The American Company Oshkosh Defense announced on December 16, 2022, that the U.S. Army Contracting Command – Detroit Arsenal has placed a $543 Million order to exercise available options to support the fielding of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) Family of Vehicles. The order includes Oshkosh Defense JLTVs for the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy.
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A joint light tactical vehicle with Marine Wing Support Squadron 271 drives out of a mud hole at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Sept. 2, 2020. (Picture source U.S. DoD)
Since winning the competitive JLTV contract in 2015, Oshkosh has built over 18,500 JLTVs and fielded vehicles to over 50 U.S. and international military installations. Oshkosh has also secured more than 125 patents and applications on the JLTV family of vehicles and related technologies, and invested in several technology demonstrators such as the hybrid electric JLTV (eJLTV).
"Oshkosh has spent the past eight years optimizing its manufacturing and design processes and building a robust supply chain with maximized efficiencies," said George Mansfield, Vice President and General Manager of Joint Programs for Oshkosh Defense. "As we prepare for the follow-on contract award to be announced in early 2023, Oshkosh is in a great position to continue providing the best JLTV solution today and for many years to come."
In the U.S. Army, the JLTV family consists of two variants including the four-seat Combat Tactical Vehicle (CTV) and the two-seat Combat Support Vehicle (CSV). The CTV family includes the General Purpose, Heavy Gun Carrier, and Close Combat Weapon Carrier missions while the CSV is used for Utility/Shelter Carrier missions.
Designation of JLTV variants in the U.S. Army:
M1278 Heavy Guns Carrier: General Purpose vehicle platform in Heavy Guns Carrier Mission Package Configuration (JLTV-HGC)
M1279 Utility - Utility (JLTV-UTL): base vehicle platform in Utility Mission Package Configuration
M1280 General Purpose - General Purpose (JLTV-GP): base vehicle platform in General Purpose Mission Package Configuration
M1281 Close Combat Weapons Carrier - Close Combat Weapons Carrier (JLTV-CCWC): base vehicle platform in Close Combat Weapons Carrier
The JLTV is now in service with all the branch services of the U.S. armed forces but also by other countries including Brazil, Belgium, Montenegro, Slovenia, Lithuania, Poland, North Macedonia, and Romania. Other countries have also shown interest to acquire JLTV including Greece, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.
The layout of the JLTV consists of three main parts with the engine at the front, the crew and troops compartment in the middle, and the cargo area at the rear. The level of protection of the JLTV is equivalent to an MRAP (Min Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle against blast under the wheels and the hull.
The JLTV can be fitted with a wide range of remote-controlled weapon stations or a ring mount armed with one 7.62 or 12,7mm machine gun. The L-ATV's Oshkosh roof-mounted turret is capable of mounting either an M240 machine gun, a Mk 19 grenade launcher, or a BGM-71 TOW Anti-tank guided missile, all of which can be operated either from the turret or remotely inside the cabin.
