Oshkosh wins contract to provide upgraded tank trailers

By Evan Ochsner  / September 23, 2022

Oshkosh Defense won a $260 million contract to provide the Army with an enhanced heavy transport trailer capable of hauling Abrams tanks, which have grown increasingly heavy in recent years as they have been upgraded.

The firm-fixed-price contract, announced Thursday evening by the Pentagon, will pay Oshkosh to provide the enhanced Heavy Equipment Transporter System trailer to the Army through 2027. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, according to the announcement. 

The contract covers an estimated 466 trailers, Oshkosh said in a statement released Monday. The first delivery order – estimated at $37.6 million -- will include five trailers for testing and 68 production units, Oshkosh said.

Oshkosh makes the trailer for the Heavy Equipment Transporter that the Army currently uses primarily to move the M1 Abrams tank. The enhanced system will be capable of transporting vehicles up to 85 tons, according to the Army’s fiscal year 2023 budget documents. Oshkosh says it will be able to haul up to 90 tons.

“Over time, combat vehicles have increased in weight; the Heavy Equipment Transporter System has not kept pace with the change,” budget documents say.

The upgraded capability will better enable divisions to amass combat power by rapidly moving heavy vehicles where they need to be, the documents say: “The Army lacks the ability to move overweight and oversized combat platforms. The EHETS will be capable of safely transporting current and future models of the heaviest tracked vehicles.”

The EHETS trailer will be an M1302, according to the documents, an eight-axle commercially based trailer that meets European road standards. It will be towed by an M1300 tractor. The HETS legacy system, also produced by Oshkosh, consists of the M1070A1 Tractor and M1000 Trailer.

“The EHETS program is a critical enabler to support the Army's modernization priorities in support of the National Defense Strategy through movement of Soldiers, air defense & missile defenses, sensors, network, fuel, ammunition, etc.,” documents say.

The Army received $45.8 million to procure 71 EHETS trailers in fiscal year 2022, according to the documents. The Army requested $70.7 million to procure 95 trailers in the FY-23 budget, as well as an additional $5 million for seven trailers to be used in Europe.

The Army’s acquisition objective for the trailer is 636 units.