The JLTV program is aligned with a joint program office under the management
of the U.S. Army’s Project Manager Joint Combat Support Systems,
which falls under the leadership of the Program Executive Office Combat Support
and Combat Service Support. In October 2008, the Army awarded three
industry teams – BAE Systems, General Tactical Vehicles (General Dynamics-
AM General), and Lockheed Martin – Technology Development (TD) contracts
to design and fabricate competitive prototypes for testing and evaluation.
The three industry teams began delivering their prototypes in June 2010
for government testing at the Aberdeen Test Center, Md., and the Yuma Test
Center, Ariz. The prototypes are undergoing ballistic protection, system performance,
and reliability and maintainability tests to gauge technical potential
against JLTV requirements, with an emphasis on system weight.
In July 2010, industry teams delivered “right hand operation” vehicles
which will be tested with our Australian partners. BAE Systems and GTV right
hand operation vehicles have arrived in Australia and will undergo additional
RAM (reliability and maintainability) and ballistic testing, culminating with
user evaluations in early 2011. Lockheed Martin’s vehicles will arrive in Australia
for the user evaluations.
International participation in the JLTV program will reduce overall program
risk through the testing and evaluation of additional prototype vehicles. As
our military prepares for future coalition operations, similarity of tactical vehicle
solutions across allies will enhance global interoperability and reduce
the maintenance and logistical burden. The U.S. and Australian governments
continue ongoing discussions regarding Australia’s potential participation in
the EMD phase.
One of the outcomes of the TD phase will be a firm set of refined and
achievable JLTV operational performance requirements – a Capabilities Development
Document – to take into the EMD phase.
Following the completion of the TD phase, the Army and Marine Corps plan
to hold a full and open completion with the selection of two industry teams
for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase. The two
services were finalizing their acquisition strategy for the EMD phase as of
late August 2010.
Crew Protection Imperative
The advent in Iraq and Afghanistan of remotely-controlled improvised
explosive devices (IEDs) has taken its toll on the U.S. military’s unarmored
flat-bottom HMMWVs, which were never designed to withstand IED
or mine blasts. Up-armoring of HMMWVs through the addition of armor plates provided increased protection, but the increased weight reduced the
vehicle’s payload capacity, maneuverability, off-road mobility, and air transportability.
With the JLTV, the Army and Marine Corps hope to regain the performance
once offered by the HMMWV while adding inherent crew protection
against IED-like threats.
Some of the JLTV industry TD designs feature a V-shaped hull similar to
the MRAP vehicles, as well as a semi-active independent suspension system
with a variable ride height which allows the underside of the hull to be raised,
to facilitate IED blast deflection. (High ground clearance also is essential for
off-road mobility.)
The JLTV will feature A-kit and B-kit scalable armor. The vehicle’s inherent
A-kit protection levels, sufficient for non-combat humanitarian operations,
will be supplemented by the addition of bolt-on B-kit armor for enhanced protection
on combat missions. All three industry teams are using modular B-kit
armor panels made of advanced lightweight composite materials instead of
metal to keep weight down while providing ballistic, mine, and IED protection.
Vehicle Configurations
The JLTV family is currently slated to include up to 10 different mission
configurations in three categories (A, B, and C) – payload of 3,500 pounds,
4,000-4,500 pounds, and 5,100 pounds, respectively – and a companion
trailer for each category. The final mission configurations and categories are
being assessed.
The three industry TD teams each delivered seven vehicle prototypes in all
of the payload configurations – two Category A vehicles, four Category B (two
Army and one USMC infantry carrier and a Marine C2OTM variant), and one
Category C vehicle (shelter carrier) – and three companion trailers. In October
2010, the teams will each deliver a single Enhanced Protection Category
A vehicle with B-kit armor.
Each JLTV variant must be light enough, with integrated B-kit armor, to be
transported as an external sling load underneath an Army CH-47 or Marine
Corps CH-53 helicopter. In addition, two Category A vehicles, or a single Category
B or C vehicle, must fit inside a C-130 transport.
High commonality among the JLTV variants through modular designs is
a key objective. The Army and Marine Corps want to minimize the life-cycle
ownership costs of their JLTV variants by maximizing commonality of components,
spare and repair parts, tools, maintenance procedures and training.
Also lowering life-cycle costs will be the JLTV family’s higher reliability and
maintainability, as well as more fuel-efficient engines.
The Army and Marine Corps have minimized their unique requirements. In
cases where one service has a more stringent requirement, the JLTV program
has adopted it as the threshold requirement. A good example is the Category
A general-purpose vehicle. It is being designed so that its size and weight
meet both services’ transportability requirements while maintaining a height
that also meets Marine Corps-specific shipboard stowage constraints.
The JLTV will feature an open electronics architecture that will facilitate
integration of future sensor, communications, and navigation systems as
they become available. As a result, the JLTV’s crew will have significantly improved
battlefield situational awareness compared with vehicles today.
The Army currently plans to procure 60,000 JLTVs and the Marine Corps
5,500; those numbers are subject to change as each service refines its tactical
wheeled vehicle strategy.