US Army awards Mack Defense M917A3 contract.

The US-based vehicle manufacturer Mack Defense LLC has been awarded a $296 million contract for the delivery of 683 M917A3 Armored Heavy Dump Trucks, the US Department of Defense announced on May 29, 2018.

An M917 20 Ton Dump Truck driven by soldiers of the 766th Engineer Company, 841st Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve, heads to a road improvement site at Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria as part of Operation Resolute Castle 16, July 20, 2016. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Jose F. Lopez Jr., 841st Eng. Bn., United States Army Reserve)

”Two bids were solicited with two bids received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 18, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity,” the US DoD said. 

The U.S Army  invited industry to compete to build the service’s new armored dump trucks in May 2017 with the aim to replace the M917 made by AM General. 

“The Army requires units with dependable and deployable M917A3s that have reduced operations and support costs and increased operational effectiveness and readiness over existing systems,” according to the May 26, 2017, solicitation. 

The M917A3 “shall be capable of individually hauling a variety of dry and wet loads to include blast rock, concrete with reinforcing bars, dirt, hot asphalt, snow, rubble, large boulders and sand and shall have a rate payload capacity of now less than 22.5 tons for primary and secondary roads and the use of integrated sideboards for on-road payloads; 27 tons for primary and secondary roads and the use of integrated sideboards for on-road payloads.”

Moreover, the crew cab and underbody armor protection will be capable of being changed out separately based on the mission without affecting performance of the truck.