The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle is a United States military program to replace the Humvee
that is currently in service with a family of more survivable vehicles with greater payload.
In particular, the Humvee was not designed to be an armored combat and scout vehicle
but has been employed as one, whereas the JLTV will be designed from the ground up for
this role. Production is planned for 2015. The U.S. Army planned to buy 60,000 and the
U.S. Marine Corps planned for 5,500 vehicles in 2010.
The JLTV program is related to, but not the same as, the Future Tactical Truck Systems
program. Lessons learned from the FTTS have been fed into the JLTV requirements. The future
family of vehicles will comprise five armored versions, ranging from light armored vehicle,
infantry fighting vehicles, command post vehicles, reconnaissance vehicles, and armored utility
vehicles. There will probably also be an armored personnel
carrier and a number of other non-armored versions for other purposes such as ambulances,
utility vehicles and general purpose mobility. Such a design could also be used in place
of an armored personnel carrier or unarmored trucks. However, the JLTV program was in danger
of being outpaced by the rapid development of lightweight MRAPs.
It appeared the U.S. Army had reduced its support for the program, since JLTV numbers
were omitted from its tactical vehicle strategy published in June 2010. However, the U.S.
Army clarified that JLTVs are slated to both replace and complement the Humvee. On 5 January
2012, TACOM announced that the program had entered the Engineering and Manufacturing
Development phase; EMD contracts were awarded on 23 August 2012. Planned orders are now
50,000 vehicles for the U.S. Army and 5,000 for the Marines.
History
The following companies and partnerships initially bid for the JLTV contract:
Boeing, Textron and Millenworks General Dynamics and AM General
Force Protection Inc and DRS Technologies. BAE Systems and Navistar
Northrop Grumman, Oshkosh Truck and Plasan Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems Land & Armaments
Global Tactical Systems, Alcoa Defense and JWF Industries.
Blackwater and Raytheon On 29 October 2008, the Pentagon narrowed
the field of vendors to the Lockheed Martin, General Tactical Vehicles and BAE Systems/Navistar
teams to compete for the final version and contract for the JLTV. Each team were awarded
contracts worth between $35.9 million and $45 million to begin the second phase of the
program, which could ultimately be worth $20 billion or more. The Northrop Grumman/Oshkosh
group contested the awards but, their protest was denied by the Government Accountability
Office on 17 February 2009. Australia signed an agreement in February
2009 to fund nine of the first 30 JLTV prototypes. While a final decision has yet to be made,
the Australian Government is now pursuing the Hawkei a domestically developed vehicle
through Thales-Australia India became interested in the program in 2009.
As part of a cost-cutting measure, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
suggested canceling the JLTV. Despite this, the program moved forward. On 24 January 2012,
the Humvee Recap program was canceled for funding to be moved to the JLTV.
As of 28 March 2012, there were 6 proposals for the JLTV contract:
BAE Systems Valanx General Tactical Vehicles JLTV Eagle
Lockheed Martin JLTV Navistar Saratoga
Oshkosh L-ATV AM General BRV-O
EMD On 23 August 2012, the Army and Marine Corps
selected the Lockheed Martin JLTV, the Oshkosh Defense L-ATV, and the AM General BRV-O as
the winners of the Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase of the competition. The
three companies were awarded a contract to build 22 prototype vehicles in 27 months to
be judged by the services. Losing bidder Navistar filed a protest with the Government Accountability
Office over the evaluation criteria on 31 August 2012. The company withdrew the protest
on 4 September 2012. The Lockheed JLTV family underwent a design
understanding review from December 18–20, 2012. The government design review assessed
all elements of the design and confirmed its overall maturity and requirements compliance.
Lockheed used a production-enhanced model, which is lighter and cheaper than the earlier
technology demonstration model. By then, the Lockheed JLTV design had over 160,000 combined
testing miles. Vehicles produced for the EMD phase of the program began deliveries in spring
2013. On 14 February 2013, Oshkosh unveiled the
utility variant of their L-ATV for the program. The utility variant fulfills the JLTV requirement
for a two-seat cargo vehicle, while the L-ATV base variant meets the requirement for a 4-seat
multipurpose vehicle. In addition to hauling cargo, it can be outfitted as a shelter carrier
to carry standard shelters for communications systems, on-board electronics, and other functions.
The utility vehicle has two crewmen and has a 5,100 lb payload.
In June 2013, L-ATV prototypes participated in an event hosted by the U.S. JLTV Joint
Program Office in Quantico, Virginia. The vehicles successfully completed the severe
off-road track without failure. The SORT demonstrated the L-ATV's ability to maneuver steep inclines,
turn sharply, and operate in rugged terrain. On 26 June 2013, Lockheed Martin completed
the last of 22 JLTVs produced for the EMD phase. Long-term testing and evaluation was
scheduled for 22 August. On 8 August 2013, Oshkosh delivered its first L-ATV JLTV prototype
to the Army for government testing following a successful vehicle inspection by the Defense
Contract Management Agency. The four-door multi-purpose variant and two-door utility
variant will be provided for evaluations. On 14 August 2013, both AM General and Lockheed
delivered their 22 vehicles to the Army and Marine Corps. The vehicles will participate
in a 14-month government evaluation and testing process.
On 27 August 2013, the Army and Marine Corps announced that full-scale testing of JLTV
prototypes would begin the following week, with all three vendors having had 66 vehicles
delivered. Each company delivered 22 vehicles and six trailers to Aberdeen Proving Ground,
Maryland, and Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona. Previous testing had already put the vehicles
through more than 400 ballistic and blast tests on armor testing samples; underbody
blast testing; and more than 1,000 miles in shakedown testing. Soldiers from the Army
Test and Evaluation Command and personnel from the Defense Department's Office of Test
and Evaluation will put the vehicles through realistic and rigorous field testing during
14 months of government performance testing. Testing is to be completed by FY 2015, with
a production contract to be awarded to a single vendor for nearly 55,000 vehicles, with each
vehicle coming off the assembly line not exceeding $250,000. The Army is to begin receiving JLTVs
by FY 2018, with all their vehicles planned delivered in the 2030s. On 3 September 2013,
full-pace, full-scope JLTV testing began at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Yuma, and Redstone
Arsenal, Alabama. The program is on track despite sequestration, but if budget issues
are not worked out the schedule could slip. One vendor will be selected by July 2015,
and produce 2,000 vehicles for three years of additional testing to fine-tune the assembly
line and full-up the system. Testing of the JLTV was temporarily halted
in early October during the two-week U.S. Government shutdown of 2013. Civilian workers
were furloughed and test sites were closed within hours. Work restarted immediately when
the shutdown ended, though one site remained closed until 22 October. The Army and Marine
Corps have vowed commitment to buying nearly 55,000 JLTVs even in the face of sequestration
cuts. This level of support is given while major acquisition programs like the Ground
Combat Vehicle are in danger of cuts, which may mean the Army is favoring replacing Humvees
more than the M2 Bradley. Army leaders worry that the Marines' priority with the Amphibious
Combat Vehicle program may cause them to back out of JLTV procurement. However, the Marines
say procurement plans for the two efforts do not overlap and should not conflict with
each other. The number of light vehicles that will need to be reduced due to cuts is still
being determined, but it is hoped that the cuts will be directed to the existing Humvee
fleet rather than planned JLTV numbers. On 1 October 2013, the Defense Department
Inspector General launched a year-long audit of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program.
It is one of about a dozen acquisition programs outlined in the IG's FY 2014 "audit plan".
The audit is to determine whether Army and Marine officials are overseeing and managing
the program effectively before low-rate production begins. A June 2013 report by the Congressional
Research Service estimated the program cost at $23 billion, or $400,000 per vehicle. Military
leaders contend the unit cost will be $250,000. With fiscal pressures, program efforts are
being challenged and focus is being put into oversight. The Army plans to issue a request
for proposals to companies interested in bidding for production contracts in mid-November 2014,
and to pick a winner possibly by July 2015. Design requirements
In 2006, Joint Light Tactical Vehicle design requirements included the following.
The JLTV will have two armor kits: the A-kit and a B-kit. It will also include an extra
spall liner to minimize the perforation effects within a vehicle when the vehicle takes hostile
fire. The vehicle will be capable of traveling one
terrain feature after having endured a single small caliber arms sized perforation to the
fuel tank, engine oil reservoir, or coolant system. It will be able to run on two flat
tires. The USMC requires a vehicle that can be transported
by their current and planned systems. In April 2009, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway
warned that the Marines “will not buy a vehicle that’s 20,000 lb.”
The vehicle's jam-resistant doors will allow the passengers to easily escape after the
vehicle has taken damage. It will include an automatic fire extinguishing system,
The JLTV will be equipped with a diagnostic monitoring system that will electronically
alert the operator of equipment failures so that they can be fixed. The electronic monitoring
will observe the fuel, air intake, engine, cooling, transmission, energy storage, power
generation and vehicle speed as well as other systems.
The JLTV will have a trailer capable of carrying the same payload as its prime mover over the
same speeds and mission profile. It will have the capacity to carry various kinds of ammunition.
The JLTV is to fill a capability gap in the light vehicle fleet for the 21st century strategy
for a vehicle that balances performance, payload, and protection. It is to provide the same
level of protection as an M-ATV while being more mobile and transportable, and have better
network integration than the Humvee. Mobility
Logistical mobility JLTV is transportable by sea, rail, and air.
The JLTV will be transportable on all classes of ocean-going transport ships with minimal
dis-assembly. It is required to be rail-transportable on CONUS and NATO country railways. Air transportability
will be by fixed-wing aircraft as large as or larger than the C-130 Hercules and sling-loadable
with rotary-wing aircraft such as the CH-47/MH-47, and CH-53. The ambulance variant must be air-dropable
by C-5 and C-17 fixed-wing aircraft. Countermeasures and Survivability
The JLTV utilizes signature reduction techniques and materials. The JLTV mounts up to four
M7 Light Vehicle Obscuration Smoke Systems. The JLTV is designed with a base structure
called an A-structure and B-kit armor that provides higher protection levels. JLTV also
incorporate various additional survivability technologies to meet requirements.The JLTV
is designed to accept transparent window armor. To prevent casualties due to fires, the fuel
tanks are mounted outside the crew compartment and are required to be self-sealing. Fires
in the engine compartment are to be detected and extinguished within 10 seconds to minimize
vehicle damage. In addition, the driver also has access to a small portable fire extinguisher.
The JLTV could have polyfibroblast applied to it, a type of self-healing paint developed
by the Office of Naval Research and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
made to decrease vehicle maintenance. Development began in 2008 and created a powder consisting
of microscopic liquid-filled polymer spheres that can be combined with standard primers.
The substance lets paint scratches heal by breaking capsules and forming a coating over
the exposed steel before corrosion takes place, cutting maintenance costs and allowing vehicles
to operate in the field longer. Versions
There were three primary variants of the JLTV, which are categorized by their payload and
general mission, and within that category, further variations may exist for specific
purposes. All vehicles share some capabilities, while certain configurations may have additional
capabilities. All variants are transportable externally by CH-47 and CH-53 helicopters
and internally by C-130 aircraft. The Category B JLTV variant was eliminated
from development because it could not be made light enough to be carried from Army and Marine
heavy-lift helicopters. There will be two JLTV variants: the four-passenger Combat Tactical
Vehicle with a 3,500 lb payload, and the two-passenger Combat Support Vehicle with
a 5,100 lb payload. The JLTV will be fielded in four configurations: general purpose; heavy
gun carrier; close combat weapons carrier; and a utility vehicle.
Payload Category A Payload Category A vehicles will fill the
role of "Battlespace Awareness" with a payload capacity of 3,500 lb.
General Purpose Mobility: General Purpose Mobility is the only variant in Payload Category
A, designed for general purpose utility vehicle for use by the Army and Marine Corps, with
a four-person capacity. Unlike other variants, a C-130 is capable of transporting two vehicles
at a time. Payload Category B
Payload Category B vehicles was to fill the role of "Force Application" with a payload
capacity of 4,000–4,500 lb. Infantry Carrier: The Infantry Carrier had
a 6 person capacity, and was designed to carry a fire-team of troops. Each service may have
gotten a different vehicle, or have used the same one.
Reconnaissance, scout: Six seat configuration for use by the U.S. Army.
Reconnaissance, knight: Six seat configuration for use by the U.S. Army.
Command and Control on the Move: Four-seat command and control configuration for use
by the U.S. Army. Heavy Guns Carrier: Heavy Guns Carrier for
use by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps for convoy escort, military police, and patrol
with four seats and a gunner position. Close combat weapons carrier: Four-seat close-combat
weapons carrier for use by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps.
Utility vehicle: Two-seat utility vehicle for use by the USMC.
Ambulance: Ambulance configuration for use by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. Three seats
and two litters. Payload Category C
Payload Category C vehicles will fill the role of "Focused Logistics" with a payload
of 5,100 lb. Shelter carrierprime mover: Two-seat shelter
carrierprime mover for use by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps.
Ambulance: Higher capacity ambulance configuration for use by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps.
Three seats and four litters. Gallery
See also Future Tactical Truck Systems
Thales Hawkei – winning bid in 2011 for the Australian Army's tactical vehicle program,
beating out JTLV designs and other offerings. Combat Tactical Vehicle
References
External links JLTV on Defense-Update.com
Army Joint Light Tactical Vehicle EMD Phase page