Heil manufactures the FRC, describing the program as: “… a fueling/defueling system built in an ISO container. It’s designed to transport, store and distribute JP-8, JP-5, DF-2 and other kerosene-based fuels in the expeditionary environment for Marine Corps aircraft and tactical ground vehicles. The fuel capacity of the FR is approximately 2,800 gallons. The FR is capable of being loaded, secured, transported and unloaded by the LVSR cargo variant using the LVSR’s integral method of loading ISO containers or flatracks. The FR is fully operational as a standalone system, or integrated with the LVSR. The FR minimizes fleet operating costs, enhances performance and supportability, and meets all applicable military requirements. Standard equipment includes a fuel filter separator, relaxation chamber, meter, hose reels, pressure and vacuum vents, portable grounding rod, static discharge system, vapor recovery, electronic liquid level indicator, engine and pump assembly. The FR is Air Transportable, Rail Transportable, RO-RO capable with top lift and tie down eyes.”
A Logistics Vehicle System Replacement MK 15 Recovery Vehicle manned by Cpl. Adam R. Tornatore, wrecker operator, Support Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 4, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward), patrols near Sangin, Helmand province, Afghanistan, July 11, 2012. The truck provides the heavy lift capability to help recover stuck or damaged vehicles. DoD photo by Cpl. Mark Stroud
“The FRC will provide an enhanced refueling/defueling capability,” Prosser continued. “It is definitely expeditionary, a feature that becomes obvious when you compare it to driving out with your big tanker truck. Now we will have a 2,500-gallon fuel tank that can be transported on our LVSR, which has tremendous capability both on road and off road. So you can get this fuel capability to anywhere you want and you can leave it on the LVSR or offload the flatrack and leave it sitting at an air station or forward operating base.
“The April FRC decision was actually something of a ‘limited LRIP,’” Prosser acknowledged. “The full quantity of LRIP was approved, but the Acquisition Decision Memorandum [ADM] restricted us to only buying four until we could go out and do a little additional testing. But we have now completed that testing. The system passed. And we’ve received permission to procure the remaining 33 LRIP quantities.”
Other ongoing activities surround a pending MTVR contract with Oshkosh Defense.
“In the aggregate, we have procured our MTVR AAO [Authorized Acquisition Objective],” Prosser said. “But when they [Combat Development & Integration] changed the AAO, they also changed the mix of variants that were required. Essentially, we bought more vehicles than the AAO specified, but we didn’t have the right mix. Therefore, we are in the process of procuring a few more vehicles from Oshkosh. It won’t get us the whole way, but it will get us closer to the mix we want. The PMO is considering a wide variety of options to digress of excess variants.”
Another pending milestone surrounds the associated MTVR trailers. However, according to Prosser, the situation is a little bit complicated.
Logistic Vehicle System Replacement (LVSR) vehicles with Combat Logistics Battalion 4, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward), stage to pick up supplies and equipment at Patrol Base Mirmandab, March 23, 2012, during a combat logistics patrol. The LVSR’s load handling systems allowed the Marines to rapidly onload supplies for retrograde. DoD photo by Cpl. Mark W. Stroud
“The MTVR trailer has already had a Full Rate Production decision,” he began. “And there are three variants of that trailer: cargo, general purpose, and a water tank variant. Well, the one prototype that was built of the water trailer was apparently down at Blount Island Command in Jacksonville, Fla., and they took a picture of their forklift not able to lift it. That picture drew the attention of some who immediately criticized the program in light of our goals to lighten the MAGTF [Marine Air-Ground Task Force]. The result was that all work was stopped on the water and general purpose trailers so that the Marine Corps could determine the direction they wanted to take. At the same time, they recognized that they still needed to pursue the cargo variant because we still don’t have a new trailer for behind the MTVR. We still have the ‘old’ trailer. But it can’t keep up and the MTVR loses capability by pulling it – you’re limited in where you can drive and what you can do.”
The decision that emerged from the trailer quandary was to keep the chassis of the trailer as it was. Those chassis elements were already being built by Choctaw Defense (in Oklahoma) because of the earlier Full Rate Production decision. But the cargo trailer bed was redesigned to be both lighter and able to haul more cargo.