By Ann Roosevelt
The General Tactical Vehicles (GTV) team of General Dynamics [GD] Land Systems and AM General delivered today seven Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV), four trailers and supporting equipment ahead of schedule to the Army and Marine Corps for Technology Development (TD) phase testing, the companies said.
The TD phase includes a 12-month test and evaluation process at Aberdeen Proving Ground, in Aberdeen, Md., and at the Yuma Proving Ground in Yuma, Ariz. This follows GTV’s previous ahead-of-schedule deliveries of armor samples, ballistic hulls and spare parts.
All the competing companies are on target to deliver their vehicles in accordance with their specific contractual agreements.
Lockheed Martin [LMT] mid-month delivered its vehicles to the Army (Defense Daily, April 19). Also, BAE Systems is on target for its deliveries.
Lt. Col. Wolfgang Petermann, Army JLTV product manager, took delivery of the GTV JLTV vehicles.
“The JLTV Technology Development (TD) phase is intended to validate the integration of mature technologies as a complete vehicle system, rebalancing payload, protection and performance while maintaining transportability and expeditionary capabilities,” Peterman said. “The JLTV TD phase is accomplishing what it was intended to do, giving the Army, Marine Corps and the Australian Army an accurate assessment of the technical and performance capabilities and risks associated with entering the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) Phase. The TD phase will establish a realistic set of requirements for the JLTV, which our warfighters need.”
When the TD phase is completed, the Army and Marines expect another competition to reduce the current competing JLTV teams to two for further development and demonstration to hold another competition and narrow the current three competing teams to two for further development and demonstration.
Don Howe, GTV senior program director, said in a statement: “Our GTV JLTVs provide increased protection, payload and performance for the soldiers and Marines. I am very proud of the effort demonstrated by our GTV team, including our supplier network, to deliver a balanced solution that meets or exceeds the technical and programmatic challenges of the very demanding JLTV program.”
Drawing on the combined experience of General Dynamics and AM General in building and supporting tactical and combat vehicles, GTV’s vehicle design provides an armored crew capsule with an optimized V-shaped hull for protection against mines and IEDs, a state-of-the art C4 architecture that accommodates future force technology capabilities, high- performance and off-road mobility and deployability by land, sea and air.
“The GTV team’s significant experience with deployed global forces gives us unique and valuable insight into the needs of the warfighter,” Howe said. “Delivering ahead of schedule, within budget and under-weight underlines our proven track record of dependability and performance.”
David Caldwell, GTV deputy program director, said: “Our robust, disciplined and focused system-engineering approach placed the warfighter at the center of product design. GTV has developed an innovative family of vehicles and trailers that meet weight, transportability, survivability and mobility requirements while achieving greater than 95 percent commonality of components to reduce parts, maintenance and training needs.”
An official from the Australian Department of Defence also attended the ceremony. In January 2009, Australia entered into a Land Force Capability Modernization Project Arrangement for the TD phase of the JLTV program, enabling tactical vehicle interoperability and integration between U.S. and Australian forces.
GTV has invested in additional JLTV vehicles and trailers as part of its independent R&D program. “We are continuing our own extensive testing for reliability and durability to complement the government effort and prepare for the next phase of the JLTV development program,” Howe said. “We’re also continuing to evaluate emerging technologies–taking advantage of our JLTV’s built-in capacity for technology insertion, growth opportunities and product improvements.”