Cummins pursues opportunities in US Army's CTT, UGV programmes

The Cummins X15 Performance Series diesel engine, developing 525-565 hp, on display at the AUSA annual conference in October 2026. (Janes/Jeremiah Cushman)

Cummins is bringing its commercial power and propulsion technologies to the US Army's Common Tactical Truck (CTT) programme and unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) manufacturers.

The company designs commercial products for a market, such as mining or on-highway transport, which it can then modify for defence missions, Mark Lyall, director of government and defence for Cummins, told Janes on 13 October during the Association of the United States Army annual conference in Washington, DC.

He pointed to the X15 Performance Series diesel engine, which started as a commercial on-highway engine. “Its design parameters are intended for 2 million miles, 50 years' worth of service. We can take that platform and go fit for mission, where if the mission is only 140,000 miles over the life of the vehicle, there's things that I can do to reduce cost, or increase reliability, or, in a lot of cases, increase power and capability,” Lyall said.

“If you think about drivetrain components, an axle or a suspension that's designed to roll up and down the freeway being a landscaping truck looks a lot different than an axle that carries the same amount of weight but is expected to traverse secondary or cross-country terrains with an armoured cab on top of it while shooting and scooting,” he said.

CTT programme

The Common Tactical Truck (CTT) programme is a family of vehicles intended to modernise the US Army's heavy tactical wheeled vehicle fleet, according to a factsheet from the US Army Contracting Command at Detroit Arsenal, Michigan.