Contractors unsuccessful in proposing their Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV) for the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase of the Army-Marine program now await debriefings by the government before determining their next steps, officials from Navistar Defense [NAV], General Tactical Vehicle and BAE Systems officials said.
For example, the companies could protest the Army’s decisions to award contracts to AM General, Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Oshkosh [OSK] to the Government Accountability Office. Companies could even decide to continue on their own to work their JLTV program and then offer a proposal for the JLTV production phase. The production phase has been estimated to total around $10 billion.
Archie Massicotte, president of Navistar Defense said late Wednesday after the awards were released that the company is disappointed but: “We plan to meet with the government to understand our evaluation and move forward. Down the road, there may be an opportunity for Navistar to bid for a JLTV production contract after the EMD phase is complete. We will seriously consider that option.”
Navistar continues to support its Saratoga JLTV vehicle, which Massicotte said is “designed to be delivered to market quickly with less investment than traditional defense programs, and we believe it is appealing to nations facing uncertain futures and limited budgets.”
Navistar has vehicles in 26 countries and is in the current competition for the U.S. Special Operations Command Ground Mobility Vehicle 1.1 program. Additionally the company is pursuing international opportunities.
General Tactical Vehicle, (GTV) a joint venture of General Dynamics [GD] and AM General has no comment until they meet with the government. AM General’s independent bid on JLTV EMD was successful.
BAE Systems also was disappointed the Army bypassed their offering, though separately, it was successful as part of the Lockheed Martin JLTV EMD team.
“We remain convinced that our Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, which was purpose-built from the ground up for our soldiers and Marines, can best meet the military’s needs today and into the future. We look forward to a full debriefing from the government as we evaluate our next steps,” the company said in a statement.
The JLTV program falls under the management of the Army’s Joint Program Office JLTV, which is under the leadership of the Program Executive Office for Combat Support & Combat Service Support (PEO CS&CSS), Kevin Fahey.
“We were very pleased with the robust industry response to the JLTV RFP,” Fahey said in a statement announcing the contract awards. “The source selection team worked diligently through the large volume of proposals submitted to ensure that the partners chosen for the EMD phase gave the Services the best opportunity possible to take the next step in filling the critical capability gaps within the light tactical vehicle fleet.”
William Taylor, Program Executive Officer Land Systems Marine Corps, said: “The EMD contract awards reinforce the successful joint effort between the Services on JLTV. The strong Army-Marine Corps partnership recognizes that synergy is imperative in this austere budgetary environment, and is committed to the success of JLTV in filling the critical capability gap that exists in both Services’ Light Tactical Vehicle fleets.
As the central component of the Army’s and Marine Corps’ Tactical Wheeled Vehicles strategy, JLTV is expected to improve the services’ mix of tactical vehicles by providing a vehicle solution that balances performance, payload and protection with increased transportability and expeditionary mobility over the current tactical vehicle systems. Capability gaps found within the existing tactical vehicle fleet are the result of an imbalance in protection, payload and performance within a transportable vehicle.