Key to the M9's success is its 8.7-cubic-yard "scraper bowl" and bulldozer blade. The hydro-pneumatic suspension allows the front of the vehicle to be raised, lowered or tilted to permit either dozing, excavating, rough grading or ditching functions. The system sports a 2-speed winch with a 25,000 pound pull capability. As the vehicle features no armament for self-defense, it is typically fielded along with other allied units such as Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs).
With its introduction in the mid-to-late 1980s, the M9 ACE was featured by U.S. Army forces in the 1991 Persian Gulf War as Allied ground forces moved against Iraqi units in Kuwait. The vehicles played a critical role in removing road obstacles for the main ground force and in breaching prepared Iraqi Army fortifications. Combined with other elements for protection, M9's served dutifully in their role when dismantling the "Forth Largest Army in the World" at that time.
Due to the rather compact dimensions of the M9 ACE vehicle, it is easily transportable in the hold of a Lockheed C-130 "Hercules" transport as well as the larger Lockheed C-141 "Starlifter" and Lockheed C-5 "Galaxy" heavy lifters.
Approximately 448 M9 ACE vehicles were taken into the U.S. Army inventory by the end of 1992. There were plans for an unmanned, remote-controlled version as the "Standardized Robotic System" (SRS) vehicle through Omnitech Robotics International though this does not appear to have been furthered.
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