SubscribeIn an uncertain world, military planners are constantly revising deployment scenarios and rewriting equipment schedules. Force projection capability and the deployability of military assets are the new procurement drivers, while commercially available off-the-shelf technology is seen as the key to cost effectiveness.
As a world leader in the manufacture of construction and earthmoving equipment, diesel engines and generator sets, Caterpillar Inc. has long supplied both the commercial and the defence markets. Its enormous product range and unrivalled global support network have made it the choice of armed forces around the world.
Caterpillar excavators and bulldozers are in service in Afghanistan and Iraq with US and British forces. Both those users, and others, have put Caterpillar equipment in the forefront of their effort in Bosnia, Kosovo and other trouble spots around the world. Moreover, Caterpillar is a key supplier for the British Army’s new Engineer Tank System and Terrier combat engineer vehicle.
Caterpillar diesel engines range in power from 4kW to 7,200kW and its generator sets from 50ekW to5,200ekW. The new C-9 engine, developed for the demanding commercial truck market, provides 300kW of emissions legislation compliant power and has been selected for the Romanian MLI-84 armoured personnel carrier and the Swiss Piranha III light armoured vehicle.
A variant of this vehicle, also Caterpillar-powered, has been selected by the US Army for its most deployable armoured formations. The C-12 engine, rated at up to 321kW, is already in service with a large part of the US Army’s truck fleet, and it will shortly enter British Army service in the new-wheeled tanker fleet. Meanwhile, the C-18 engine, rated at 522kW, will power the British Army’s tank transporter and its Terrier combat engineer vehicle.
The X300 automatic transmission, manufactured by Caterpillar’s UK-based subsidiary Perkins, has also been selected for Terrier and continues to be specified for the CV90 family of infantry fighting vehicles in service with the armies of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Switzerland. Finally, the Perkins CV12 diesel engine, recently combat proven in Iraq, will power the British Army’s Engineer Tank System and the Czech Army’s modernised T-72 main battle tank.
Caterpillar is also a major supplier of both propulsion engines and on-board power generation systems to naval shipbuilders. The US Navy’s latest Virginia Class nuclear submarine and San Antonio Class Amphibious Transport, Dock will have Caterpillar generator sets on board, as will the Royal Navy’s new River Class offshore patrol vessels. Other recent Caterpillar successes include the Spanish Navy’s Alvaro de Bazán Class frigates, the Mexican Navy’s Justo Sierra Mendez Class gunships and the Royal Malaysian Navy’s A 100 type offshore patrol vessel.
Caterpillar’s engineering equipment, diesel engines and generator sets all incorporate cutting-edge technology developed for the demanding commercial marketplace. Availability, reliability and affordability, combined with total global support, means that Caterpillar can deliver military mission solutions whenever and wherever they are required.
