GD, AM General optimistic about future of JLTV




DoD to order JLTV prototypes in January December 17, 2007 DefenseNews.com by Kris Osborn Senior Pentagon officials decided Dec. 5 to begin ordering prototypes in January �� months earlier than expected �� for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), which will replace the ubiquitous Humvee. John Young, defense acquisition undersecretary, decided to send the program past the so-called Milestone A at a meeting of the Defense Acquisition Board. The military will send a request for proposals to industry early next year, with an eye toward beginning low-rate production in 2010, Marine Corps spokesman Dave Branham said. ��The hope is that the prototypes will carry the day to yield what the Army and Marines Corps are looking for in terms of requirements,�� Branham said. U.S. Marine Corps PEO Land Systems officials say industry teams planning to bid include General Tactical Vehicles (GTV), the joint venture of AM General and General Dynamics Land Systems; Oshkosh Truck; and teams of BAE Systems and Navistar International; Boeing and Textron; and Lockheed Martin and Armor Holdings. Preliminary requirements call for the JLTV to carry a heavier load, generate more electricity and protect its passengers better than the Humvee. ��We have to balance performance, power and protection, and that is all in that iron triangle for a light tactical vehicle. Getting the right performance out of it and certainly the right protection as we go through this thing will be the challenge,�� said Gen. Richard Cody, U.S. Army vice chief of staff. ��We��ve learned a lot from the up-armored Humvee and we are learning a lot from the MRAPs right now.�� The Army is looking to the JLTV to replace its 120,000 to 140,000 Humvees, but the service will continue to buy up-armored versions of the venerable tactical wheeled vehicle for some time, Cody said. For one thing, the Army has a requirement for 144,000 vehicles, an uptick due largely to plans to add 27,000-plus soldiers to the active-duty ranks by 2010. ��We used to think that the JLTV would replace the Humvee. You will see a phase-in of the JLTVs, but you will still see a lot of Humvees for years to come,�� U.S. Army spokesman Sheldon Smith said. Humvees and JLTVs are also needed to replenish forward-positioned equipment stocks depleted by the war. Paying for Them The JLTV is expected to cost $300,000 to $500,000 each, double or more the $150,000 to $200,000 price tag for past tactical vehicles, an industry source said. ��JLTV unit-cost affordability will likely be a significant concern for the Army,�� said Jim McAleese, founder of McAleese and Associates, a McLean, Va.-based national security law firm. ��However, the requirement for a very large fleet of low-cost logistics vehicles is effectively merging with the Army��s historic requirement for a light wheeled or tracked combat vehicle. That effectively means that the Army will have to buy approximately 140,000 logistics vehicles with the survivability and cost of a light combat vehicle.�� U.S. lawmakers slashed the Army��s $82 million request for JLTV development funding, approving just $38.5 million in the 2008 Authorization Act. E-mail: kosborn@defensenews.com

General Tactical Vehicles is a joint venture of General Dynamics Land Systems & AM General.		Copyright � 2007 General Tactical Vehicles All Rights Reserved