Key Points
- A JLTV builder is slated to be chosen in the coming weeks
- AM General, Lockheed Martin, and Oshkosh are competing to replace the overburdened Humvee
The Pentagon is expected to downselect a supplier for its Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), a long-planned replacement for the Humvee, bringing a potentially significant windfall to either AM General, Lockheed Martin, or Oshkosh.
A Defense Acquisition Board meeting to finalise the low-rate initial production (LRIP) plan for the programme is scheduled for 25 August – although these dates often change – and shortly after that a contractor team would be selected for production.
An engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase has been ongoing since August 2012, when contracts were awarded to teams led by the three companies, with each submitting 22 prototypes for testing. That phase is scheduled to end in November.
The US Army plans to buy 49,099 production vehicles from fiscal year 2015 (FY 2015) through FY 2040, with 2,200 annually from FY 2020-36. The US Marine Corps (USMC) plans for 5,500 production vehicles from FY 2015-21.
If the LRIP phase is successful then full-rate production (FRP) could begin in FY 2018, resulting in an initial operational capability by mid-2018 for the USMC. Procurement for the army is to run through around 2040.
In August 2012 contracts for the JLTV programme’s current EMD phase were awarded to teams led by AM General, Lockheed Martin, and Oshkosh, with each team submitting 22 prototype vehicles for the upcoming testing.
AM General is competing with its Blast Resistant Vehicle – Off Road (BRV-O). The platform is built around an armoured crew capsule design, done in partnership with Plasan. It is powered by a 3.2L GEP Optimizer 3200 engine that gets 20% better fuel economy and weighs 190 lb less than the engine in the legacy Humvee, which AM General also builds. BRV-O rides on a fully independent semi-active suspension system.
Lockheed Martin’s JLTV uses a Cummins turbodiesel engine and Allison transmission, and rides on a Meritor ProTecTM adjustable air suspension.
Oshkosh is competing with its light combat tactical all-terrain vehicle (L-ATV), which leverages design lessons from a variety of the company’s platforms and resembles a much smaller version of its mine-resistant ambush-protected all-terrain vehicle (M-ATV). The L-ATV rides on Oshkosh’s TAK-4i independent suspension system, a next-generation version of the suspension used by M-ATV, but provides 508 mm of independent wheel travel versus the original 406 mm. The truck is fitted with a Duramax diesel V8 engine that has been ‘tuned down’ to increase reliability and allow for future improvements, company officials told IHS Jane’s .
Fuente: http://www.janes.com
