The US Army has selected Allison Transmission to support the modernisation programme of its M88A3 Hercules (Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift and Evacuation System) prototype vehicle.
The Army has committed over $37m in engineering design, development, fabrication, and testing for Allison’s X1100-5B propulsion system through to 2023.
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The service is expected to take a call on production in early 2024.
The move is part of the US Army’s investments to improve combat readiness and modernise the fleet. At present, the US Army owns over 900 M88 vehicles.
The Indianapolis-headquartered company will also provide its latest electronic controls system and new final drive components to modernise the recovery vehicle application.
Allison Transmission’s X1100-5B automatic transmission is a durable propulsion system based on the proven Abrams Main Battle Tank drivetrain solution.
The company has been developing propulsion solutions to meet the needs of the US Department of Defense since 1946.
The latest variant of the M88 family, M88A3 Hercules, is a next-generation heavy recovery vehicle under the US Army.
The prototype of the recovery vehicle was unveiled in 2018. It is used for rescuing tanks from the battlefield.
Compared to the M88A2 recovery vehicle, this variant offers improved performance and responsiveness.
The modernisation initiative will replace the need for two M88A2 heavy tracked recovery vehicles to tow the Army’s M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank, thus ensuring efficient use of resources.
