Sources: 3 Firms Win JLTV Contract
By kris osborn
Published: 28 Oct 17:14 EDT (21:14 GMT) Print | Email
The U.S. Army has chosen three firms to receive $60 million contracts to develop technology for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle: General Tactical Vehicles (GTV), Lockheed Martin-BAE Systems and Northrop-Oshkosh, according to U.S. industry sources and analysts.
The Army has twice delayed making a formal announcement. On Oct. 24, the winners' names went for approval to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the sources said. The announcement was planned for that afternoon, but was moved to Oct. 27, then Oct. 28, then pushed off again to an unspecified date.
The delay is due at least in part to the service's last-minute attempts to forestall protests of the award by the losing bidders, said an Army officer familiar with the process.
"The contracting process requires the Army to give an explanation to those who do not win as to why specifically they did not win," the officer said.
He said protests may yet come, especially since more than one dozen firms and teams submitted bids. Such protests have slowed the Air Force's CSAR-X helicopter and tanker aircraft contracts.
Under the 27-month contracts, the firms will further develop plans for a blast-protected vehicle that can drive off-road and produce unprecedented amounts of electricity. The awards will follow a competition that lasted more than two years and drew prototypes from at least seven industry teams.
The technology development contracts will be followed by System Design and Development (SDD) contracts to a yet-to-be-determined number of firms, and ultimately, production orders as well. The vehicles are to enter service in 2013, and Army plans call for buying 1,385 JTLVs and 755 trailers by 2015.
The Army's five-year plan calls for spending a total of $1.3 billion in 2013-15 to buy JTLVs.
"I think that JLTV is one Army program that you can count on going forward as planned, because Iraq has been a real eye opener with regard to force protection," said Loren Thompson, vice president of the Lexington Institute, Arlington, Va. "We have to have a better-protected light utility vehicle for the field, and JLTV is the only real candidate."
The Army hopes it can start deploying JLTVs even earlier than currently planned.
"What we are looking for is a technical readiness level for integration," U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Scott West, who runs the Army's TACOM Life Cycle Management Command, said in an Oct. 7 address at the Association of the United States Army's annual convention. "So if they come in and the technology proves to be TRL [technology readiness level] six or higher, and it meets the payload, protection and performance requirements, the program could accelerate."
Citing Wall Street analysts, the Associated Press reported Oct. 28 that GTV, Lockheed-BAE and Northrop-Oshkosh were the expected winners.
Industry Winners
General Tactical Vehicles, a joint venture between General Dynamics (GD) Land Systems and Humvee-maker AM General, offered a 10-ton JLTV prototype with two overlapping hulls, 30 inches of ground clearance and semi-active suspension.
"GD and AM General are the team to beat because they combine the company with legacy knowledge of the Humvee with the company that is already the Army's biggest contractor," Thompson said.
The GTV vehicle has a 300-horsepower engine with a high power-to-weight ratio.
"We have a 27- to 29-horsepower-to-ton ratio, which gives us the performance characteristics we did not want to lose by increasing payload and protection," said GTV's director of business development, Jim Flynn. "There is growth in the program to make it electric drive that is hybrid-capable if needed."
Northrop-Oshkosh is the one team of the three with an alternative propulsion system as its primary mode. Their prototype uses a diesel-electric propulsion system drive: a diesel engine drives a generator that creates electricity to power an electric traction motor that drives the axle, Oshkosh Vice President Steve Zink said in September. The system is built to be easily modified as technology improves, he said.
"Our diesel-electric propulsion system allows you to optimize the weight of the system," Zink said. "We have gone with lightweight components. This also enables us to create a smaller crew capsule."
The Northrop-Oshkosh JLTV also has a recently upgraded TAK-4 independent suspension, allowing the vehicle to move faster across open country and rough terrain.
"They [the Army] wanted a nontraditional contractor who could come up with something very imaginative. Northrop-Oshkosh brings imagination to the table," Thompson said.
The Lockheed Martin-BAE team delivered three prototype JLTVs to the Army led program with variable ride-height suspension, a unique hull design and lightweight armor composites.
"What the Army saw in the Lockheed team was the opportunity to get new ideas," Thompson said. "The virtue of the Lockheed team is that it combines new ideas with all of the vehicle depth and expertise of Armor Holdings, which is part of BAE."
