Lockheed Martin says it’s protesting the contract for a military vehicle it had hoped to assemble in south Arkansas being awarded to another company.
Advertisement
Prior to EMD contract award, Lockheed Martin completed the Army’s Continued Technology Development (CTD) phase, which included design, test and demonstration of the JAGM guidance section.
The US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC) are to buy 16,901 vehicles through an initial USD6.7 billion contract, announced on 24 August, before deciding upon a full-rate production deal in fiscal year 2018 (FY 2018).
Lockheed Martin is looking to break into the market for military ground vehicles against two established rivals. Meanwhile, Lockheed is generally recognized as the world’s largest defense contractor, with $46 billion in global sales and 112,000 employees, according to company data.
AM General, which submitted its Blast Resistant Vehicle – Offroad as its bid has decided not to file a protest with the Government Accountability Office.
“We believe a protest would ultimately result in a distraction from our current growth business areas, including meeting the significant current and future needs of our customers in the United States and around the globe”, according to a statement from the company. The GAO has until December 17 to make a decision, Bloomberg reported.
“The U.S. Army conducted a thorough and highly-disciplined evaluation for the JLTV production program to reach a clear conclusion: the Oshkosh JLTV is the most capable vehicle for our troops, and the best value for the American taxpayer”.
“AM General continues to believe that the BRV-O was the right choice for JLTV”.
Soon, Oshkosh said last month, it would hire about 100 salaried employees, including engineers, to support the contract.
Advertisement
Lockheed Martin meant to build its version of the tactical vehicle at its Camden facility in southern Arkansas. Boeing won the rebidding.
