Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Debralee Lutgen | Rock Island Arsenal – Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center is once again...... read more read more
ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. – Rock Island Arsenal – Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center is once again improving Soldier protection on the battlefield. RIA-JMTC’s most recent program in this endeavor is the Heavy Equipment Transporter (HET) Urban Survivability Kit (HUSK).
The HET is a military logistics vehicle designed to transport, deploy and evacuate heavy military vehicles. With its semitrailer (HETS), it is able to transport vehicles as large as the M1A2 Abrams tank.
With its rich history of improving mobility and survivability for the Warfighter with add-on armor, mobile maintenance units and ambulance upgrades, RIA-JMTC is the ideal manufacturer for this new design.
The HUSK is the replacement cab for the HETS. The cab was originally produced as an A-cab. This design allowed for minimal protection with the advantage of being able to support additional armor kits. Other kits were explored as add-ons, but ultimately, a full cab replacement was found to be the most advantageous in many areas. This design eliminates the need for add-on kits by having a fully replaceable armored cab, providing greater protection for the Soldier.
According to Scott Young, HUSK program manager, RIA-JMTC, the add-on armor would have added a lot more weight. This upgrade reduces weight while actually increasing protection and survivability.
The HUSK also integrates other features to increase the protection of the Warfighter.
“It has special seats in it that are blast-protection seats so it has a sensor in the seat that figures out how heavy you are and therefore how much cushion it should give you and in what direction if an impact does occur,” said Young. “It’s got a pretty hefty fire-suppression system, escape hatch and powered doors so you can escape as quickly as possible.”
All of these upgrades contribute to the survivability of the Warfighter.
“The HUSK improves the force protection level for Soldiers from various blast, shock, fragment, bullet, and acceleration effects,” said Jennifer Johnson, deputy product manager, Heavy Tactical Vehicles, U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Combat Support & Combat Support, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan. “In short, it provides a greater level of safety for Soldiers. It helps to protect lives and minimize injuries from threats on the battlefield.”
RIA-JMTC has completed the first two cabs for testing and so far all tests have gone well. Funding has already been received to produce 12 more in 2020. Full rate production quantities are expected to increase based on funding levels over the next five years.
While RIA-JMTC is the manufacturer, this program had support across the Army.
“The HUSK has tested well due to the fantastic interaction between a number of government and industry partners,” said Johnson. “Our associates at the Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) were instrumental in developing the technical data package. Industry delivered quality parts. RIA-JMTC was diligent in producing a cab that performed to the specification. Finally, the Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) community was effective in helping us develop and execute quality test plans. Acquisition is a team sport.”
Young was especially impressed with the support received from PEO CS&CSS, who provided funding and assisted with program management, engineering, logistics, quality, testing, contracting and business management.
“At critical times they were smart enough to move in people who really knew what they were doing and could guide us,” said Young. “It was a very good team effort.”
| Date Taken: | 03.11.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 03.11.2020 16:05 |
| Story ID: | 364997 |
| Location: | ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 810 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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