Army, Marines invite proposals for a new light combat vehicle

[kscarbel2]

Defense Update / December 13, 2014

As expected, the US Army and Marine Corps have issued a formal Request For Proposal (RFP) for the procurement of 55,000 light armoured vehicles, intended to replace many of the HMMWVs currently in service, and to enable the military to restore the light tactical mobility lost with the introduction of heavy and slow MRAPs.

The Joint Tactical Light Vehicle (JLTV) program is moving forward on schedule – on Friday December 12, 2014, the US Army issued a final-version RFP for the procurement of 55,000 armored vehicles to three potential suppliers, clearing the way for AM General, Lockheed Martin, and Oshkosh Defense to submit their final proposals. Source selection is expected in July 2015 with a contract awarded to the winner next year as well.

“The JLTV program remains on track to deliver an affordable, protected-mobility solution that fills today’s critical capability gap with substantial advances in the balance of payload, performance, and protection,” Army Col. John Cavedo, the JLTV project manager, said in a statement. He said the program is on-budget. Both services expect to field their first JLTVs by 2018. Production will total 49,500 JLTVs for the Army and 5,500 for the Marines, with the production cycle ending sometime in the 2030s. Deliveries to the Marine Corps are expected to complete by 2022.

Following the Milestone C decision expected within a year, the Army will award a firm-fixed-price contract to a single vendor. The award period will cover three years of low rate initial production and five years of full-rate production, for a total of 17,000 vehicles for the Army and Marine Corps. The kits for those 17,000 will be produced by the selected OEM but follow-on kits might use a different vendor, the Army said. At a target price of US$250,000 per vehicle this phase could be worth over $4 billion.

The new vehicle will fill a gap between the High-Mobility, Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV) that serve the Army, the Marine Corps and nations throughout the world as their standard military vehicle since 1984 and the heavy and slow MRAPs that were introduced in some theaters since 2007.

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[Red Horse]

I thought BAE had announced they were putting together a proposal? Or did they do that and did not make the "cut"?

[kscarbel2]

I thought BAE had announced they were putting together a proposal? Or did they do that and did not make the "cut"?

BAE is Lockheed Martin's partner.

I'm not impressed with any of these trucks, particularly the hideous looking Oshkosh L-ATV proposal.

In 2012, Navistar lost the chance to participate with its Saratoga concept (BAE was also Navistar's partner).

[Red Horse]

BAE is Lockheed Martin's partner.

I'm not impressed with any of these trucks, particularly the hideous looking Oshkosh L-ATV proposal.

In 2012, Navistar lost the chance to participate with its Saratoga concept (BAE was also Navistar's partner).

Thx- If that is the case I do believe they were going to use the 6.7 Power Stroke. I can't believe that anyone would use such a complicated engine in an environment that willnot exactly be "service friendly"-i.e. you are not going to pull into the maintenance bay on a regular basis. Am I correct on the 6.7 announcement by BAE?

[kscarbel2]

Thx- If that is the case I do believe they were going to use the 6.7 Power Stroke. I can't believe that anyone would use such a complicated engine in an environment that willnot exactly be "service friendly"-i.e. you are not going to pull into the maintenance bay on a regular basis. Am I correct on the 6.7 announcement by BAE?

It appears the originally planned 340hp Cummins 6-liter V-8 has been replaced with the AVL-designed 6.7-liter Powerstroke rated at 400hp (paired with a 6-speed Allison 2500SP).

[r686st]

Jeep the original "Light vehicle"

[kscarbel2]

Ford tried to come into the JLTV competition late with a lower price. In the end, they will only supply engines.

In late 2011, Ford Motor Company, the second-largest U.S. automaker, began discussions with DOD about competing to build the JLTV.

Ford left the military tactical vehicle business in the early 1980s after more than two decades of producing Jeeps and other trucks. Ford believed it could leverage its commercial truck line and, in partnership with a defense contractor, develop the

JLTV quicker and cheaper than current proposals.

Ford and its teammates, including Raytheon, contended among other things:

• Given a total order of 20,000 vehicles over six to eight years (2,000 to 3,000 vehicles per year) Ford’s JLTV version (named the Joint Marine Army Vehicle, or JMAV) would cost $225,000 or less per vehicle under a firm, fixed-price contract, $200,00 or less in quantities above 50,000.

• The Ford team would bear the entire cost of approximately $400 million to build production-ready prototypes, meaning that no EMD phase would be required.

• JMAV production could start by late 2015, sooner if DOD accelerates JLTV testing and evaluating schedules.

Reportedly, Ford would need an additional 14 months to produce prototypes required under the current RFP. The Army reportedly was not receptive to modifying the EMD RFP to accommodate Ford, noting “we have to be fair to industry as a whole ... should we structure the program around one potential vendor based on where they’re at in their design process?” The Army Program Manager for JLTV noted the EMD RFP would be closed on March 13, 2012, as stated in the RFP.

In addition to difficulties with the RFP deadline, Ford reportedly took issue with the EMD RFP, noting “no credit will be given for proposed performance above threshold or at objective levels” as Ford contends the JMAV would meet or exceed RFP performance requirements.

Given these and other concerns, Ford reportedly decided not to compete in the JLTV EMD phase.

On March 26, 2012, it was reported due to the JLTV program timelines, that Ford had entered an agreement with the BAE Systems JLTV Team to provide the Ford Power Stroke 6.7 liter turbo charged engine (similar to its F-Series Super Duty Truck engine) for the BAE Team variant, noting that these engines would be “very affordable” for DOD.

[Red Horse]

Ford tried to come into the JLTV competition late with a lower price. In the end, they will only supply engines.

In late 2011, Ford Motor Company, the second-largest U.S. automaker, began discussions with DOD about competing to build the JLTV.

Ford left the military tactical vehicle business in the early 1980s after more than two decades of producing Jeeps and other trucks. Ford believed it could leverage its commercial truck line and, in partnership with a defense contractor, develop the

JLTV quicker and cheaper than current proposals.

Ford and its teammates, including Raytheon, contended among other things:

• Given a total order of 20,000 vehicles over six to eight years (2,000 to 3,000 vehicles per year) Ford’s JLTV version (named the Joint Marine Army Vehicle, or JMAV) would cost $225,000 or less per vehicle under a firm, fixed-price contract, $200,00 or less in quantities above 50,000.

• The Ford team would bear the entire cost of approximately $400 million to build production-ready prototypes, meaning that no EMD phase would be required.

• JMAV production could start by late 2015, sooner if DOD accelerates JLTV testing and evaluating schedules.

Reportedly, Ford would need an additional 14 months to produce prototypes required under the current RFP. The Army reportedly was not receptive to modifying the EMD RFP to accommodate Ford, noting “we have to be fair to industry as a whole ... should we structure the program around one potential vendor based on where they’re at in their design process?” The Army Program Manager for JLTV noted the EMD RFP would be closed on March 13, 2012, as stated in the RFP.

In addition to difficulties with the RFP deadline, Ford reportedly took issue with the EMD RFP, noting “no credit will be given for proposed performance above threshold or at objective levels” as Ford contends the JMAV would meet or exceed RFP performance requirements.

Given these and other concerns, Ford reportedly decided not to compete in the JLTV EMD phase.

On March 26, 2012, it was reported due to the JLTV program timelines, that Ford had entered an agreement with the BAE Systems JLTV Team to provide the Ford Power Stroke 6.7 liter turbo charged engine (similar to its F-Series Super Duty Truck engine) for the BAE Team variant, noting that these engines would be “very affordable” for DOD.

Thx Interesting info. If the Lockheed Martin/BAE version gets the nod, that should be good news for Ford as far as unit costs. Also I have to believe acceptance of a proposal with the 6.7 should be a good testimonial to the durability of the engine-or should I say "perceived" durability?