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.” (more…)

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.”

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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.”

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Mack Defense Completes Surveillance Audit for ISO Standards

ALLENTOWN, PA (Jan. 24, 2019)  – Mack Defense successfully completed the first annual surveillance audit of its Environmental Management System (ISO 14001:2015) and Quality Management System (ISO 9001:2015) with no findings identified during the audit.

ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, promotes global standardization for specifications and requirements for materials, products, procedures, formats, information and quality management. Certification under ISO standards is an assurance that the ISO-required management of processes and documentation is in place. (more…)

Canada Armed Forces Takes Delivery Of 1st Mack Defense Kerax Trucks

ALLENTOWN, PA (Nov. 29, 2018) – Canada Armed Forces Takes Delivery Of 1st Mack Defense Kerax Trucks.

The Valcartier military base has begun receiving the first of its 300 new standardized military trucks that are part of the new Canadian Armed Forces fleet.

Medium support vehicles, designed by Mack Defense, will replace the existing fleet that was acquired in the 1980s and is nearing the end of its useful life. Of the 1,500 new trucks in the country, 450 are destined for Quebec, including more than 300 at the Valcartier military base, where nearly a dozen vehicles have been delivered. (more…)

Kenya Receives Mack Defense Bastion Vehicles

ALLENTOWN, PA (Nov. 28, 2018) – The United States Government handed over 12 Mack Defense Bastion armoured personnel carriers to the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) on 19 November, the US Embassy in Kenya announced.  The vehicles were officially handed over at the Kahawa Barracks in Nairobi. The contract was awarded to Mack Defense and the vehicles are part of a batch of 62 procured for several African countries under an order announced by the US Department of Defense in 2015. (more…)

Mack Defense Showcases Mack® Granite®-based M917A3 Heavy Dump Truck at AUSA 2018

ALLENTOWN, PA (Nov. 8, 2018) – Mack Defense recently showcased the Mack^® Granite^®-based M917A3 Heavy Dump Truck (HDT) at the Association of United States Army (AUSA) 2018 show at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Mack Defense was awarded a $296 million contract in May 2018 to produce 683 HDTs for the U.S. Army

“The M917A3 is a great example of the capabilities Mack Defense has to develop solutions for military customers,” said David Hartzell, president of Mack Defense. “Using the rugged Mack Granite as a foundation, we were able to engineer the M917A3 to meet the U.S. Army’s challenging applications.” (more…)

Mack Defense Featured in Canadian Army Today Magazine for MSVS Truck Delivery

Canadian Army Today, a leading publication on Canadian military defense hardware, recently profiled the Standard Military Pattern trucks delivered by Mack Defense.  (more…)

Mack Defense M917A3 Heavy Dump Truck for US Army Interview

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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. (more…)