Autonomy kits that attach to existing tactical trucks are transforming a long-standing military goal into an operational capability. Rather than replacing entire fleets, the United States is starting to equip standard cargo haulers so they can move in convoys with only a handful of human drivers in the loop. The shift promises to change how supplies move through combat zones, where the most dangerous job is often sitting behind a steering wheel.
From concept kits to fielded convoys
The modern push for driver-optional convoys grew out of early experiments that treated autonomy as an add-on rather than a clean-sheet vehicle design. The AMAS common appliqué kit, described by the Army as consisting of a bi-wire active safety kit and an autonomy kit, uses a Global Positioning System receiver, sensors and control computers to take over steering, braking and throttle on standard trucks once the hardware is installed. This standardized package converts a conventional tactical vehicle into a robotic follower and set the template for current autonomy kits, which can be transferred between platforms as operational needs change, rather than being tied to a single truck model.
Commercial technology has since accelerated the concept into a formal modernization effort. The Army’s Transportation Corps describes a push to leverage significant advances in the commercial autonomous vehicle sector to reduce risk to soldiers operating in dangerous environments, framing autonomy kits as a way to extend the reach of sustainment formations without matching that growth in personnel. That initiative, which treats autonomy as a modular capability for the sustainment fleet, is part of a broader push in which the Army seeks to move supplies with fewer troops exposed on the road while still retaining human oversight where it matters most, according to the corps’ own autonomous transport description.
How the leader-follower model works on real trucks
The most visible expression of this approach is the leader-follower concept, in which a small number of crewed vehicles guide a column of driverless trucks equipped with autonomy kits. At the Joint Readiness Training Center, the Army has used tactical wheeled vehicle Leader Follower technology, referred to as LF/TWV, to run convoys where a PLS truck squad operates in a 1:4 configuration, with one human-driven leader and four follower vehicles. In this setup, the lead truck navigates the route while trailing vehicles use sensors and control systems to follow its path, enabling the convoy to transport the same tonnage with fewer soldiers exposed.
The hardware that makes this possible is designed to be platform-agnostic but is being integrated first on workhorse logistics vehicles. The Palletized Load System, or PLS, is a heavy truck family that already forms the backbone of many logistics convoys, and the current PLS A2 variant, including the Oshkosh Defense Palletized Load System M1075A2, is built to operate in extreme conditions while distributing supplies quickly. By fitting autonomy kits to these trucks, the Army can convert a proven cargo hauler into a driver-optional asset without redesigning the underlying chassis.
Industry’s race to supply the autonomy kits
Defense contractors and autonomy specialists are competing to supply the applique brains that will sit on those trucks. Lockheed Martin has developed the Autonomous Mobility Applique System, often described as a bolt-on package that can be installed on tactical vehicles to enable them to operate in driverless convoy modes or under remote control. The company reports that this system has logged more than 55,000 miles in testing during the Army’s extended evaluation of autonomous convoy operations, a figure that signals how aggressively the technology is being run through real-world scenarios before wider fielding.
Other firms have secured major contracts to deliver similar kits. The Army awarded Robotic Research, LLC a 3-year, $49.7 million contract to provide autonomy kits for large convoy resupply missions, a deal that explicitly calls for technology that can scale across different platforms and mission profiles. The $49.7 million contract highlights both the urgency and complexity of deploying autonomy at convoy scale, as the kits must integrate with existing vehicles, communication networks, and command systems while meeting strict military safety standards.
Traditional vehicle manufacturers are also positioning themselves around autonomy. Oshkosh markets a wide portfolio of tactical trucks and has highlighted how its designs can host emerging automation, including the heavy platforms that already serve as the backbone of logistics units. By aligning truck design with the needs of autonomy suppliers, companies such as Oshkosh and technology houses such as Lockheed Martin are effectively building an ecosystem in which a standard tactical truck can be upgraded, reconfigured or returned to full manual control as operations demand.
From experimental programs to broader adoption
Those industry efforts sit on top of a series of Army programs that have steadily expanded the role of autonomy in logistics. Under a roughly $50 million initiative, the Army invested in convoy automation after sustaining soldier losses from improvised explosive device attacks, concluding that removing drivers from exposed cabs directly reduces casualties. That funding stream fed into efforts such as the Expedient Leader Follower initiative, which aimed to field self-driving supply trucks at scale and was described as a way for the Army to be ready for unmanned vehicles even if it was not yet prepared for a completely unmanned convoy.