck Contract
ALLENTOWN, PA (Feb. 18, 2019) – Mack Defense recently started production
of five Mack Granite -based M917A3 Heavy Dump Trucks (HDT) as part of the Production Vehicle Testing (PVT) phase of its $296 million contract with the U.S. Army for armored and armor-capable HDTs. Once completed, the trucks will enter 40 weeks of rigorous durability testing at the U.S. Army’s Aberdeen Test Center this summer.
“Our production team and suppliers are excited to begin building these next
generation HDTs for the U.S. Army,” said David Hartzell, president of Mack Defense. “We’re confident the M917A3 will provide the Army the legendary durability and toughness Mack customers have come to depend on.”
Meritor® Announces Complete Drivetrain Solution for Mack Defense’s M917A3 Heavy Dump Truck for U.S. Army
TROY, Mich. (Feb. 14, 2019) ̶ Meritor, Inc. (NYSE: MTOR) today announced it has been selected to equip Mack Defense’s new heavy-duty dump trucks for the United States Army with a comprehensive drivetrain solution from Meritor including its MX810 front drive steer axle, transfer case, ProTec™ Series 50 tridem drive beam axles and Permalube™ RPL Series drivelines. The Mack Granite® armored and armor-capable dump trucks are scheduled to be delivered to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers through 2025.
“With this solution, Mack and Meritor have taken steps to ensure that our soldiers can execute their missions with confidence,” said David Damian, director, Defense for Meritor. “Our axles and related components are widely applicable to multiple military applications.”
Mack Defense details new US Army M917A3 Heavy Dump Truck
Shaun Connors, Washington, DC – Jane’s International Defense Review
Mack Defense has confirmed additional M917A3 Heavy Dump Truck (HDT) technical details to Jane’s after showing the type publicly for the first time at the Association of the United States Army’s annual conference in October.
Following a solicitation released on 26 May 2017 and a subsequent competition between Mack Defense and Navistar Defense, on 29 May 2018 the US Army announced that it had awarded the HDT contract to Mack Defense. The initial market survey for this requirement had been released by the US Army in 2014.Mack Defense’s M917A3 Heavy Dump Truck (HDT). (Shaun Connors)
The M917 is a member of the M900 series of trucks. The M900 series are based on commercial vehicles with the minimum of modifications to make them suitable for military use, and as such are not classed tactical trucks by the US Army. In addition to the M917, the M900 series includes the M915 6×4 and M916 6×6 tractor trucks, and has previously included M918 6×6 bituminous distributor, M919 8×6 concrete mixer, and M920 8×6 tractor truck.