The U.S. Army on Tuesday awarded a contract to build the military’s new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle to Oshkosh Corp. of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
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Of the other bidders, analysts said the team of Lockheed-Martin Corp./BAE Systems was probably the most technologically advanced, while AM General LLC, of South Bend, Ind., had experience as the incumbent maker of the Humvee.
August 25 The U.S. Army is expected to award a contract on Tuesday for a new armored truck to replace thousands of aging Humvees, a long-awaited deal that could be worth up to $30 billion for the winning team.
During three years of low-rate initial production, Oshkosh Defense will build approximately 17,000 JLTVs for the Army and Marine Corps before moving into five years of full-rate production, according to a March Congressional Research Service report on the program.
JLTV manufacturing will be performed in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with deliveries beginning 10 months after award.
Over the past decade, the Pentagon spent almost $50 billion buying 25,000 or so of the bigger, mine-resistant ambush protected, or MRAP, vehicles as part of a rapid-acquisition effort spearheaded by then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates to better protect troops from roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan. The company had planned to hire 600 employees and add new facilities to support production of the vehicles.
“We see the Oshkosh JLTV as the most capable and survivable tactical vehicle that’s ever been built, and technically speaking, the Oshkosh JLTV – we’ve had the advantage because our M-ATV is the only vehicle performing the mission in theater right now”, Bryant said. Now, the Army and Marine Corps are trying to incorporate some of the lessons learned from the wars into a lighter vehicle.
The Marines expect to have initial operating capability in fiscal 2018 and complete fielding in fiscal 2022, the Army said.
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Charlie Szews, chief executive of Oshkosh, told Reuters last week he was upbeat about his company’s vehicle, which he said would offer the government exactly what it wanted: “the most vehicle they can get for under $250,000 in FY11 dollars”.
