Oshkosh Develops M-ATV VariantsAbout two-thirds through a highly successful production schedule for its 8,079 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All Terrain Vehicles (M-ATVs), Oshkosh Corp. is now pushing for M-ATV versions specially designed to carry cargo or work as ambulances.
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The cargo-carrying utility M-ATV variant also is specially designed to utilize legacy High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) shelters.
“There’s been a lot of interest,” said Ken Juergens, vice president and general manager for Joint Programs at Oshkosh Defense. “What we need are the requirements.”
The Pentagon picked Oshkosh to develop and deliver a M-ATV model to take the place of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles that the military had come to rely on so heavily in Iraq.
The traditional MRAP proved unsuitable for service in Afghanistan. Roads would collapse under the heavy vehicles, they would often roll over on the poor, twisty mountainous roads, and the vehicles’ suspensions could not handle the rough rides there, especially for off-road missions.
MRAP and M-ATV procurement helped make wheeled vehicle acquisition programs the fourth-highest Pentagon expense, with more than $8.5 billion spent for contracts and contract modifications in 2008 alone, according to an Aerospace DAILY analysis of federal contracting data provided by the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (Aerospace DAILY, March 5, 2009).
While some of the traditional MRAPs are being upgraded to better handle the Afghanistan work, U.S. forces have relied more on the Oshkosh M-ATVs for missions in the country. But some of the missions are still constrained by the lack of capability of other vehicles needed for certain missions.
Looking to overcome those constraints, the M-ATV utility model can carry up to two-and-half tons, giving U.S. forces greater access to remote areas with cargo to set up a remote outpost. Shelters can serve the command-and-control (C2) function, maintenance truck or other specialized-mission equipment, Juergens said.
Outfitted with the shelters, Juergens said, the M-ATV standard, utility and ambulance vehicles can be put to greater use to support operations in more remote areas because of their increased protection, payload and off-road mobility