On Friday, December 5, 2025, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) published the U.S. Department of State’s approval of a potential sale to Lebanon of a batch of M1085A2 and M1078A2 medium tactical trucks from the Oshkosh FMTV A2 (Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles A2) series, in a package valued at up to 90.5 million USD.
Photo: Oshkosh Defense
According to the published information, the government in Beirut requested an undisclosed number of 5-ton M1085A2 MTV medium tactical trucks without winches and 2.5-ton M1078A2 MTV trucks without winches, as well as a package of spare and repair parts; publications and technical documentation; personnel training and training equipment; technical and logistical support services; and other related logistics and program-support elements. The contractor for the agreement will be Oshkosh Defense (part of Oshkosh Corporation).
The Lebanese Armed Forces currently operate around 100 Oshkosh FMTV A1 trucks in a 6×6 configuration, used for humanitarian assistance, troop and cargo transport, both in armored and unarmored variants.
In addition, Lebanon employs older trucks of various origins, such as the American 5-ton M54 6×6 and M939 6×6 trucks, South Korean K711s, Russian KamAZ-4310s, Dutch DAF YA 4440/4442s, and German Unimogs. There are also newer vehicles such as Chinese Sinotruk HOWO trucks and American Navistar 7000-MV trucks.
The FMTV A2 family was developed at the request of the U.S. Army as a successor to the FMTV A1 vehicles produced between 1988 and 2021, more than 41,000 of which entered U.S. military service. In 2014, the FMTV A1P2 program was launched to develop a successor based on lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan, and two years later a tender was announced, which Oshkosh Defense, the supplier of the first-generation FMTV, won on 7 February 2018.
The new platform received a 7.2-liter Caterpillar C7 diesel engine providing greater power compared to older models, a 7-speed Allison automatic transmission, new suspension with parabolic leaf springs and telescopic shock absorbers, and a crew cab compliant with the LTAS (Long-Term Armor Strategy) design philosophy, allowing armor modules to be added depending on mission needs and providing higher ballistic and mine protection than the first generation.
Since 2018, more than 3,000 FMTV A2 vehicles have been ordered, including serial-production units since August 2021, with the latest order placed on 11 June this year. To date, the FMTV A2 has been exported only to Israel, which initially ordered 200 FMTV A1P2s in January 2017, but the program evolved toward the A2. In August 2024, an additional sale of modified M1148A1P2 FMTV LHS (8-ton cargo trucks with load-handling systems) worth approximately 583 million USD was approved.
See also:
