Mendel Cohen 
- Detroit Defense will helm a five-company team building the system for Fort Hood vehicles
- Sensors and software will flag parts likely to fail before a breakdown
- Deliveries start in the fall, with soldier validation running through summer 2027
Detroit Defense said Monday it will lead a five-company team in providing the U.S. Army with a maintenance forecasting system for tactical wheeled vehicles at Fort Hood, Texas, under a contract awarded by the Army Application Laboratory, which is working with the 1st Cavalry Division on an effort to modernize logistics for tactical units. The military service wants a maintenance capability that anticipates failures and reaches units beyond a single platform.
How Is the Detroit Defense Predictive Sustainment Capability Meant to Work?
The predictive sustainment capability will feature sensors that will be installed by Detroit Defense on vehicles where they will work to collect various types of data like fuel levels and error codes. Software using machine learning informed by physics will then pair the readings with maintenance, fuel and ammunition logs recorded by soldiers while on the job, to produce a sustainment status that would indicate which components require attention.
Detroit Defense’s FleetOps AI and LPPM applications will work to roll the information up the chain of command to give commanders a running view of fleet readiness.
The capability is meant to operate even when network access is limited, interrupted or blocked.
“Operator-performed digital maintenance is the heart of it: every record a Soldier completes at the point of work teaches the predictive models something a sensor cannot,” Nathan Clark, vice president of digital logistics at Detroit Defense, said.
Which Companies Comprise the Detroit Defense Team for the Fort Hood Army Contract?
Detroit Defense leads the team as prime contractor and systems integrator. Parker Hannifin handles data collection on the vehicles, PredictiveIQ supplies physics-based artificial intelligence, Persistent Systems provides its Wave Relay mobile ad hoc network and Getac furnishes rugged edge computing.
Initial deliveries are due in the fall. Soldiers will then help refine the system during large-scale training exercises, with validation continuing through summer 2027.
How Does the Contract Build on Earlier Detroit Defense Work?
Detroit Defense previously built the Data Integration for Ground Systems and Digital Logbook programs with the Army. Work on the latest contract adds artificial intelligence tools for digital maintenance, motor pool management and decision support for commanders at each echelon.
In April, Naval Air Systems Command awarded Detroit Defense a five-year contract covering upkeep and upgrades of aviation maintenance systems for the Navy and Marine Corps. The agreement has a one-year base period followed by four option years and is worth up to $36 million, the company said.
Detroit Defense also integrates commercial technology into military vehicles. Frank Sturek, senior vice president and head of growth at the company, told ExecutiveBiz in a July interview that Detroit Defense has installed an analog brake system retrofit on 33,000 Humvees for the Army over the past five years.
