US Army's Common Tactical Truck competition on hold, industry awaits word of its fate

US Army plans to host a Common Tactical Truck (CTT) competition have hit a snag and the service has notified industry that it is indefinity delaying the release of a draft solicitation for the USD5.1 billion contract. This decision to pause the effort is a direct result of ongoing budget deliberations, according to an army spokesperson.

Service officials want to field a modified commercial off-the-shelf CTT fleet that can perform tactical wheeled vehicle mission roles currently performed by Palletized Load System A1 vehicles, Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks (HEMTT) A4, M1088 Tractors, and M915 Line Haul Tractors.

To find the right fit, on 24 January the service publicly announced that it would issue a ‘request for prototype proposals'. However, on 10 February, the National Advanced Mobility Consortium, an entity overseeing the CTT competition, notified companies that the army has postponed releasing this draft document “until further notice”.

Three separate industry sources confirmed the announcement, with one calling it “sudden” and another calling the decision “abrupt”. All three said they were waiting to see if this is a minor programme delay or if the army has decided to cancel the effort as part of its fiscal year 2023 budget deliberations.

Rae Higgins, a spokesperson with the army's Program Executive Office for Combat Support and Combat Service Support, confirmed that the delay is in fact a result of “army programme discussions”.

“We await the outcome of additional funding prioritisation discussions being held at the [army headquarter's] level,” she wrote in a 14 February email. “We hope to have more information to relay to industry” in late February.

In recent days service leaders have been publicly warning about cutting programmes to free up funding for specific priorities.