Lockheed Martin’s JLTV Design Improved for Next Phase of U.S. Competition

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Eurosatory 2012
International Land Defence & Security Exhibition
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11 - 15 June 2012
 
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Sunday, June 17, 2012, 09:40 AM
 
Lockheed Martin’s JLTV Design Improved for Next Phase of U.S. Competition
Lockheed Martin will know this summer if its government-proven Joint Light Tactical Vehicle design will move forward in the U.S. Army-Marine Corps competition. Drawing from over 40 years of vehicle integration experience, Lockheed Martin improved its offering for the next phase with a lighter, more affordable model, without sacrificing the impressive performance displayed in the 2011 testing phase.

“Our improvements removed hundreds of pounds of weight from our design, which was already proven in helicopter lift tests,” said Scott Greene, vice president of Ground Vehicles at Lockheed Martin’s missiles and fire control business unit. “With more than 160,000 combined testing miles behind us, we’ve proven our JLTV is reliable and that we meet protection standards of many existing mine-resistant vehicles in combat operations today.”

JLTV is the U.S. program that will complement and replace the decades-old Humvee military vehicle. In a time when improvised explosive devices present significant risk to troops, JLTV has advanced armor and hull designs to keep users safe. Lockheed Martin’s JLTV was proven against the blast protection levels common on all-terrain mine-resistant vehicles, yet weighs 40 percent less. Despite this level of protection, JLTV is a lightweight family of vehicles that are helo-transportable, including the CH-47 and CH-53. This returns mobility to deployed users who need light tactical vehicles for modern-day missions.
     
Lockheed Martin will know this summer if its government-proven Joint Light Tactical Vehicle design will move forward in the U.S. Army-Marine Corps competition. Drawing from over 40 years of vehicle integration experience, Lockheed Martin improved its offering for the next phase with a lighter, more affordable model, without sacrificing the impressive performance displayed in the 2011 testing phase.
     

Production-ready
All of Lockheed Martin’s ground vehicle experience is helping the team hone the final design. Those lessons will be an advantage, especially when it comes to lethality, protection and production engineering.

Greene said that Lockheed Martin’s JLTV “is ready to meet our customers’ needs with lower-cost materials at full-rate production.” The seven-year-old team, with principal partner being BAE Systems, recently completed detailed virtual designs that merged inputs from design, production and sustainment experts. With this level of preparedness, the team is making sure JLTV is ready for the manufacturing line with an award decision. The company also points to test vehicles already produced on a manufacturing line as a further proof of production readiness

160,000 testing miles of maturity
The program completed the Technology Development phase in 2011, with Lockheed Martin’s vehicles demonstrating above-threshold blast protection and accumulating over 160,000 combined testing miles. Proving grounds in Australia were among the set that hosted JLTV reliability testing. Its government continues to examine the vehicle as a cooperative development opportunity with the United States. The next program phase—Engineering, Manufacturing and Development—continues in 2012.

The United States reaffirmed funding for JLTV in 2012, and the Lockheed Martin team continues to work to drive down cost and weight. Officials say the cost savings already implemented position them well to meet cost targets, while still preserving the exemplary capability already proven in testing.
     
Lockheed Martin will know this summer if its government-proven Joint Light Tactical Vehicle design will move forward in the U.S. Army-Marine Corps competition. Drawing from over 40 years of vehicle integration experience, Lockheed Martin improved its offering for the next phase with a lighter, more affordable model, without sacrificing the impressive performance displayed in the 2011 testing phase.
Pictures: Lockheed Martin