USAF All-Terrain Fork Lift (ATFL)

The Caterpillar All-Terrain Fork Lift (ATFL or 10K ATFL) has been procured by the US Air Force (approximately one thousand units) as well as the US Army and USSOCOM. The 10K ATFL is based on the Caterpillar 928Hz wheel loader platform with modifications to meet military specifications and requirements. To enable quick loading and unloading of ISO containers, the 10K ATFL has pallet fork trays with rollers that match up with the 463L pallet system on the C-130 Hercules. The ATFL can remove its own cab, stack and counterweights, reducing its height to 102 inches, making it internally transportable in a C-130. The ATFL can roll off a C-130 and go to work right away off-loading pallets. The Caterpillar 10K ATFL has been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, along with other US bases all over the world.

The 10K ATFL has a capacity of 10,000 pounds and can reach a height of 96 inches fully loaded. A 12,000-pound variant of the ATFL is also available from Caterpillar. It has an air compressor (optional) and a 24v NATO receptical for starting from external power. The engine is a Cat C6.6 rated at 149hp@2300rpm mated to a transmission with 4 forward and 3 reverse gears.

Find additional photos and hi-res versions of the All-Terrain Fork Lift (ATFL) at the Olive-Drab Military Mashup:

An aerial porter from the New Jersey Air National Guard directs cargo from a C-17 aircraft to a cargo yard at Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station, NJ, as part of Exercise Eagle Flag, 28 March 2012. More than 80 Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard deployed here 26 March, joining forces with over than 50 active-duty Army troops and Air Guardsmen from New Jersey and Mississippi to establish a Joint Task Force-Port Opening. The Caterpillar 10K ATFL (All-terrain Fork Lift) is capable of lifting and carrying 10,000 lbs, and is able to reach a height of 96 inches fully loaded.

An all terrain forklift carries a pallet to the back of a C-17 Globemaster III while it is being loaded during operations for Air Force Exercise Eagle Flag 08-6, Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, NJ, 23 September 2008. The Caterpillar 10K ATFL (All-terrain Fork Lift) is capable of lifting and carrying 10,000 lbs, and is able to reach a height of 96 inches fully loaded. Sometimes called Extreme Terrain Forklift.

TSGT Creighton King, Air Mobility Command Headquarters, gives a thumbs up to show the forklift driver he is clear as he backs down a C-5 Galaxy cargo ramp, on the flightline, Travis Air Force Base, CA, 21 September 2011. The Caterpillar 10K ATFL (All-terrain Fork Lift) is capable of lifting and carrying 10,000 lbs, and is able to reach a height of 96 inches fully loaded.

U.S. Airmen deployed as part of the fictional 421st Air Expeditionary Group, use a Caterpillar 10K ATFL (All-terrain Fork Lift) to move cargo amidst falling snow and cold temperatures during operations for exercise Eagle Flag 07-3, Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, NJ, 13 Feb 2007.

Caterpillar 10K ATFL (All-terrain Fork Lift), capable of lifting and carrying 10,000 lbs, and is able to reach a height of 96 inches fully loaded. Photo courtesy of Caterpillar.

Members from the 374th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle management flight remove the operator's cab from a CAT 10K All Terrain Forklift (ATFL) in preparation for an air shipment to assist the earthquake and tsunami recovery efforts, Yokota Air Base, Japan, 16 March 2011. Two forklifts and two HMMWV were prepared for the 353rd Special Tactical Squadron from Kadena Air Base, Japan, in support of Operation Tomodachi.

10K All-Terrain Fork Lift (ATFL) Photo Gallery

SSGT Russell Larsen operates a Caterpillar 10K All-Terrain Forklift to load a heart perfusion machine onto an awaiting truck while Senior Airman Lydia Newman provides guidance at the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, 16 June 2012.

Members from the 374th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle management flight remove the operator's cab from a CAT 10K All Terrain Forklift (ATFL) in preparation for an air shipment to assist the earthquake and tsunami recovery efforts, Yokota Air Base, Japan, 16 March 2011.