Mack Defense has delivered the first production M917A3 heavy dump trucks (HDT) to the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Reserve. The M917A3 HDT key and truck handover occurred during a ceremony at the MEC, following remarks from Mack Defense leadership, U.S. Army officials and representatives of local and state officials.
Based on the commercially available vocational Mack Granite model, the M917A3 trucks are part of the contract for HDTs that was previously announced between the U.S. Army and Mack Defense. The U.S. Army uses dump trucks in its engineer units. They are key in construction and maintenance missions for important infrastructure assets, like roadways, airfields, landing strips, supply facilities and motor pools.
"Many of the Army's missions are within extremely austere environments, so if we need to build things to support combat or training operations, dump trucks are absolutely essential to the force," said Wolfgang Petermann, the U.S. Army's project manager for Transportation Systems, Program Executive Office for Combat Support & Combat Service Support.
In May 2018, the U.S. Army awarded Mack Defense the contract to produce up to 683 non-armored and armored M917A3 HDTs. The U.S. Army signed the agreement on November 30th, 2020, to purchase 99 Mack Granite-based HDT's after completing two years of successful production vehicle testing of 12 vehicles at the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Test Center in accordance with the contract program timeline. Then on March 29th, 2021, an additional order of 56 HDTs was placed as part of the 2021 presidential budget.
Production of the HDTs at the MEC began in Q1, 2021, following an investment of $6.5 million to create a dedicated HDT production line at the facility. The new production line helps fulfill the HDT contract with the U.S. Army and allows the production of other vehicle variants.
The 94,500 lb. GVWR M917A3 HDTs feature an all-wheel-drive 8x8 configuration. Mack Defense engineers increased the suspension's ride height to create a heavy dump truck capable of meeting the payload and mobility requirements set by the U.S. Army HDT program. An armored cab was also engineered, utilizing all the comfort features and amenities of a commercial truck, while adding force protection to help keep occupants safe in hostile environments. The M917A3s are powered by 13-liter Mack MP8 engines, delivering 440 horsepower and 1,660 lb.-ft. of torque.
The new HDTs will help increase the U.S. Army's operational effectiveness and readiness, while supporting mobility, counter-mobility, survivability and sustainment operations for the Joint Force.
