Xingbao LKW KAT 1 MIL GL 8x8 10t X06052

The MAN Category 1 is a family of high-mobility off-road trucks developed by MAN SE for the German army. Production continued through an evolution of the design with the final iteration (SX) in production until early 2019.

History
In the late 1950s and early 1960s the West German Technical Office for Armament and Military Purchases drew up requirements for a new range (or second generation) of vehicles for the army. Covering all weight classes and mobility levels, the Bundeswehrʼs second-generation requirement originally called for 62,000 vehicles (of all classes including cars and buses) including four-tonne 4×4, seven-tonne 6×6, and 10-tonne 8×8 trucks; 4×4 and 6×6 armoured amphibious load carriers; and an 8×8 amphibious reconnaissance vehicle.

The first prototype vehicles were shown at the end of the 1960s, and a further two prototype series were developed before the first genuine pre-production vehicles were designed and built. Along the development trail it became clear that the highly technical vehicles would simply not be affordable as originally specified, so many of the more ambitious 'wish list' features were dropped. The total number to procure was also cut down to 18,000. In 1972, the amphibious specification and the requirement for the vehicles to be powered by an air-cooled multifuel engine were dropped. In 1975, the four-tonne rating was uprated to five-tonne while stretching that model’s bed, along with increasing the wheelbase from 4.3 to 4.5 m.

In December 1975, MAN was awarded a contract to build 8,385 4×4, 6×6, and 8×8 Category 1 vehicles at a cost of DM 1.4 million; this production total was further reduced to 7,925 in 1979. The umbrella corporation to make these trucks was now Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV).

The 8×8 version was the first Category 1 model to enter production and started to be delivered in 1976. A 6×6 tipper and the 4×4 cargo truck followed in 1977. Deliveries of the 6×6 cargo truck began in January 1979; the final units were supplied in 1981. By 1983, 8,617 vehicles of all Category 1 configurations had been delivered to the West German armed forces, and while exact totals are unknown, the Bundeswehr did receive a total of seven 5,000 kg 4×4 variants, 14 variants of the 7,000 kg 6×6, and nine 8×8 10,000 kg variants. The complete range of Category 1 vehicles were produced at MAN’s Watenstedt plant in Germany.

Category I vehicles underwent a complete overhaul in the mid-1990s to extend their service life by another ten years, and replacement has only recently begun in earnest. Some ex-military MAN Category 1 vehicles have been released on the second-hand market in Germany.