The US Department of Defense (DoD) is expecting responses from companies competing for its Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) programme within the next two weeks, according to US Army officials.
Speaking to MT, US Army Col. John Cavedo, JLTV Joint Program Office Manager, described how the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are currently in the final stages of officially responding to the Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Request for Proposals (RfP), which was initially released on 12 December. OEMs expected to respond to the tender include AM General, Lockheed Martin, and Oshkosh Defense.
Once responses have been received by the Program Office, Cavedo said it would take approximately five months to conduct a source selection board with a down-selected winner expected to be announced in July.
This will be followed by three years of LRIP and a further five years of FRP manufacturing with the first US Army infantry brigade and US Marine Corps battalion expecting to receive the first tranche of JLTV platforms by the end of 2018. The contract will then be up for competition again in 2022 for the next increment of JLTV.
In total, the Army is seeking to procure some 50,000 vehicles with the marine corps expected to take just 5,500 platforms.
The vehicles will be made available in two- and four-men configurations, with the former variant comprising utility and general purpose applications and the latter being used as a close combat weapon carrier.
Cavedo also reiterated the DoD’s intention to make the winning solution available for Foreign Military Sales (FMS), saying it would be compatible with legacy trailers and generators, albeit with a small degradation in mobility of the JLTV.
“FMS has been planned for JLTV since the technology demonstrator (TD) phase. There is no state-of-the-art technology in this programme and a lot of commercial-off-the-shelf systems meaning it is easier to export,” Cavedo explained. “We did partner with Australia in the TD phase and have included some right hand operation (RHO) and European standard exterior market lighting but there is no RHO requirement within the EMD phase but all vendors have indicated their variants can be produced in this configuration.”
It is understood that a single JLTV platform will cost over U$250,000, disregarding maintenance and logistical costs.
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| Lockheed Martin's contender for the US DoD's JLTV programme. (Photo: Lockheed Martin) |
Speaking to MT, US Army Col. John Cavedo, JLTV Joint Program Office Manager, described how the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are currently in the final stages of officially responding to the Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Request for Proposals (RfP), which was initially released on 12 December. OEMs expected to respond to the tender include AM General, Lockheed Martin, and Oshkosh Defense.
Once responses have been received by the Program Office, Cavedo said it would take approximately five months to conduct a source selection board with a down-selected winner expected to be announced in July.
This will be followed by three years of LRIP and a further five years of FRP manufacturing with the first US Army infantry brigade and US Marine Corps battalion expecting to receive the first tranche of JLTV platforms by the end of 2018. The contract will then be up for competition again in 2022 for the next increment of JLTV.
In total, the Army is seeking to procure some 50,000 vehicles with the marine corps expected to take just 5,500 platforms.
The vehicles will be made available in two- and four-men configurations, with the former variant comprising utility and general purpose applications and the latter being used as a close combat weapon carrier.
Cavedo also reiterated the DoD’s intention to make the winning solution available for Foreign Military Sales (FMS), saying it would be compatible with legacy trailers and generators, albeit with a small degradation in mobility of the JLTV.
“FMS has been planned for JLTV since the technology demonstrator (TD) phase. There is no state-of-the-art technology in this programme and a lot of commercial-off-the-shelf systems meaning it is easier to export,” Cavedo explained. “We did partner with Australia in the TD phase and have included some right hand operation (RHO) and European standard exterior market lighting but there is no RHO requirement within the EMD phase but all vendors have indicated their variants can be produced in this configuration.”
It is understood that a single JLTV platform will cost over U$250,000, disregarding maintenance and logistical costs.
Andrew White
For more information on the JLTV, its contenders, and the programme, please see issue #1/2015 of MILITARY TECHNOLOGY available at the show.
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