The logistics backbone of the army - Armour-protected trucks for service abroad still needed

08:12 GMT, January 12, 2009 The Canadian Armed Forces has awarded a $ 230 million (€171 million / C$274-million) contract to Illinois-based Navistar Defence LLC to build 1,300 trucks to be used at military bases across the country. The new robust medium-sized logistic trucks, called MilCOTS, are civilian vehicles outfitted for military use, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Friday to The Canadian Press.

MilCOTS (Militarized Commercial Off-the-Shelf vehicles) will replace the existing 25-year-old Military Logistics Vehicle Wheeled (MLVW) fleet which is reaching the end of their service life. The military vehicle is based on the Navistar 7400 SFA 6x6 commercial model.

"The MilCOTS vehicles will be used in Canada to support domestic operations. The new fleet of trucks represents an essential investment for the Canadian Forces," MacKay said. He also pointed out that the vehicles will not be deployed abroad but only be used in Canada to support domestic operations.

The first vehicles will be delivered this summer and the entire fleet will be completed by August 2010. The Canadian Forces in the Maritimes will receive 302 vehicles, Quebec 262, Ontario 398 and the West will get 338 trucks.

While the new trucks will be assembled in Texas, United States, some parts for the vehicles will be manufactured in Canada. However, the government stated that the deal will also generate economic activity in the country through maintenance and repair which will be supported through the company's local dealer network.

The MilCOTS vehicles are the first element of the Army‘s Medium Support Vehicle System (MSVS) programme. The MSVS programme will provide a replacement for the current medium logistic trucks, which have been in use since the 1980’s. In addition to the MilCOTS, the MSVS project also seeks to acquire very robust and protected military pattern vehicles, designed specifically for use in foreign operations such as in Afghanistan. A request for proposal for this acquisition will be issued in the summer. Project details can be found here: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/rpp/2008-2009/inst/dnd/dnd14-eng.asp#mcp19.

This contract arrived to Navistar just days after the company announced it was increasing lay-offs at its Chatham, Ontario truck plant to nearly 700. The company had fewer than 1,000 workers at the plant in November and plans to lay-off up to 199 employees more on top of the 499 set to lose their jobs on Feb. 2.

(Illustration: defpro.daily)