Article Posted on : - Aug 27, 2012

A JLTV prototype. Lockheed Martin photo

OSHKOSH/DALLAS (BNS): The US Department of Defence has awarded three separate contracts to Oshkosh Defense, Lockheed Martin and AM General for the engineering, manufacturing and development (EMD) phase of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) programme.

The JLTV programme aims to replace the aging high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs) used by the US Army and Marine Corps with a lightweight vehicle that offers greater protection, mobility and transportability.

While Lockheed has received $65 million under the firm-fixed-price contract, AM General has been awarded $63 million and Oshkosh $55 million.

Each firm will deliver 22 JLTV prototypes within a year for testing and evaluation by the Defence Department.

The Oshkosh JLTV solution, called the Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle (L-ATV), offers an advanced crew protection system that has been extensively tested and is proven to optimize crew survivability. The L-ATV can accept multiple armour configurations, which allows the vehicle to adapt easily to changing operational requirements, the company said.

The Lockheed Martin team has optimized a JLTV model already proven in government testing to create its EMD design. The production-enhanced JLTV maintains the proven force protection, mobility, transportability and reliability of the earlier technology demonstration model, while significantly reducing weight and cost.

The team's JLTV design reflects improvements from more than 160,000 combined testing miles, Lockheed said.

Similarly, AM General has developed the Blast Resistant Vehicle - Off road (BRV-O) prototype for the programme. It features a crew capsule and modular armour already proven effective in government-supervised blast testing.

The BRV-O design can be readily adapted to future changes in US military missions, enemy threats and new protection technologies as they emerge, its manufacturer said.