Navistar International Corp. has announced its operating company, International Truck and Engine Corp., has established a business unit to sell products and services to the U.S. military.

Daniel C. Ustian, Navistar president and chief executive officer, said the new unit will leverage existing medium truck and parts platforms as well as International's family of diesel engines -- particularly the new 4.5-liter V-6 diesel engine -- to compete for military contracts.
"We offer the military options that the competition does not, including a comprehensive product offering including design, manufacturing, training, after-sale services and global distribution," Ustian said. "This is a natural area of growth for International. We already have all the platforms that the U.S. military and other NATO countries could leverage for products and services."
International has a cooperative agreement with Vision Technologies Systems Inc., headquartered in Alexandria, Va., to jointly design and market a repowered solution for the high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle, (HMMWV and pronounced HUMVEE) which includes an International 4.5-liter V-6 engine and a hybrid electric drive with plug-in power.
One such HMMWV will be on display through Wednesday at the annual meeting of the Assn. of the United States Army, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C.
International's truck products also will offer the company's Diamond Logic Telematic Solution, which includes communication devices that report conditions such as driver performance, vehicle tracking, prognostics (e.g. battery, brake, etc., conditions), security and equipment usage.
The military business effort will be led by vice president Archie Massicotte, a 26-year veteran of International and most recently director of manufacturing for the company's Blue Diamond Truck joint venture with The Ford Motor Co.