Breaking delivery records to save lives.
When you're making armored vehicles to protect the troops, there's a special kind of urgency. That's why Navistar Defense is so proud of our manufacturing quality and efficiency. No story illustrates that better than the production of our MaxxPro® MRAP Recovery Vehicle.
With the introduction of our MaxxPro® MRAP vehicles, soldiers could operate far more safely in dangerous areas. But it became clear that the Army needed an armor-protected asset to safeguard the troops who recovered damaged MaxxPros in the field.
Even before the Army had issued an urgent need request, Navistar Defense invested in a demonstrator recovery vehicle with MRAP level protection. Based on our commercial truck chassis and wrecker body, and powered by one of our MaxxForce® engines, it was designed to be produced quickly. And since soldiers were at risk every day in Iraq and Afghanistan, we didn’t slow down while this new wrecker was being tested.
Instead, we leveraged our huge commercial buying power to procure materials and coordinated the supply base to expedite delivery. When the Army made the award, Navistar Defense was ready. Running production on existing Navistar commercial lines, we were able to deliver the first vehicle to the Army in just 19 days – faster than any military vehicle had been produced since World War II.
The importance of that accomplishment soon became all the more clear. Less than two weeks after the first MaxxPro Recovery Vehicles arrived in Afghanistan, a two-man recovery crew was hit by an IED attack. Both soldiers survived a blast that would have killed them just a few weeks before.
Thanks to our up-front investments, dedicated employees and manufacturing efficiency, Navistar Defense delivered a total of 250 MaxxPro Recovery Vehicles in 130 days. Not a moment too soon.
