During the MBT70 development program, several companion vehicles were proposed based on the same chassis. One of these was designated as the CEV XM745. A concept drawing, layout number LK 1041 dated 28 August 1967, depicted a vehicle on the MBT70 chassis armed with the 165mm demolition gun mounted in a four man turret. However, some reports refer to the installation of a 152mm demolition gun in the XM745. The crew consisted of the driver, commander, gunner, and loader. The latter also manned a 25mm automatic gun mounted on top of his vision cupola. This weapon had a 360 degree traverse and an elevation range of +70 to -18 degrees. Other secondary armament consisted of a 7.62mm machine gun coaxial with the demolition gun.
A 60,000 pound capacity tow winch was located in the turret bustle below the mount for the 20,000 pound capacity boom assembly. The latter could be extended from 144 inches to approximately 360 inches and it was fitted with a back hoe bucket and gripper as well as a lifting hook. An hydraulically operated bulldozer fitted with a ram was installed on the front of the vehicle.
The CEV was powered by the AVCR-1100 engine using a General Motors Allison XHM-1500 transmission. As an alternate CEV for use with the MBT70, it was proposed to install a three man turret with similar equipment on the chassis of the M60A1 tank. In this case, the driver remained in the hull. After the cancellation of the MBT70 and XM803 programs, the CEV role continued to be performed by the M728 based on the M60A1 tank.
