Mack Defense announced it has delivered the first production of M917A3 Heavy Dump Trucks (HDT) to the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Reserve.

The handover of the M917A3 HDT key and truck occurred during a ceremony at the MEC after comments from Mack Defense leadership, U.S. Army officials, and representatives of local and state officials.

“It’s an honor to write the next chapter in Mack’s rich history of producing vehicles for the U.S. armed forces on this dedicated line and deliver the first, new Heavy Tactical Wheeled Vehicle the U.S. Army has added to their portfolio in 12 years,” said David Hartzell, president of Mack Defense. “We look forward to fulfilling our current contract and the needs of the U.S. Army, delivering vehicles that have earned the acceptance of the armed forces through successful rounds of rigorous testing.”

The M917A3 trucks are part of the contract for HDTs.The Army uses dump trucks in its engineer units for maintenance missions and infrastructure assets, like roadways, airfields, landing strips, supply facilities, and motor pools.

In 2018, the U.S. Army awarded Mack Defense a contract potentially worth up to $296.4M over seven years to produce a minimum of 683 non-armored and armored M917A3 HDTs.

"Many of the Army's missions are within extremely austere environments, so if we need to build things to support combat or training operations, dump trucks are absolutely essential to the force," said Wolfgang Petermann, the U.S. Army's project manager for Transportation Systems, Program Executive Office for Combat Support & Combat Service Support (Detroit Arsenal, Michigan).

The 94,500 lb. GVWR M917A3 HDTs based on the Mack Granite model feature an all-wheel drive 8x8 configuration. An armored cab was also engineered, combining the comfort features and amenities of a commercial truck while adding force protection. The M917A3s are powered by 13L Mack MP8 engines, delivering 440 horsepower.

"Now is the perfect time to provide the Engineer Regiment with modified commercial off-the-shelf capabilities leveraging the strength of the commercial auto and heavy-duty trucking industry,” Petermann said. "Today's ceremony is a huge milestone in delivering that enhanced capability, which is better equipped to maintain the operational pace of the modern battlefield. I'm proud of the hard-working Heavy Dump Truck team that has brought us to this point."