Resupplying Armor the FASTARM Way

The problem of resupplying armored units is not new. The problem of resupply has magnified while U. S. efforts to solve it have crawled along at a snail’space. Looking at the overall problem of resupplying combat units, we see that today, as in WWI, WWII and Korea, we rely on trucks to haul fuel a n d ammunition to combat units. Trucks have improved over those of earlier wars. They are bigger, faster (at least on roads and firm ground), and more reliable. Even so, they still lack the mobility to move with tracked vehicles over soft soils and sand. In Europe, where the soil is predominantly soft most of the year, the newest tactical trucks will face obstacles and experience extremely slow going to get to armored units. They will not be able to keep up with tanks. General George S. Patton remarked in early 1945 - when he tried to visit Third Army units by jeep - that he had spent the day looking for roads but all he saw was deep mud. Where tanks went, roads became mud. Mud was only one of the problems, Tracked vehicles dig up the soft earth and leave behind deep ruts. A truck does well to crawl over these. Often when a truck is sent to resupply a tank unit, it becomes mired in the tank’s path long before it reaches its destination. Even if we could develop a truck with the mobility and agility required, it would not solve the small unit resupply dilemma. Present-generation fighting vehicles, like their predecessors, represent a series of compromises. To achieve the required firepower, armor protection, and mobility, we made concessions in operating range between refuelings and in the number of main gun rounds that could be stowed on board the vehicle. Large weapons require larger and heavier ammunition. More powerful engines consume more fuel per mile. What this means is that units must be resupplied more frequently than in the past, in a shorter period of time, and in closer proximity to the battle position. Given their vulnerability, particularly when carrying cargoes of fuel and ammunition, trucks simply cannot enter the battle area without suffering a high percentage of losses from enemy fires. As long as we rely on wheeled resupply vehicles, we will be forced to conduct refueling and rearming well behind the battle position. This could lead to significant losses if the enemy were able to counterattack while resupply was in progress. Solutions to the resupply problem have been proposed which are reasonable and can be effected in a comparatively short time. Obtaining funds for these solutions, however, has been difficult. Further, it is extremely rare for the resupply of ammunition to be played realistically in tactical training exercises. Very few individuals fully appreciate just how serious the problem is in resupplying armored units with ammunition simply because the only time that problem is faced is in an actual battle. The Rearm System Solution Proposed as a first step in solving armor resupply problems is a system 12 that makes maximum use of existing technology and has growth potential to keep it viable for years to come. Called the Rearm System, it has four major components: the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) M977 with an onboard crane; and Armored F o r w a r d A r e a R e a r m Vehicle (AFARV) built on a tracked chassis (for which there are several candidates); onboard Material Handling Equipment (MHE); and modern ammunition packing that provides quick access to a clean round. All require sound resupply doctrine for their employment. This is known as the FASTARM Doctrine. The FASTARM Doctrine calls for M977 trucks to pick up ammunition at the ammunition supply point (ASP) or ammunition transfer point (ATP) to the rear of a battle area and move it forward to the combat trains unit. There, the ammunition will be transferred to the AFARV or put on the ground. The combat trains will be located in a concealed location close to a road or trail and will be positioned as far forward as the battle situation permits. Since the position will not be occupied by more than a few vehicles at a time, and then only for short periods, it will not become a lucrative target for enemy indirect-fire weapons such as artillery and mortars. Transloading from the M977 truck into an AFARV is accomplished by an onboard MHE which lifts pallet-sized loads. Once loaded, the AFARV moves to the vicinity of the supported unit, ready to Above, the Armored Forward Area Rearm Vehicle (AFARV) is Seen in traveling mode and with its boom deployed. The HEMTT family of tactical trucks includes tanker, at left, and a cargo version, right, with stabilized lifting boom. dash forward to the battle position and “top off” fighting vehicles with ammunition during any lull in the battle. Two tanks at a time can pull alongside each AFARV. Transfer of ammunition is effected one round at a time using a transfer chute to each tank loader through his hatch, ready for stowing inside the tank. No crew member needs to dismount, and only the loader’s hatch needs to be opened. The tank engine is kept running to allow the tank to stop reloading and return to its firing position in seconds, if required. The M977, meanwhile, loaded with empty ammunition containers, has returned to field train units located well to the rear of the battle area. Compared to the equipment and packaging now in use, whereby rearming must take place well to the rear with the tank engine shut down and crew members out of their vehicles, the new procedure will be a major improvement. Ammunition Packaging Presently the tank crew must open each wooden ammunition box, remove around from its fiber tube; and pass it up to the tank by hand, usually by means of a human chain. It takes several minutes to break off reloading and reorganize to return to the fighting if required. Modern ammunition packaging is essential to the new Rearm system. It allows quick access to a clean round without reducing safety precautions. In the past, tank ammunition packaging was designed to meet the logistician’s need to deliver a clean, ready-to-fire round. This had provided some problems for the fighter since he has been required to go through numerous steps such as those described above to get to the round of ammunition. A recent development that promises to meet both the logistician and fighting man’s needs is the metal canister for tank ammunition. Its end 13

The PLS system is demonstrated at the 1984 Armor Conference.

Another Forward Resupply Option Subsequent to the preparation of this article anew vehicle concept has emerged called the Palletized Load System (PLS) which is now on a fast track development program as the Army’s tactical truck of the future. What is unique about this British-developed system is that it has no cargo bed as such, but usesflat racks which are pulled from the ground up and onto the truck frame by an onboard mechanical arm and, at destination, are offloaded in a reverse action. Thus, the truck need linger at turnaround points only minutes to offload a preloaded flat rack and pick-up an empty one, even if no personnel are present to help the driver. In those rapid maneuver situations, where POL is the most critical supply item, unit ammo trucks may be diverted to carrying flat racks on which POL pods are mounted, increasing the volume of POL the unit can carry. Conversely, in a relatively static situation where heavy contact requires higher than normal levels of ammo resupply, the majority of unit trucks could carry flat racks loaded with ammo. In a test at Yakima Firing Center, WA, by the 9th Infantry Division (Motorized) last year, the PLS drew rave reviews. An evaluation of its application in armor units is planned for fall, 1984, at Fort Hood, TX, where it will be tested in a combat service support concept evaluation program that will also include evalu-tion of the HEMTT trucks and a prototype AFARV. opening is designed to provide rapid access to a clean round. By mounting a number of these canisters on a metal pallet, a reusable, long-life packaging system that can be decontaminated easily is provided. There remains the very significant problem of how to use the war reserve stockpiles of ammunition already stored in wooden boxes. The Army’s Human Engineering Laboratory, in its BRASS 2000 study, is studying how and where to transfer ammunition from wooden boxes to more compatible packaging and how to apply robotics and automation to that task. AFARV and HEMTT Vehicles The HEMTT family of vehicles is in production and should prove to be an excellent transporter of cargo and fuel over roads and firm ground. On soft terrain, however, it suffers from limitations in mobility similar to other tactical trucks. The AFARV is a concept proved by user testing. Its requirement document, now in the final phases of staffing, calls for a full-tracked vehicle with armor protection against small arms fire and artillery fragments and for mobility compatable with the fighting vehicles it supports. Current plans call for open competition for the vehicle chassis and for the cargo compartment module and MHE. 14

Artist's conception shows how AFARV would resupply forward armor units. FASTARM Refueling Doctrine Difficulties with refueling armored vehicles are similar to those for ammunition resupply. Although we must still rely too much on trucks, there have been some important advances in refueling. Foremost of these was the change from fuel packaged in 5-gallon cans to bulk tankers with fuel pumping systems. Tankers provide faster fuel transfer to the fighting vehicles. The switch from gasoline to diesel fuel has reduced the explosive potential of the fuel. Even so, our reliance on trucks to haul bulk fuel continues to severely limit our capability to refuel rapidly when and where we need to. The FASTARM procedure for refueling is similar to that for ammunition resupply in that it uses the HEMTT M978 POL tanker to transport bulk fuel forward to a transload point where an armored tracked refueller (ATR) vehicle is loaded. The ATR then moves close to the battle position where it waits ready to supply tanks with fuel. Concurrent with the development of the ATR, our fighting vehicles will undergo modifications to allow them to be rapidly refueled without requiring the crew to dismount and preferably without the engine having to be shut down. A remote coupling system will be used to mate the ATR with the achieve full combat readiness around fighting vehicle. The fuel flow rate, as the clock with a minimum reduction of well as the fuel acceptance rate of the readiness while undergoing resupply. fighting vehicle, will need to be FASTARM improves the capability of increased over present rates. armored units in the roles and missions Future FASTARM Improvements called for in the AirLand Battle 2000. Although the AFARV will be devel- (Reprinted with permission from oped for resupply of existing fighting NA TIONAL DEFENSE, February vehicles. moiected immovements will 1984.) also be considered. For example, our next generation of tanks will probably incorporate an autoloader. They will be reloaded by inserting a magazine. Only minor changes would be needed to make the AFARV compatable to that approach. Even simpler would be the adjustments needed if the autoloader were to use a carousel-type magazine into which single rounds of ammunition could be fed through a port in the side of the turret. Whatever direction new fighting vehicles take, the AFARV, with minor changes, will be able to efficiently resupply them. Additionally, new packaging for ammunition canisters will be lighter and compatable with the FASTARM system. FASTARM is more than just a vehicle or family of vehicles. It is a complete, integrated system of vehicles, material handling equipment, packaging, and doctrine designed to enable our armored maneuver units to

DAY is currently Chief, Logistics Sustainability/ Supportability Branch, Materiel Logistics Divison, DCD, the Armor School, Fort Knox, KY. H e has served in command of armor units and on advisory duty in Vietnam and in major requirements studies on tank and antitank weapons. He has also worked a san operational research systems analyst with Martin-Marietta Aerospace and t h e U. S. Army Armor and Engineer Board at Fort Knox and as a DA civilian armor combat development studies officer at Fort Leavenworth, KS. H e is also the past editor of the Tank-Automotive News column in National Defense Magazine.

(RET.) DAVID C. HOLLIjuly-august 1984 15