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February 2006

Army to Build New Truck-Test Facility

By Sandra I. Erwin

The safety of military transport vehicles operating in Iraq not only depends on their armor protection but also on their ability to move troops and cargo over long distances at high speeds without breaking down.

That thinking prompted the Army to approve construction of a new track as part of a $500 million renovation of its vast automotive testing range in Aberdeen, Md.

With nearly 40,000 armored trucks in combat in Iraq, the Army has learned during the past three years of the conflict that the addition of thousands of pounds of armor undermines vehicle performance, especially at high speeds.

Officials note that vehicles in Iraq now operate at higher-than-traditional speeds of up to 75 mph, or even higher. They mostly stay on paved and level gravel roads, and they often must endure missions over distances ranging from 200 to 600 miles.

“Add-on armor has drastically impacted both reliability and performance characteristics at high speeds,” says Randy Babcock, senior automotive engineer at the Army Aberdeen Test Center.

Plans to build a new track have been in various stages of discussions for at least 18 years, but it wasn’t until the war in Iraq that the Army realized it needed to get serious about modernizing its test track. “The war elevated the priority,” says Babcock. “We have permits in hand to start construction.”

The project, known as the Automotive Technology Evaluation Facility, is scheduled to break ground in March 2007, and will take about two years to complete.

The new track, Babcock says, will not replace the existing 43-mile facility, but rather will augment it. The intent is to add a new capability for high-speed testing for wheeled, tracked, manned and unmanned vehicles, he notes.

The current track severely limits testing because its three-mile straightaway forces vehicles to slow down to 25 mph each time they turn around. On the new track, vehicles can run at maximum speeds for unlimited periods, Babcock explains.

Another advantage is that all the traffic will be traveling in the same direction, so it’s much safer for operators. The current three-mile straightaway has two-way opposing traffic, which can create hazardous conditions for slower vehicles.

The new facility will be a 4.5-mile tri-oval track with wide sweeping turns. All traffic will travel in same direction and will be able to exceed speeds of 70 mph.

Enhancements to the Army test ranges aim to more realistically replicate the threats that combat forces face in the battlefield, says Col. John P. Rooney, commander of the Aberdeen Test Center.

“We have significant money to upgrade,” he says in a recent interview. A rush to equip trucks with add-on armor kits and to acquire factory-armored vehicles led to a rapid surge in demand for rapid testing, which propelled the decision to improve the range, Rooney says.

The potential usefulness of a high-speed test track recently was highlighted in a June 2005 report by a Marine Corps unit that had just returned from Iraq. The report, titled, “Convoy Operations in Stability and Support Operations,” made the case that troops training for war would benefit from practicing in driving conditions that more closely resemble those that will be encountered by drivers. “Suggested improvements to pre-deployment training include the development of a training pool of up-armored Humvees and seven-ton trucks with center-line seating and high-speed driving courses with obstacles.”

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