Oshkosh M1070 Information

The Oshkosh M1070 is a U.S. Army tank transporter tractor unit. In current service in A0 and A1 configurations, the M1070 is coupled to a DRS Technologies M1000 semi-trailer. The primary purpose of this combination is the transport of 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 of all types.

This combination replaced the earlier Oshkosh M911 tractor unit and M747 semi-trailer.

Export sales of A0 and A1 variants have been made, and derivatives of the M1070 have been produced or are available, these including the M1070F and the Global HET.

To meet a U.S. Army requirement for the transport of the M1 Abrams main battle tank (MBT) Oshkosh Truck Corporation (now Oshkosh Defense) proposed the M1070. A contract for 1044 M1070 was placed, with production commencing in July 1992. The contract included an option for 522 additional units.

The final U.S. Army contract for the original A0 version called for 195 vehicles. These were delivered between March 2001 and March 2003. U.S. Army deliveries of A0 versions totalled 2,488. In total, and including export orders, just under 2,900 M1070A0 were manufactured by Oshkosh.

Following an initial two separate contracts awarded in 2004, Oshkosh Truck overhauled service-worn M1070s. Reset to original build standard and with zero miles/zero hours and a full one-year warranty, cost to the U.S. Department of Defense per vehicle was about 75% of that of new build vehicles. In total, 1,009 A0 HETs were Reset and returned to service.

The M1070E1 model was developed in the mid-1990s in conjunction with the U.S. Army as a possible Technology Insertion Programme (TIP) for the M1070. Evaluation took place and a report was submitted. No orders were placed.

In March 2008 Oshkosh Defense the award of a single source contract valued at more than $11 million (for Phase 1) from the U.S. Army to begin engineering and initial production of the next-generation of HET. Phase II involved production verification testing, and Oshkosh announced in July 2009 that it had received a $9.4 million contract modification to begin durability and performance testing of the HET A1 at Yuma Proving Ground.

Oshkosh announced in October 2010 its first delivery order for the M1070A1 HET. This delivery order was valued at over $440 million and called for more than 1,000 vehicles, with the first vehicles rolling out in December 2010. M1070A1 fielding commenced in 2011. Production concluded in August 2014, with new vehicle production totalling 1,591. While it was believed the U.S. Army would have liked to continue HET A1 production through fiscal year 2017, no awards were made and in July 2016 the US Army announced that it wished to use FY16 funds to start an engineering study into an E-HET that would replace the current M1070A1 and M1000 semi-trailer. This study had previously been slated to commence in FY17. The E-HETS will comprise a tractor and semi-trailer to transport, recover, and evacuate an 80+ ton combat loaded M1 Abrams and associated M88 recovery system, which is anticipated to weigh more than 84 tons.

In March 2017 it was announced that Oshkosh had been awarded a $15,080,369 foreign military sales (Jordan and Oman) contract for M1070A1 Heavy Equipment Transporters, with associated testing, spare parts, and training. Estimated completion date for the award is December 31, 2018. Solicitation W56HZV-17-R-0021 released in February 2017 and with responses due by 3 April 2017 will result in a firm-fixed-price contract for 46 M1070A1 for Egypt.

The layout of the M1070 is conventional. The fully enclosed cab seats the driver, one crewman and up to four passengers. The cab complies with the U.S. Armys Long Term Armor Strategy (LTAS) requirements of an A- and B-kit armoring philosophy. The 356 × 89 × 9.5 mm C-section (channel frame) chassis is constructed from SAE 1027 modified, heat-treated carbon manganese steel with a minimum yield strength of 758 MPa. This mounts a 3.5 inch fully floating Holland fifth wheel and three winches, two dp Manufacturing 55K 24,947 kg capacity hydraulic winches with 51.8 m of 25 mm cable each, and a single dp Manufacturing 3GN 1,360 kg capacity auxiliary winch with 91.4 m of 6 mm cable.

The original M1070 is powered by a Detroit Diesel 8V-92TA 12.06-liter diesel engine developing 500 hp at 2100 rpm and 1993 Nm torque at 1200 rpm. This is coupled to an Allison CLT-754 five-speed automatic transmission and Oshkosh 55000 two-speed transfer case. The M1070A1 is powered by a Caterpillar C-18 six-cylinder diesel developing 700 hp, this coupled to an uprated Allison 4800SP seven-speed automatic transmission and Oshkosh 30000 single-speed transfer case.

On the A0 model the front Rockwell steer-drive axle has Hendrickson parabolic taper leaf springs. The rear tridem unit is sprung by Hendrickson-Turner air suspension. The rearmost axle is a steer-drive unit. All axles are Rockwell SVI 5MR hub-reduction with differential locks. Steering is power-assisted, and has an auxiliary pump should the main pump fail. Mechanical linkage also provides operator control in event of hydraulic oil pressure loss. Rockwell (now AxleTech) S-cam drum brakes are fitted. A CM Automotive central tire inflation system (CTIS) is fitted, this having four predetermined terrain settings (Highway, Cross-Country, Mud and Snow, Emergency) that enable the operator to adjust tire pressure and lock-up to suit the terrain being crossed. A Run Flat mode checks tire pressures regularly and inflates as needed to compensate for leak(s).

The A1 model features uprated AxleTech 5000 Series axles, an anti-lock braking system with traction control and a Dana central tire inflation system. Armor mode increases tire pressures to compensate for the added weight of the B-kit armor. The operator can manually increase or decrease differential locking based on conditions.

The trailer used with the M1070A0 and M1070A1 is the M1000. The M1000 was originally developed as a private venture by Southwest Mobile Systems (later Systems and Electronics Inc (SEI), now DRS Technologies) as a response to a possible U.S. 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.

The M1000 has 40 wheels (215/75R 17.5 tires) across five axle lines, these with two half-width axles per line. Each axle has hydraulic pendular suspension providing a 254 mm stroke with lateral oscillation accommodating surface undulations. A hydraulic suspension system is also provided on the pivoting gooseneck to equalise fifth wheel loads. Weight of the M1000 is 22,882 kg. Payload according to the U.S. Army is 63,560 kg, although the manufacturer quotes 80,000 kg at reduced speeds. Overall length is 15.8 m, deck length is 10.58 m; deck width is 3.05 m, 3.66 m for a wide deck version.

The M1070 and M1000 are both air-transportable by C-5 Galaxy or C-17 Globemaster III aircraft.

The M1070F replaced the Scammell Commander as the British army tank transporter in 2001. Before the development of the M1070A1 for the U.S. Army, the more powerful M1070E model was developed as a possible Technology Insertion Programme (TIP) for the M1070A0 fleet. The M1070E1 was offered to meet the British Armys requirement for a tank transporter but was not selected. The vehicle selected by the British Army is the 1070F model, a much-revised M1070E1. The UK fleet, which when delivered was made up of 92 tractor trucks, 89 King GTS 110/7 semi-trailers, and three Tru-Hitch recovery systems, were delivered as part of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) award to FASTTRAX in 2001 that included staff to operate the vehicles as Sponsored Reserves. The contract award included a 28-system option that was not exercised. It was disclosed in late-2009 that Broshuis of Holland had been selected to supply 20 heavy-duty 45,000 kg payload full-width two-axle trailers for use with the 1070F in Afghanistan.

The Oshkosh 1070F shares a common chassis and axle set-up with the M1070A0 model, but the cab and all major driveline components have been substantially revised to meet both performance and legislative requirements. The driveline is similar to that fitted to the M1070A1 and consists of a Caterpillar C-18 diesel engine developing 700 hp, this coupled to an Allison HD 4076P automatic transmission and TC-561 torque converter, coupled to an Oshkosh 30000 single-speed transfer case.

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