MAN Military Vehicle Systems - Medium, High and Extreme Mobility Military Trucks

Modern armies have to complete a wide variety of missions with their roles in each environment differing from combat support to peacekeeping or aid to the civil community at home. One of the world's leading vehicle suppliers, MAN, produces a wide range of trucks that suit every need of the modern military fleet owner. MAN provides a complete vehicular system which ensures that the transport component of their capability maximizes the chances of mission success - wherever and whatever that may be.

Medium mobility military trucks

MAN produces complete families of vehicles. Highly integrated subsystems combined with the highest standard in automotive and industrial engineering ensures that the modern army fleet manager has an optimised and highly reliable capability. MAN optimises the best of technology from its civil product range and then combines this with specific military capabilities such as deep fording, weapon stations, armour or active defence systems. MAN has a 250 year pedigree and it continues to combine a comprehensive range of cultural, emotional, technical and physical attributes into vehicle solutions meeting a vast range of needs.

MAN designs, manufacturers and support four broad ranges of vehicle systems to meet the civil and military fleet requirements. These include:

• Commercial (civil) off-the-shelf (COTS)
• Modified commercial off-the-shelf (MCOTS)
• Military off-the-shelf (MOTS)
• Modified MOTS (MMOTS) which are tailored military systems

COTS

MAN supplies its full range of standard civil products of two, three and four-axle systems including buses to military organisations. These provide an essential element of the modern armoured transport and logistic needs.

Modified COTS

MAN's militarized vehicles are commercially-based trucks that are modified with military purpose technologies. They can have all-wheel drive, single tyres on all axles, improved off-road mobility, a copula roof hatch for military equipment such as military lighting including qualified IR systems, rated racking system for camouflage nets and run flat fitted tyres.

Militarised systems are used as tank tractors, liquid tankers, integrated load handling systems, general cargo transporters, indeed all the system you would expect their full military siblings to have, except they do not have armour or self protection systems. Their improved off-road capabilities combined with some military-specific capability makes these trucks are well suited to support military operations in a non-threat environment, training envirionnment or in support to the civil community even in rough terrain. As these systems are based on commercial models, their lifecycle costs are very low and their CLC (complete life cycle) cost basis is commensurate with this lower price.

MOTS

MAN has two military focussed product ranges. Continuing the migration from commercial pedigree the X-family of MAN military trucks take the system performance and CLC to greater heights. The X-family of vehicles contain all the features of the previous variants but now add armour and other self-protection systems.

HX series is a military vehicle family that exemplifies the perfect symbiosis between the award-winning commercial TGA Trucknology and MAN profound experience in military vehicle systems. It sets a new yardstick in peformance of logistic transport systems combined with a CLC matched to the modern military customer. This includes 15+ years of supportability and this produces an extremely low total cost of ownership. All vehicles in this series benefit from commonality across the range including a common cabin, driving and driver information systems as well as a common range of accessories and military add-ons, which reduces complexity and training time for both drivers and support teams.

High-visibility and protective truck cabs

The X family has a common cabin range with armour capabilities going beyond the STANAG requirements. These include: no armour; fitted for but not with either Level 2/1 or 2/2a kits; Level 2/2b and in the HX81 tractor variant a crew cabin with 2/2b protection. The highest level of protection is restricted to the SX family members and provides protection to Level 3/3b.

HX cabs have been designed to enhance the driver’s view – especially necessary when driving under difficult conditions. Because crew safety is this vehicle’s top priority, it has a rigid cabin that provides the best defence in case of a roll-over accident. Frontal crashes are absorbed by the frame and bumper construction; due to the fact that the engine is under the cabin, the engine block cannot be pushed inside the cabin in a frontal impact.

HX vehicles are true tactical support trucks with low maintenance costs due to their use of modified components from the commercial range. At the same time, they have the necessary tactical benefits such as air transportability. Although classified as a medium-mobility truck, the HX has exceeded all expectations and proved its capabilities in a variety of tests. Last but not least, this configuration also protects the crew by positioning the engine between the crew and any explosive force from underneath the vehicle. MAN cabins also offer easy decontamination and more.

The even surfaces of the HX cab guarantee easy, fast decontamination, another tactical requirement. Such surfaces also ensure the crew more space and comfort. HX cabs have absolutely water-tight electric circuits, ergonomic layout of the cabin permitting easy access across the cabin and all other user interfaces remain consistent with the civil variants offering reduced training burden. Additionally, this series has been designed to make all vital components easily accessible and replaceable ensuring the serviceability of these systems remains a key feature of the MAN X-vehicle family.

MOTS and tailored MOTS

The SX series is the top of the range of the MAN X-family of trucks and is proven to be the most popular amongst modern military fleets who simply cannot tolerate logistic vehicle casualties and who rely on the highest performance of their mobility system particularly when carrying expensive and sensitive loads such as missile systems or communication shelters.

The strength of the SX is in its chassis and frame which differs from the rest of the MAN family. The rigid torsion-free frame ensure no or low transmission of shock and vibration from the rough terrain into the load. The SX strength is also required for the toughest of jobs such as that required of combat recovery vehicles who must now more than ever step up to the mark in the most trying of circumstances and recover heavier and heavier expensive vehicle assets.

This rigid frame combined with high performance coil-spring suspension means that these SX systems are often deployed as a carrier for sensitive weapons systems. For the heavy tactical recovery truck the rear coil system has the option to be replaced by a Hyplex (hydraulic) system to cater for 13t+ dynamic loads from casualty vehicles. It is the perfect truck with a loading interface on which a Patriot missile system can be mounted entirely without compromising mobility

Vehicles in the SX series are military trucks with strategic importance. Their rigid axles and boxed frame construction give them an unsurpassed record of mobility and reliability in any terrain. No mountain is too high for SX vehicles. The SX family extends the supportability concept even further with CLC program extending the typical life of a SX towards the 30 year mark.

The SX’s predecessor, the KAT 1, was already one of the most reliable vehicles of its time. Introduced into the German armed forces during the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was scheduled for 30 years of use, making it the military vehicle with just about the lowest lifecycle costs of any in existence. It is still a highly prized vehicle. The SX is a coequal successor to the KAT 1, meeting its standards and outperforming all other high-mobility military trucks – wherever it is deployed.

In summary the MAN systems are truly families of vehicles with commonality where prudent and capacity in every case from small 4x4 to large 8x8 systems as standard off-the-shelf configurations employed by over 50 military customers globally. Special military vehicles including potentials for 10x10 configurations or special drive-trains; hydromatic suspension or other features are all available from a single one-stop military provider.

MAN can be supplier of choice regardless of the diversity of your logistic transport needs.