The Army announced yesterday that it had awarded contracts worth $166 million to three industry teams to develop the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, also variously known as the Humvee replacement, although this vehicle will be much more than the ubiquitous Humvee. The winners are Lockheed Martin; General Tactical Vehicles (a joint venture between General Dynamics Land Systems and AM General, manufacturer of the Humvee); and BAE Systems.
The contracts are for the technology development phase of the protracted DOD production process, expected to take 27 months, when each team will produce at least seven prototypes. The idea is to build a family of JLTVs sharing common parts but available in different configurations such as a six seat infantry carrier, a four seat recon, command and control, heavy weapons carrier and ambulance. Once the prototypes are tested, the Army will hold yet another competition to down select one or more winners for the System Development and Demonstration phase. Full scale production is expected in 2013.
The Army and Marines have not finalized the total number of JLTVs they ultimately want to buy, but an Army press release said the request for proposals included a projected production quantity of 60,000 over eight years. The ultimate production number will almost certainly be much higher. Former Army Vice Chief Gen. Richard Cody, in an appearance before a House appropriations subcommittee last year, said the Army intends for the JLTV to replace 130,000 of the services Humvees. Australia decided this week to join the JLTV program and might buy up to 4,200 vehicles.
The joint Army-Marine Corps JLTV will strike a balance between performance, payload and protection, said Col. John Myers, Project Manager with the Armys Joint Combat Support Services, in the Army press release. Unlike the Humvee, which was originally designed as a rear area and garrison vehicle and was converted into a passable fighting vehicle by slapping armor and weapons onto it, the JLTV will be designed from the ground up as a fighting vehicle incorporating lessons learned from the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Whereas the costly and lumbering MRAP vehicles (versions of which cost up to $1.2 million each) were always viewed as stop-gap to provide better protection against the scourge of roadside bombs in Iraq, the Army and Marines view JLTV as a long-term solution. To please the expeditionary focused Marines, the JLTV will be lighter than the Humvee, weighing between 3,500 and 5,100 pounds. A fully armored Humvee weighs 12,000 pounds and more. The JLTV is expected to be more resistant to mine blasts than the Humvee, will ride higher off the ground to provide added clearance and will incorporate a V-shaped hull that deflects blasts outward.
The vehicles must be light and compact enough to be carried underneath the Armys CH-47 Chinook workhorse cargo lifter and the Marines CH-53 Super Stallion heavy lifter, and two JLTV vehicles must fit inside the Air Forces C-130. The target cost per vehicle is $200,000 to $250,000, according to a May 2006 Office of Naval Research JLTV industry day conference finding. An armored Humvee costs around $150,000.
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Does anybody know where you can find some pictures of these JLTVs? I only know what Lockheed entry looks like but have no clue on the General Tactical Vehicle or BAE entry.
Also, what are the chances this program gets axed when Obama wins? I’m going 35% chance of it getting axed.
Jeff,
My name is Steve Field and I work in communications at BAE Systems. The photo in this post is of the BAE Systems-Navistar JLTV, which we call the Valanx.
You can find more images of our vehicle in the multimedia section of our site, http://www.thevalanx.com.
Steve
Greg, where do you get 3500 — 5500 pounds? The JLTV is more robust and is armored. Apparently you can’t do math.
Also, Jeff, you aren’t going to see the JLTV models until they are in production or unless the manufacturer “wants” you to see them
FEFF, You can find photos and commentary on today’s Defense Update items on the JLTV program and recent displays at AUSA 2008 http://www.defense-update.com
Steve and Tamir,
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I appreciate it, I can finally put a clear picture to each entry.
Just off looks alone BAE’s entry looks the part. Lockheed’s looks almost MRAPish huge.
Can we drive one?
If civilianized or NOT?
Like to drive one.
Batmobile.
Looking at the evolution of the JLTV program to date (and the broader future USA/USMC procurement discussions), does anyone have any insight or comment on why Loockheed did not act when BAE bought Armor Holdings. It seems that Armor was/is pretty important to Lockheed’s ambitions to be a player in the ground vehicle space. Now Lockheeds “team mate” is a division of a competitive bidder? Jim
Well, once again the Army is looking at threshold items and not Objective Item contracting. Just like the MRAP there will be many different vehicles that dont defeat the larger threats. Unfortunately for the soldier our politicians and people who have not been on the ground fighting the battle are making the decisions. I am here in Iraq and see first hand what even the smallest of threat does to an MRAP. Dont get me wrong, I have also seen where soldiers were blown up in an MRAP and survived with no injuries only to get into another MRAP 4 hours later and be back out there doing their job!!!! I think the amount of damage is done not necessarily by the size of the threat but where it (the vehicle) takes the hit. So unless you can equip a vehicle with a new armor package to defeat all threats you wont defeat the threat our soldiers are facing. I seriously doubt you will get any vehicle in the 2000 to 5000 lb range to defeat the modern threats in todays war on terror. Its like the old addage, 50 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag. Mark my words, the vehicles will range in the 15 to 20,000 pound range and wont be air mobile other than inside a big plane. get real, wake up and smell the dust in Iraq/Afghanistan and you will understand the fight we are facing daily. check out the Protector at http://www.protectedvehicles.com and you will see a vehicle that can defeat all threats and is very fast and mobile. God Bless our soldiers and the fight they take to the enemy every day!!!