This vehicle was expensive, however, and due to budget cutbacks of prospective buyers, Caterpillar never received an order. The ‘30/30’ designation came from a 30 mph top speed, and a total weight of 30,000 pounds. This initial vehicle was known as the 30/30 Engineer Support Tractor. Development of what would become the M105 started in late 1995.
This high-mobility dozer emerged from the partnership between the Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) of Warren, Michigan, and the Defense and Federal Products department of the construction industry giant, Caterpillar Inc, based in Mossville, Illinois. The Deployable Universal Combat Earthmover M105, otherwise known as the ‘DEUCE’. It can be deployed alongside airborne troops and is fast enough to re-deploy from task-to-task without the need of a separate transporter vehicle. The M105 is a much lighter vehicle than the other two vehicles and it is air-transportable, self-deployable (meaning it can be driven to where it is needed) and air-droppable. The M105 was brought into existence to replace the veteran Caterpillar D5 Bulldozer and, to a lesser extent, supplement the somewhat loathed M9 Armored Combat Earthmover (ACE). The Deployable Universal Combat Earthmover M105, otherwise known as the ‘DEUCE’, was born out of this need. As well as armed and armored vehicles, this need also translated to engineering vehicles. Put simply, this was the ability to be deployed wherever needed, in the shortest time possible, often relying on airborne deployments. In the mid-1990s, the prevailing trend for vehicles in the United States Army was for them to be capable of ‘Rapid Reaction’.
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