By Ann Roosevelt
Lockheed Martin‘s [LMT] two operational Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) prototypes have between them successfully driven more than 15,000 total test miles, officials say, with more than half of them off-road simulating mission conditions.
JLTV is a joint Army-Marine Corps program to replace the existing Humvee fleet–of which there are about 170,000 globally. Proposals were submitted April 14, and discussions with the government are winding down, ahead of government awards.
“A new schedule will be provided as soon as it is available,” Lt. Col. Wolfgang Petermann, program manager JLTV, said in a statement provided to Defense Daily. “Discussions will not be closed and final proposal revisions (FPRs) will not be requested until a revised schedule for award is established and communicated. The revised schedule will allow a reasonable period of time to finalize any changes prior to closing discussions and requesting FPRs.”
As soon as this month, the government could award contracts for the next phase.
“Our expectation is they’ll award to three” teams, Kathryn Hasse, director, Lockheed Martin Tactical Wheeled Vehicles, said in a briefing at company offices in Crystal City, Va., June 3.
The 27-month potentially $50 million-plus technology development would be followed by a competition for system development and demonstration leading to a “drive off” before a production award in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Lockheed Martin is “absolutely committed” to providing the best design, and has carefully chosen its partners for high volume assembly and force protection. The team includes BAE Systems, Alcoa Defense [AA], and JWF-Defense Systems.
The miles have been racked up on the Combat Tactical Vehicle Payload Category B and the Utility Vehicle Light Payload Category C.
Outside Lockheed Martin offices in Crystal City, June 3, the company showed the model, which was unveiled in February 2008.
With about 1,000 miles on the odometer, the C UTL prototype test vehicle aims at rebalancing payload, protection and performance, a triad that’s been tilted toward force protection due to current operational needs.
The challenge, Hasse said, is to provide the required force protection, yet have a vehicle as mobile and transportable as the current Humvee.
“It’s all about weight and design,” Louis DeSantis, vice president and general manager of Ground Vehicle Systems at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration-Owego.
Additionally, JLTV will carry the Future Combat System prototype computer. Another team member, Cisco [CSCO], works on advanced networking and routing, Hasse said. It will provide future insights about the network. Commonality for the family of vehicles also is a crucial requirement.
Looking over the Cat C UTL, carrying a typical Army S250 shelter, the vehicle “meets or exceeds all JLTV protection requirements,” Erik Watson, Lockheed Martin program manager for Test and Evaluation, told Defense Daily.
The Category C vehicle was pulled from testing the day before arriving at Crystal City and still showed signs of the off-road testing–mud spatters.
The JLTV family of vehicles is required to have as much commonality as possible, which reduces sustainment, and makes maintenance easier.
While the government did not specify the power train for the vehicle, it did provide a fuel efficiency metric and range. The Lockheed Martin vehicles feature identical cabs, chassis and drivetrains.
Lockheed Martin JLTVs use turbo-diesel engines for fuel efficiency.
To date, the government still finds reliability and safety issues with hybrid electric drives, and a need for better fuel efficiency, officials said.
Lockheed Martin can move to hybrid electric in the future as the military requires, and the design would accommodate the change.
A key in the company’s technological diversity would be in payload, Hasse said, with a company offering the option of a bolt-on powered third axle. You can “go from a 4X4 to a 6X6 with two people in about an hour. The government can actually double the payload capacity.”
Stability control is a facet of protection. Rollovers can be a problem with an uparmored Humvee where the center of gravity rises. Lockheed Martin integrated and implemented a stability control system that is brake-based, as in a car.
The net effect is it actually provides greater stability at much higher speeds, Regis Luther, BAE vice president, JLTV, said. This is graphically visible in a video as a vehicle without the control system wove through a series of cones, tipping dangerously and a vehicle with the system. Both had “outriggers” on the sides of the vehicle to prevent a roll over. It was clear to see there was less roll and skid with the stability control system.
Luther showed another video of a JLTV hull in company conducted ballistic/mine blast testing. The improved V-hull and lighter floor offer just below MRAP level of protection, he said. Details of the tests were provided to the JLTV source selection board.
Additionally, crash test dummies on board during a center hull detonation “would have walked away,” Luther said. If they were real people there would have been “no permanent incapacitation. Additionally, the JLTV Cat C UTL cab was not compromised.
In fact, Luther said, it was the second time that particular hull was blasted. Source selection officials were interested in that, he added.
Part of the JLTV competition is to blast test the systems against IEDs, EFPs and mines, without the hull being compromised.
“If it can pass the hull [test] it’s likely it will pass the system test and be accepted,” Luther said. Company testing did not reach the limits. Without revealing specifics, he said the level of protection in the Cat C UTL is “very close to that of an MRAP.”
Integration and system testing is going on now. Luther said they’ve found “very little failure” despite wanting to surface issues that could be problems.
The Cat C UTL runs some 400-500 miles a day. Much of the testing is done at the extensive test facilities in Sealy, Texas, where the JLTV would be produced. High volume assembly of JLTV vehicles would be on the hot Family of Medium Tactical Truck Line “without disrupting it.”
The vehicle has substantial dash speed, the ability to get soldiers out of harm’s way very quickly. Another feature is that the vehicle can ford five feet, including in salt water.
Lockheed Martin plans to roll our the third Category B JLTV vehicle this fall.