WASHINGTON // First there was the Jeep, then came the Humvee. Now the US military has a new all-purpose vehicle that aspires to become another symbol of American fighting power: the JLTV.
Granted, the name is not as catchy as its predecessors, but the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle signals a technological leap forward that, the military hopes, will protect troops for decades.
Last month, the Pentagon announced the winner of a bid to replace thousands of Humvees, the culmination of a search that began in the years after the start of the Iraq war in 2003.
While the beefy-looking Humvee was praised for its speed and ubiquity as invading US troops poured into Iraq, a growing insurgency and the spread of roadside bombs there and in Afghanistan spelt trouble for the vehicle and its occupants.
With a flat hull and low clearance, the Humvee was ill-equipped to cope with the blast of an explosive device. Instead of deflecting or dissipating the energy, much of it would shoot into the cab.
“An armoured Humvee is not designed to deal with landmines, the architecture is all wrong,” said Jim Hasick, a fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank. “It sits far too close to the ground and doesn’t have a V-shaped hull [to deflect a blast].”
The military pushed to reinforce Humvees, but they remained vulnerable. Then came a programme to deliver more than 24,000 new mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles (MRAP) – at a cost of about US$45 billion (Dh165bn).
But these reinforced trucks were heavy, making it difficult to get them where they were needed, and they ran counter to a Pentagon push for a faster, lighter fighting force.
So the military started looking for a replacement vehicle as mobile as a Humvee but with the protection of a MRAP.
On August 25, the army announced a $6.75bn contract for Oshkosh, which has a long history of building military vehicles.
The Wisconsin-based manufacturer beat competitors Lockheed Martin and A M General, which makes the Humvee. The rivals may challenge the contract award, which could set the programme back.
In total, the army plans to buy about 50,000 of the vehicles before 2040, while the marines want 5,500. The value of the contract is estimated at $30bn, with Oshkosh beginning to deliver vehicles in 10 months..
* Agence France-Presse
