Humvee replacement imminent

Oshkosh Defense says its potential replacement for the ageing Humvee military transport, the L-ATV, has passed another important milestone

American military vehicle manufacturer Oshkosh Defense says the prototype vehicle it has produced as a potential replacement for the existing Humvee troop carrier, the L-ATV, has passed another landmark.

The firm's prototype vehicle recently passed 200,000 miles of testing, also passing all other requirements to complete the Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM) phase of the US Government's Joint Light Tactical Vehicle's (JLTV) Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract.

Oshkosh Defense is one of three firms competing to supply and produce a replacement for the Humvee, with the contract reportedly worth tens of billions of dollars. The other competing defence contractors are Lockheed Martin and AM General.

The companies each supplied 22 prototype vehicles for the EMD stage of the JLTV program in August 2013.

The winner of the contract will provide a replacement for the Humvee troop carrier, of which there are currently around 55,000 in service. The prototype vehicles offer better protection from roadside bombs, higher performance and superior electronics.

The Oshkosh L-ATV recently demonstrated its ability to transfer mission data from the truck's computers to a remote external network at the US Army's Electronic Proving Ground at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.

Should the company's prototype ultimately prove successful, production wouldn't start before 2017.

According to US Army Major General (Ret) John Urias, who is the President of Oshkosh Defense, the company's prototype is ready for duty on the modern battlefield.

"The nature of warfare has changed and future battlefields will bring an unpredictable combination of terrain, tactics and threats," he said.

"The JLTV program fills a critical capability gap between the HMMWV [High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee] and larger MRAP [Mine Resistant Ambush Protected] vehicles in service today. The Oshkosh JLTV solution will equip our troops with the new generation of off-road mobility and protection they need to accomplish their missions.

"Oshkosh is prepared to begin JLTV low rate initial production immediately should the company be awarded the production contract. We believe that no other light tactical vehicle platform offers a comparable combination of proven technology, systems integration and manufacturing readiness at an affordable cost."

View the YouTube clip below to see the Oshkosh Defense L-ATV in action...

Humvee replacement imminent

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