Army adds $243M to tactical vehicle contract
The deal to Oshkosh Defense reinforces the services commitment, which could grow to $60 billion, to the next-generation Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.
The Army, continuing to develop its next-generation tactical vehicle, has awarded Oshkosh Defense a $243.8 million contract for materials and work on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.
The deal includes 25 trailers, 2,977 kits, 12 months of system engineering and program management, test support, 175-test hardware, and one technical data package for the JLTV, which is slated to replace Humvees.
In August 2015, Oshkosh won a $6.7 billion contract, with a maximum ceiling of $30 billion, for an initial delivery of 17,000 of the vehicles.
The Army has been looking to replace Humvees, which proved to be vulnerable to roadside improvised explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan, resulting in many deaths and injuries. One solution was the larger, better armored Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected, or MRAP, vehicles. With the JLTV, the Army is looking to combines the maneuverability of the Humvee with the armored protection of the MRAP. The vehicles also will serve as mobile nodes on the Army’s Warfighter Information Network-Tactical.
Oshkosh Defense, which also makes MRAPs, has said it plans to begin delivering JLTVs to the Army and Marine Corps in the middle of this year. The contract with the Army runs until December 2024.