This project stood out from U.S. tanks developed in the late 1950s to early 1960s chiefly in terms of appearance, since the vehicle was assembled from rolled armor plates. In that period, American tanks had cast hulls and turrets produced by a limited number of factories. This was sufficient during peacetime, but not enough under mobilization conditions. The military needed to build a tank using rolled plates as a fall-back. The Detroit-based Independent Engineering Company started the development and proposed a design for a vehicle with a turret and hull made from rolled steel. The project was terminated at the stage of firing at dummies.