Oshkosh Defense Delivers JLTVs To Army, Marines For Testing

jltv, joint light tactical vehicle, oshkosh defense, oshkosh defense jltv — A Joint Light Tactical Vehicle production model is displayed by Oshkosh on the floor of the AUSA Annual Meeting and Exhibition in the Washington Convention Center Oct. 4, 2016.

jltv, joint light tactical vehicle, oshkosh defense, oshkosh defense jltv, jltv test — Col. Shane Fullmer, project manager for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, stands in front of a JLTV production model on the floor of the AUSA Annual Meeting and Exhibition in the Washington Convention Center Oct. 4, 2016.

jltv, joint light tactical vehicle, oshkosh defense, oshkosh defense jltv, jltv test, jltv army — An Oshkosh Defense prototype of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle negotiates an off-road demonstration course at Quantico, Va., in June 2013. The Oshkosh version beat out JLTV prototypes there from AM General and Lockheed Martin.

Oshkosh Defense has delivered seven of its Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV) to the Army and Marine Corps for testing; the first batch out of a planned 100 such vehicles to be tested over the next year at a rate of around 10 per month, the Army said in a press release.

The recently-delivered JLTVs will be put through various maneuverability and automotive tests at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. They’ll also undergo testing for cyber integration of command, control, communications and intelligence at the Electronics Proving Ground on Fort Huachuca in Arizona. The vehicles will also be tested for automotive performance at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland and the Cold Regions Test Center on Fort Greely in Alaska.

The highly-anticipated JLTV is a tactical wheeled vehicle with a chassis that shields from underbelly blasts. It also boasts an “intelligent” suspension system that is capable of being raised and lowered for off-road conditions, and it offers superior fuel efficiency than the tactical vehicles that are currently in use.

There are four JLTV variants: a general-purpose truck, a close-combat weapons carrier, a heavy guns carrier, and a two-door utility pickup model. The JLTVs that were just delivered by Oshkosh Defense included three out of four variants. The only one that was missing was the close-combat weapons carrier, which will be included in the next delivery scheduled a few weeks from now.

“It’s on schedule,” said Scott Davis, program executive officer for combat support and combat service support, about the JLTV program. “It’s doing everything we ever expected it to. It’s just incredible.”

Col. Shane Fullmer, JLTV project manager, said a decision regarding the caliber of the weapons to be fielded on the variants will be made within the next few months.

Full production on the JLTV program is scheduled to start in 2019.