Oshkosh Corporation, formerly Oshkosh Truck, has been awarded a $6.7bn initial contract by the US military to replace its ageing HMMWVs, or Humvees, with 17,000 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV).
Oshkosh beat current Humvee builder AM General and defence giant Lockheed Martin to the honour of replacing the US military’s workhorse. Together, the three companies provided 22 prototypes.
The chosen JLVT is 70% faster than the best tactical wheeled vehicle (TWV) currently on the market – coming in two- and four-seat configurations with a “Core1080 Crew Protection System” of mine resistance, improvised explosive device detection and bolt-on armour.
In practice, the $6.7bn deal is the first tranche of a rolling order worth $30bn over the next 25 years, aimed at a production of 55,409 vehicles to replace ailing fleet – though even this could just be the start, given that 280,000 Humvees have been produced since 1984.
Oshkosh’s JLVTs also comes with a range of different turret and missile launch units, and suspension that can be raised and lowered electronically to transition between on-road transport or storage in a C-130 aircraft and off-road applications – where 20 inches of wheel clearance can be deployed.
“Our JLTV has been extensively tested and is proven to provide the ballistic protection of a light tank, the underbody protection of an MRAP-class vehicle, and the off-road mobility of a Baja racer,” said retired Major General John Urias, president of Oshkosh Defense.
“Because of the JLTV programme, our Soldiers and Marines are getting a level of technical performance that no other vehicle can match.”
The JLTV programme, launched in 2007 by the US Army, set a $250,000 price cap for each JLTV, with the average price of vehicles equipped with communications and other equipment coming in at under $399,000 to reach the figure of $30bn.
The final bidders emerged from a pack that included Navistar, General Dynamics and Ford Motor.
The price cap pushed the three finalists to use as many commercial, off-the-shelf parts as possible, and Oshkosh used engines from General Motors and gearboxes from Allison Transmission Holdings.
Oshkosh shares soared 12% to $43 apiece in after-hours trade, erasing more than half of their 20% decline this year.
