Why Do Military Contractors Build Our Mail Trucks?
Tanks, bombers, and mail carriers
What does the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber have in common with the standard mail truck? At first, this seems like a ridiculous question to ask. What most people don’t realize is that both the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and the standard US mail carrying vehicle are made by Northrop Grumman. Northrop Grumman is known for making things like missiles, unmanned drones, and fighting vehicles. Yet, for decades they were also responsible for building and maintaining the United States’s vast fleet of mail carriers.
This pairing was not the result of corruption or government graft. The government prefers to have their mail trucks built by military contractors. The next generation of mail trucks, along with their lucrative contract, was recently given to another military builder. So why is the symbol of suburbia built by military companies? Because mail trucks actually have a lot in common with military vehicles.
Long Life
The US Postal Service does not want to continuously buy mail trucks. These vehicles are expensive to acquire, so they expect them to last a long time. Some mail carriers can travel dozens of miles per day or more. If these trucks lasted as long as a typical consumer vehicle, they would have incredibly short shelf…
