Heavy Equipment Transporter System (HETS) is the name of a U.S. Army logistics vehicle transport system, the primary purpose of which is to transport the M1 Abrams tank. It is also used to transport, deploy, and evacuate armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery, armored bulldozers, and other heavy vehicles and equipment.
The current U.S. Army vehicle used in this role is an Oshkosh-built M1070 tractor unit in A0 and A1 configurations which is coupled to a DRS Technologies M1000 semi-trailer. [1] This combination replaced the earlier Oshkosh-built M911 tractor unit and M747 semi-trailer.
To meet a US Army requirement for the transport of the M1 Abrams series main battle tank (MBT) Oshkosh Truck Corporation (now Oshkosh Defense) proposed the M1070. A contract for 1044 M1070s was placed, with production commencing in July 1992. [2] The final U.S. Army contract for the original A0 version called for 195 vehicles. These were delivered between March 2001 and March 2003. A total of 2,488 A0 versions were delivered to the U.S. Army. [2] Following extensive use, some M1070s have been Reset to original build standard by Oshkosh. [2]
The M1070E1 model was developed in the mid-1990s in conjunction with the U.S. Army as a possible Technology Insertion Program (TIP) for the M1070. No orders were placed. [2]
In March 2008, Oshkosh Defense announced a contract award from the U.S. Army to begin engineering and initial production of the next-generation of HET. [2] Oshkosh announced in October 2010 its first delivery order for the M1070A1 HET. Production of the M1070A1 concluded in August 2014, with 1,591 new vehicles built. [2]
The M1000 trailer is used with the M1070A0 and M1070A1 tractors. [3] The M1000 was originally developed as a private venture by Southwest Mobile Systems (later Systems & Electronics Inc (SEI), now DRS Technologies) as a response to a possible US Army requirement for transporting M1 and M1A1 MBTs. A production order for 1,066 M1000 units was placed by the U.S. Army in 1989. By July 2009 more than 2600 M1000 trailers had been ordered. [2]
The M25 Tank Transporter was a heavy tank transporter and tank recovery vehicle used in World War II and beyond by the US Army. Nicknamed the Dragon Wagon, the M25 was composed of a 6×6 armored tractor (M26) and 40-ton trailer (M15).
Prior to 1993, the U.S. Army employed the Commercial Heavy Equipment Transporter (C-HET), which consisted of either the M746 or the M911 truck tractor and the M747 semitrailer.
During Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm the M911 vehicles were employed primarily to haul M1 Abrams tanks. However, they demonstrated poor durability when loads exceeded 60 tons. Some are still serving as heavy transports of other military equipment, such as cargo handling equipment.
M911 tractor | M746 tractor | M747 trailer | |
---|---|---|---|
Length: | 30 feet | 27 feet | 48.2 feet |
Width: | 9.5 feet | 10 feet | 11.5 feet |
Height: | 11.8 feet | 10 feet | 6.8 feet |
Weight: | 26.3 tons | 25.8 tons | 17.1 tons |
Speed: | 43 miles per hour | 38 miles per hour | N/A |
Range: | 614 miles | 200 miles | N/A |
Crew: | 2 | 2 | N/A |
Engine: | 430 hp Detroit Diesel Series 92 (8V92TA) | 12 cyl Detroit Diesel 12V71T, 600 bhp @ 2500 rpm | |
Transmission: | 5-speed automatic | N/A |
The Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) is an eight-wheel drive, diesel-powered, 10-short-ton (9,100 kg) tactical truck. The M977 HEMTT first entered service in 1982 with the United States Army as a replacement for the M520 Goer, and since that date has remained in production for the U.S. Army and other nations. By Q2 2021, around 35,800 HEMTTs in various configurations had been produced by Oshkosh Defense through new-build contracts and around 14,000 of these had been re-manufactured. Current variants have the A4 suffix.
Oshkosh Corporation, formerly Oshkosh Truck, is an American industrial company that designs and builds specialty trucks, military vehicles, truck bodies, airport fire apparatus, and access equipment. The corporation also owns Pierce Manufacturing, a fire apparatus manufacturer in Appleton, Wisconsin, and JLG Industries, a leading manufacturer of lift equipment, including aerial lifts, boom lifts, scissor lifts, telehandlers and low-level access lifts. Based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the company employs approximately 16,000 people around the world. It is organized in four primary business groups: access equipment, defense, fire and emergency, and commercial.
The Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) is a series of vehicles used by the U.S. Marines. The first MTVRs were delivered in late 1999. The MTVR is the equivalent of the U.S. Army’s Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV); the Marines do not use the FMTV and the Army does not use the MTVR.
The Mighty Antar was a heavy-duty 6×4 tractor unit built by Thornycroft from the late 1940s onwards. For some decades it was the standard tank transporter of the British Army and was also used by other nations. It was powered by a shortened V8 land version of the V12 Meteor engine, derived from the Merlin and modified to run on diesel, known as the Rolls-Royce Meteorite.
Scammell Lorries Limited was a British manufacturer of trucks, particularly specialist and military off-highway vehicles, between 1921 and 1988.
Six-wheel drive is an all-wheel drive drivetrain configuration of three axles with at least two wheels on each axle capable of being driven simultaneously by the vehicle's engine. Unlike four-wheel drive drivetrains, the configuration is largely confined to heavy-duty off-road and military vehicles, such as all-terrain vehicles, armored vehicles, and prime movers.
The Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) is a series of military vehicles that are based on a common chassis and vary by payload and mission requirements. The FMTV is derived from the Austrian Steyr 12M18 truck, but substantially modified to meet United States Army requirements, these including a minimum 50 percent U.S. content.
The Palletized Load System (PLS) is a truck-based logistics system that entered service in the United States Army in 1993. It performs long and short distance freight transport, unit resupply, and other missions in the tactical environment to support modernized and highly mobile combat units. It provides rapid movement of combat configured loads of ammunition and all classes of supply, shelters and intermodal containers. It is similar to systems such as the British Demountable Rack Offload and Pickup System (DROPS).
The M19 Tank Transporter was a heavy tank transporter system used in World War II and into the 1950s. It consisted of a 12-ton 6x4 M20 Diamond T Model 980 truck and companion 12-wheel M9 trailer.
Eight-wheel drive, often notated as 8WD or 8×8, is a drivetrain configuration that allows all eight wheels of an eight-wheeled vehicle to be drive wheels simultaneously. Unlike four-wheel drive drivetrains, the configuration is largely confined to heavy-duty off-road and military vehicles, such as all-terrain vehicles, armored vehicles, and prime movers. Other types of smaller 8x8 vehicles include such things as the Argocat.
The SLT 50 is a heavy duty tractor unit and tank transporter used by the German Army and Polish Army.
The M25 Tank Transporter (G160) was a combination 6x6 M26 armored heavy tank transporter/tank recovery tractor and companion 40-ton M15 trailer introduced into US Army service in Europe in 1944–45. Manufactured by Pacific Car & Foundry Co., it was a substantial upgrade over the Diamond T M19 transporter/trailer duo introduced in 1940.
The M1120 HEMTT LHS is a M977 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck with a load handling system in place of a flat bed/cargo body. The HEMTT is an eight-wheel drive, diesel-powered, tactical truck used by the US military and others. The HEMTT is manufactured by Oshkosh Defense and entered Army service in 1982, with the M1120 variant first produced in 1999.
The Mack M123 (G792) was a 10-ton 6x6 semi-tractor introduced in 1955; the Mack M125 was a heavy cargo truck version of the M123. The M123 was used to tow tank transporter trailers while the M125 towed field artillery pieces.
The Oshkosh M1070 is a U.S. Army tank transporter tractor unit. In current service in A0, A1, and M1300 configurations, the M1070 is coupled to a DRS Technologies M1000 semi-trailer. The primary purpose of this combination for the U.S. Army is the transport of the M1 Abrams tank. The M1300, covered in a separate sub-section, is a U.S. Army Europe-specific derivative designed to be road legal within Europe and operates with a different trailer.