Wednesday August 21, 2013
What is it?
The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program is an Army-led, joint modernization program designed to replace a portion of Army and Marine Corps light tactical wheeled vehicle fleets while closing an existing gap in payload, performance, and protection. Two variants configured in four mission packages will incorporate scalable armor, built-in network connectivity, common parts, useable power for Soldiers’ devices, and improved energy efficiency to enable a leap-ahead in tactical wheeled vehicle capability.
What has the Army done?
Leveraging heavy Soldier and Marine feedback, the JLTV program focused on common, mature, and affordable technologies to research and develop the next-generation in survivable vehicles, intent on making warfighters more mobile, more lethal, and more ready for every mission. The program awarded current research and development contracts to three vendors in August of 2012. Staying on schedule and on budget, this month the Joint Program Office expects to receive 22 vehicles and six trailers from each vendor for full-scale government testing.
What continued efforts does the Army have planned for the future?
Beginning in early September, JLTV prototype vehicles will undergo 14 months of rigorous testing including blast events, peformance, and reliability & maintenance testing. At the end of this research and development effort, the Army looks forward to a Low Rate Initial Production contract award decision in fiscal year 2015. The first vehicles should be fielded in fiscal year 2016, with the first unit equipped in fiscal year 2018. Over the life of the program, the Army expects to field 49,000 JLTVs and the Marine Corps 5,500.
Why is this important to the Army?
Warfare and Soldiers’ needs have changed. Today’s Soldiers and Marines face unpredictable environments where “front lines” and “rear areas” can be hard to define. Lessons learned over the past two decades demonstrated the need for an improved protected mobility solution that better balances payload, performance, and protection. Up-Armored High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HWWMVs) lack sufficient payload and performance for some mission profiles, while Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles cannot maneuver everywhere Soldiers and Marines need to go. JLTV will fill this gap, providing superior protected mobility to Soldiers and Marines operating across the range of military operations by improving mobility, lethality, and survivability in an affordable, network-ready package.
Resources:
Subscribe to STAND-TO! to learn about the U.S. Army initiatives.