The Lockheed Martin JLTV (Joint Light Tactical Vehicle) is a prototype armor-capable vehicle that was one of six original competitors for a
Joint Light Tactical Vehicle
The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) is a United States military (specifically U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps) and United States Special Operations Command program to partially replace the Humvee fleet with a family of more survivable vehicl ...
that will replace the
Humvee
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ori ...
. The JLTV goal was to provide a family of vehicles able to perform multiple missions protected, sustained and networked mobility for personnel and payload over a full range of operations. Lockheed's JLTV design lost out to the
Oshkosh L-ATV
The Oshkosh L-ATV (Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle) is a light utility/combat multi-role vehicle that won the US military's Army-led Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program. In the very early stages of the program it was suggested t ...
in August 2015.
[Oshkosh Wins JLTV Award](_blank)
nbsp;– Armytimes.com, 25 August 2015
Design
The Lockheed JLTV vehicles were powered by a
Cummins
Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air ...
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...
coupled to an
Allison Transmission
Allison Transmission is an American manufacturer of commercial duty automatic transmissions and hybrid propulsion systems. Allison products are specified by over 250 vehicle manufacturers and are used in many market sectors including bus, refuse, ...
. The engine was the primary source of electrical and could provide external power for dismounted users.
[Lockheed JLTV](_blank)
- Army-Technology.com It could sustain top speeds exceeding , ford of salt or fresh water, and had a
gross weight
In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force acting on the object due to gravity.
Some standard textbooks define weight as a vector quantity, the gravitational force acting on the object. Others define weight as a scalar qua ...
of .
[3D camo pattern, new wheels, armor on tap](_blank)
- Armytimes.com, 14 November 2010 The four-cylinder engine had a fuel efficiency of as much as 14 miles per gallon, better than some
SUV
A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive.
There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...
s. The system did not have an
alternator
An alternator is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field with a stationary armature.Go ...
, but instead used an in-line power generator capable of producing 24 kW of electricity, which could be scaled up to as much as 75 kW.
In August 2012,
Meritor Inc. announced they would be integrating their ProTec High Mobility Independent Suspension (HMIS) into the Lockheed JLTV in response to its moving on to the EMD phase of testing. Meritor designed the ProTec Series 30 HMIS to provide enhanced off-road maneuverability and ride quality. Meritor asserted that the system underwent thorough testing, totaling over 100,000 miles of travel. The independent air suspension offered of travel and greatly reduced crew fatigue through a smoother ride over terrain.
The vehicle had an improved
V-hull
The V-hull is a type of vehicle armor design used on wheeled armored personnel carriers (APCs), infantry mobility vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and MRAPs. The design originated in the 1970s with vehicles such as the iconic Casspi ...
to protect from underbody blasts. It had standard armor protection and could accommodate add-on armor kits. In October 2011, Lockheed announced their JLTV met standards for
IED-protected vehicles in government blast tests, providing the level of protection with 40 percent less weight than currently deployed all-terrain mine-protected vehicles.
Its underbody used a modified V-hull called a "cursive W"-shaped hull that was effective in dissipating blasts forward, aft, and out to the sides.
The internal cab had been designed similar to that of a
cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft.
The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
to make use of all available space. It was made to be ergonomic with capabilities integrated into the dashboard to free up space for the operators to be able to perform their missions. All vehicle variants were the same from the driver's seat forward.
The base vehicle had no specific armament configuration, but could be fitted with a 7.62 mm or 12.7 mm machine gun.
Lockheed and
Moog Inc.
Moog ( ) is an American-based designer and manufacturer of electric, electro-hydraulic and hydraulic motion, controls and systems for applications in aerospace, defense, industrial and medical devices. The company operates under four segments: a ...
joined to develop the Common Hellfire Package (CHP) to enable the firing of
AGM-114 Hellfire
The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-ground missile (AGM) first developed for anti-armor use, later developed for precision drone strikes against other target types, especially high-value targets. It was originally developed under the name '' Heli ...
missiles from various platforms. The CHP has been test fired from a stationary trailer-mounted pedestal that could be towed behind the Lockheed JLTV. The vehicle also fired
Direct Attack Guided Rocket
The Direct Attack Guided Rocket (DAGR) is a weapons system under development by Lockheed Martin. The program goal is to provide a low cost 2.75 inch (70 mm) precision guided rocket which is compatible with existing Hellfire II syste ...
s from a pedestal launcher mounted in the bed. The JLTV's ability to integrate these systems would provide troops greater firepower, with the intent being to reduce the need to call for aviation support.
Vehicles for the EMD phase were manufactured at
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...
' facility in
Sealy, Texas
Sealy is a city in Austin County in southeastern Texas, United States. The population was 6,839 at the 2020 census. Sealy is located west of the downtown Houston area, on the most eastern part of the Texas-German belt region, an area settled by G ...
. On 16 October 2013, Lockheed announced production would be moved to their assembly line in
Camden, Arkansas
Camden is a city in and the county seat of Ouachita County in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city is located about 100 miles south of Little Rock. Situated on bluffs overlooking the Ouachita River, the city developed ...
. The new manufacturing complex was expected to give better production efficiency and cost reductions. BAE remained a partner on the Lockheed Martin JLTV team, providing integrated cabs, protection solutions, and vehicle manufacturing. BAE's Sealy facility was shut down by June 2014. The Lockheed JLTV passed the government's Manufacturing Readiness Assessment (MRA) from 18–19 November 2013, allowing it to be manufactured at the Camden facility.
History
In October 2008, Lockheed won a 27-month contract to continue technology development in the JLTV program. In April 2010, Lockheed delivered the first two of seven operational JLTVs and one companion trailer to the US Army and Marine Corps for the Technology Development (TD) phase testing.
On 23 August 2012, the JLTV program selected Lockheed and two other companies as winners of the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase of the program. Lockheed won a contract to produce 22 prototype vehicles in 27 months for evaluation.
The Lockheed JLTV family underwent a design understanding review from 18–20 December 2012. The government design review assessed all elements of the design and confirmed its overall maturity and requirements compliance. Lockheed used a production-enhanced model, which was lighter and cheaper than the earlier technology demonstration model. By then, the Lockheed JLTV design had over 160,000 combined testing miles. Vehicles produced for the EMD phase of the program began deliveries in spring 2013.
On 21 February 2013, Lockheed demonstrated the ability of their JLTV to fire
Hydra 70 rockets. One
DAGR
Dagr (Old Norse: , "day")Lindow (2001:91). is the divine personification of the day in Norse mythology. He appears in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th ...
rocket and two unguided Hydra rockets were launched from a pedestal launcher mounted on the JLTV prototype. DAGR locked onto the laser spot two seconds after launch, flew down range and impacted the target within 1 meter of the laser spot. The unguided Hydra 70 rockets were launched down the center of the range, and flew 521 and 2,600 meters. The purpose of the test was to show the capability of the DAGR for ground combat and the ability of the JLTV to launch it.
On 26 June 2013, the last of 22 Lockheed JLTVs produced for the EMD phase rolled off the production line. Long-term testing and evaluation was scheduled for August 22. On 14 August 2013, Lockheed delivered their 22 vehicles to the Army and Marine Corps. Lockheed JLTVs went through over 160,000 combined test miles during technology development.
On 27 August 2013, the Army and Marine Corps announced that full-scale testing of JLTV prototypes would begin the following week, with all three vendors having had 66 vehicles delivered. Each company delivered 22 vehicles and six trailers to
Aberdeen Proving Ground
Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) (sometimes erroneously called Aberdeen Proving ''Grounds'') is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work at ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, and
Yuma Proving Ground
Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) is a United States Army series of environmentally specific test centers with its Yuma Test Center being one of the largest military installations in the world. It is subordinate to the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation ...
,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
. Previous testing had already put the vehicles through more than 400 ballistic and blast tests on armor testing samples, underbody blast testing, and more than 1,000 miles in shakedown testing. Soldiers from the
Army Test and Evaluation Command
U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, or ATEC, is a direct reporting unit of the United States Army responsible for developmental testing, independent operational testing, independent evaluations, assessments, and experiments of Army equipment. and personnel from the Defense Department's Office of Test and Evaluation would begin to put the vehicles through realistic and rigorous field testing during 14 months of government performance testing. Testing was to be completed by FY 2015, with a production contract to be awarded to a single vendor for nearly 55,000 vehicles. On 3 September 2013, full-pace, full-scope JLTV testing began at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Yuma, and
Redstone Arsenal
Redstone Arsenal (RSA) is a United States Army post and a census-designated place (CDP) adjacent to Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama, United States and is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. The Arsenal is a garrison f ...
,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
. The program was on track despite sequestration. One vendor was to be selected by July 2015.
On 21 April 2014, Lockheed announced that their JLTV entry had surpassed 100,000 miles in government testing.
Oshkosh's L-ATV
The Oshkosh L-ATV (Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle) is a light utility/combat multi-role vehicle that won the US military's Army-led Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program. In the very early stages of the program it was suggested t ...
was selected as the winner of the JLTV program on 25 August 2015, and was awarded a $6.75 billion low rate initial base contract with eight options to procure the first 16,901 vehicles for both the Army and Marines.
Based on accounts from those involved in the JLTV program, Lockheed lost not because of the technical merit or design of its vehicle, but because it was the only contractor that had not demonstrated the ability to build tens of thousands of trucks on a production line. Lockheed's JLTV also demonstrated 1,271 "Mean Miles Between Operational Mission Failure" in a Limited User Test (LUT), compared to 2,968 miles for the Humvee and 7,051 for the winning L-ATV. On 8 September it was disclosed that Lockheed Martin would protest the award to Oshkosh, the same day that AM General decided not to file a protest. On 15 December 2015, the
Government Accountability Office
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal govern ...
(GAO) dismissed Lockheed's protest as Lockheed also filed a claim with the US Court of Federal Claims. Lockheed then attempted to file a preliminary injunction with the U.S. Court of
Federal Claims on 17 December, but announced they had withdrawn their protest on 17 February 2016.
Lockheed Withdraws Protest of Army’s JLTV Award
- DoDBuzz.com, 17 February 2016
Variants
Original
*Category A - General purpose mobility, logistics support
*Category B - Infantry carrier, command and control
*Category C - Utility
Final
*Combat Tactical Vehicle (CTV)
*Combat Support Vehicle (CSV)
See also
* Joint Light Tactical Vehicle
The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) is a United States military (specifically U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps) and United States Special Operations Command program to partially replace the Humvee fleet with a family of more survivable vehicl ...
* Oshkosh L-ATV
The Oshkosh L-ATV (Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle) is a light utility/combat multi-role vehicle that won the US military's Army-led Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program. In the very early stages of the program it was suggested t ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Lockheed Martin JLTV
Military light utility vehicles