Oshkosh gets new $1.69 billion order to manufacture another 6,107 JLTVs

Oshkosh Defense on Wednesday (Nov. 28) announced the U.S. Army has placed a $1.69 billion order for 6,107 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV) and associated installed and packaged kits. The Pentagon deal is the 10th order made by the U.S. military under the $30 billion contract that was awarded to Oshkosh Corp. in August 2015.

In early 2016, after several legal protests, Wisconsin-based Oshkosh beat out Lockheed Martin’s industrial site in East Camden, Arkansas, for the highly sought-after U.S. Department of Defense’s award to build next generation everyday military vehicle. To date, Oshkosh has delivered more than 2,600 vehicles and expects a full rate production (FRP) decision in December, followed by the first fully-equipped Army unit in early 2019.

The first phase of the Pentagon’s JLTV award handed out $6.7 billion to Oshkosh’s production team to manufacture 17,000 of the armored vehicles that follow in the line of the original Jeep and popular, but bulky Humvee. According to Pentagon officials, the JLTV fills a critical capability gap for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps soldiers by replacing a large portion of the legacy Humvee fleet with a modern light protected vehicle.

“The JLTV is engineered with industry leading suspension and protection systems, as well as the ability to support a spectrum of mission kits and weapon systems required for the modern battlefield,” said George Mansfield, vice president of Joint Programs at Oshkosh Defense. “This vehicle represents a technological leap forward that provides enhanced protection and extreme mobility both off-road and in dense urban terrain.”

Over the 25-year life of the JLTV program, the Department of Defense has estimated the U.S. military will need up to 55,000 JLTVs as Army and Marine combat soldiers adapt to roadside bombs, IEDs and other modern warfare fighting tactics in Afghanistan, Iraq and the war against ISIS.