Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK) obtained approval Thursday to begin the full-rate production of Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, nearly four years after the company won a $6.7B contract to build the new armored vehicle platform for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps.
Bruce Jette, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, authorized the JLTV program to move into the FRP phase, the service branch said Friday.
The 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart in Georgia became the military branch’s first unit in April to be equipped with over 300 JLTVs after the Army decided in December to kick off the deployment of the vehicles.
Michael Sprang, project manager for the joint program office for JLTV, said the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st armored brigade combat team offered insights on system noise reduction, a companion JLTV trailer, troop seat kit, increased situational awareness and other enhancements.
“Their assessments helped bring us all to a successful full-rate production decision,†Sprang added.
The service also completed fielding of the vehicles to four military training sites in Virginia, Wisconsin, California and North Carolina.
JLTVÂ is designed to replace a considerable portion of the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle fleet and comes in two variants and general purpose, heavy guns carrier, utility and close combat weapons carrier configurations.
