Summary: The Army's plan to extend the acquisition schedule for replacing its medium tactical trucks from 15 to 30 years will make it hard to meet important program and fleet management goals and expectations, such as significantly reducing the average age of the fleet and lowering the fleet's operation and support costs. The acquisition strategy also raises operational concerns. For example, the Army doubts whether enough new trucks will be purchased to eliminate the battlefield deficiencies of the existing truck fleet until after 2012. In developing its medium truck replacement program, the Army considered several alternatives. The Army's analysis, however, considered only a limited range of alternatives, was based on incorrect data, and assumed a 15-year procurement, not the current 30-year program. GAO identified several alternatives to the current program that could result in more cost-effective truck purchases. One promising alternative is to buy more of the Army's current 5-ton trucks--the M939A2--instead of the 5-ton replacement truck. The Army has so far purchased thousands of the M939A2 trucks and has been pleased with their performance and reliability.
