ST Engineering, Oshkosh Defense to help produce CATV prototypes for US Army

Two prototypes will undergo testing and soldier evaluation in the third quarter of 2021.

Tech group ST Engineering and tactical vehicle manufacturer Oshkosh Defense have been selected by the National Advanced Mobility Consortium to participate in the prototype phase for the US Army’s cold weather all-terrain vehicle (CATV).

The parties will deliver two prototypes—one general purpose and one cargo vehicle—for testing and soldier evaluation in Q3 FY2021, and will be evaluated on payload, mobility, crush resistance, swimming, and transportability.

The US Army has announced plans to issue a follow-on production contract for up to 200 CATVs in FY2022.

According to Oshkosh Defense, the CATV is a new program for a tracked vehicle that operates in extreme cold weather or arctic conditions and is designed to replace the small unit support vehicles that have been in service since the early 1980s.

“Oshkosh Defense and ST Engineering bring together an abundance of defense industry and manufacturing expertise to address the US Army’s need for a proven vehicle that can easily manoeuvre in arctic environments,” said Pat Williams, vice president and general manager of US Army and US Marine Corps programmes.

The Oshkosh CATV is derived from ST Engineering's Bronco 3 – a member of the Bronco family of vehicles that have been in service in various countries.

“The new vehicle design will be built with the combined expertise of Oshkosh Defense and draws on the rich heritage of the Bronco family of vehicles, a proven, robust and versatile articulated platform which has been in operation since 2001,” ST Engineering president Lee Shiang Long said.