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DANA optimizes mobility combat vehicles with enhanced Spicer® central tire inflation system 3001141

DANA Spicer Central Tire Inflation System

Thursday, January 30, 2014 09:07 AM

DANA optimizes mobility for combat vehicles with enhanced Spicer® central tire inflation system.

Dana Holding Corporation (NYSE: DAN) announced january 27, 2014, that it has launched new technology to support its industry-leading Spicer® central tire inflation system (CTIS). Dana now optimizes the performance of lower flow CTIS applications for smaller government defense and vocational vehicles with a new mechatronic control unit (MCU) option. This technology identifies and reacts to tire inflation issues more effectively by enabling individual wheel control. The MCU is an integrated unit that includes electronic, computer, and mechanical engineering for delivering improved reliability, a smaller footprint, reduced weight, and less wiring complexity.

Spicer CTIS has been selected for most military vehicles that use a tire management system, including the Oshkosh® Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV), the Textron M1117 Armored Security Vehicle, and the International® MaxxPro mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicle.

Available now, Spicer CTIS with the MCU option has been specifically engineered for ground mobility vehicles (GMV), internally transportable-light strike vehicles (ITV-LSV), and high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWV). It is also installed on the three vehicle designs that have entered the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase for the Army and Marine Corps Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program.

"Dana has a long history of supporting the defense industry with rugged drivetrain solutions and tire-management technologies that perform under pressure," said Pat D'Eramo, president of Dana Commercial Vehicle Driveline Technologies. "This upgrade to Spicer CTIS demonstrates how we continuously refine our innovations to better meet the needs of specific applications."

Spicer CTIS technology maximizes vehicle mobility by allowing operators, from inside the cab, to adjust tire pressure to the optimum footprint on any terrain. Used on thousands of military vehicles worldwide over the past two decades, this innovative system also allows vehicles to effectively operate with extremely low tire pressures and makes it possible to free a stuck vehicle or take on grades and other extreme conditions, transporting soldiers to safety in the most strenuous environments.

Dana's history of support for the U.S. military dates to World War I, when it helped develop the Liberty Truck and produced four-wheel-drive-truck axles, universal joints, and anti-aircraft shells. In World War II it earned the Army-Navy "E" Award for "high achievement in the production of war equipment," including the four-wheel-drive system for the Jeep – an advanced version of which it continues to produce more than seven decades later. It has also supplied products for the HMMWV since 1983.