FUTURE FLEET
T
he Army is refining and advanc-
ing a “tailorable” strategy for managing its Tactical Wheeled Vehicle (TWV) fleet. This
includes key acquisitions to bring valu- able new technologies to the force and divesting aging portions of the fleet to sustain modernization efforts and adjust to anticipated force reductions.
The Army’s decision to bring the number of active-duty Soldiers down to 490,000 in coming years means that the truck fleet must also adapt in a way that preserves key elements of capability and takes a smart approach to divestiture, said Kevin Fahey, Program Executive Officer Com- bat Support and Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS), speaking to reporters at the Association of the United States Army’s Institute of Land Warfare Winter Symposium and Exposition Feb. 22-24.
In total, the Army’s TWV fleet will drop from roughly 260,000 trucks to 235,000 or less in coming years, as part of a strate- gic effort to acquire, upgrade, and sustain important capability for Soldiers. Exact numbers for the overall TWV fleet and the trucks slated for divestiture are still being determined, Fahey said.
Plans for the TWV fleet, which include key assets such as the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV), up-armored and regular High Mobility Multipur- pose Wheeled Vehicles
(HMMWVs),
and emerging systems such as the new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), also involve resetting war-damaged vehicles, Fahey added.
SMART CHOICES
“We were on a trajectory of growth, and we are now on a trajectory of reducing requirements. As we go through that pro- cess, we want to make sure we go about this in a smart way so that we end up
140
APPROACHING A CROSSROADS
President Obama’s FY13 budget submission calls for funding and production of the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles to halt after 2014, saving the Army an estimated $1.9 billion through 2017. (U.S. Army photo.)
with the right models and we continue to focus the investment we have left on managing the fleet size. We want to be really smart about how we divest,” said COL David Bassett, Project Manager Tactical Vehicles within PEO CS&CSS.
Along with sustaining, upgrading, and resetting key elements of the truck fleet, the Army is planning to divest a portion of the aging fleet, such as some early- model FMTVs, legacy five-ton trucks, and unarmored HMMWVs, Bassett and Fahey said. Divestiture will help the Army lower sustainment costs, Bas- sett noted.
Also, President Obama’s FY13 budget submission calls for FMTV funding and production to halt after 2014, saving the Army an estimated $1.9 billion through 2017. “After FY14, the only new acquisi- tion is JLTV,” Fahey said, indicating that the focus for most of the TWV fleet will be on sustainment.
CONCERNS FOR INDUSTRY Along with this effort comes an impor- tant need to analyze, observe, and moni- tor the U.S. industrial base with an eye to preserving production capacities and the ability to surge production if needed.
“We are concerned about our industrial base, because in many cases we have trucks that have been in production in some form for nearly the last 20 to 30 years,” Fahey said. “We have large fleets, so when you are not in production, one of our main challenges
is spare and
repair parts, depending upon second- and third-tier suppliers. We are working with contractors to determine the criti- cal capabilities that we need to maintain and explore how we can maintain them. Most of what we need to preserve is the intellectual know-how to design and build a truck.”
When it comes to preserving the indus- trial base, Foreign Military Sales are a key
Army AL&T Magazine
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176
