Oshkosh Defense is continuing to pick up orders for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), despite the US Army awarding its follow-on JLTV A2 contract to AM General in February 2023.
On 1 December 2023 Oshkosh Defense announced that the Israeli Ministry of Defense had placed two orders for JLTVs for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), with 75 purchased via the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) mechanism and dozens more purchased as a direct commercial sale (DCS).
The IDF follows closely behind two JLTV orders secured the previous month. On 6 November Oshkosh announced it had secured an order worth USD 208 M to provide JLTVs, JLTV trailers and associated packaged and installed kits for the US Army, US Marine Corps and US Air Force. Then, on 16 November the company announced a USD 160 M JLTV order for US allies including Mongolia, Romania, North Macedonia, Slovenia, and Slovakia.
President of Oshkosh Defense Tim Bleck told ESD on 5 December that the company is “well positioned to deliver JLTVs right now given its warm, proven production line, established supply chain, and experienced workforce”.
The JLTV was designed to replace the ageing uparmoured High-Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (Humvee) fleet with a vehicle providing better protection, mobility and a greater payload capacity.
Oshkosh has been the provider of JLTVs to the US military since 2015, after being chosen in August of that year as the winner of the initial JLTV contest with a vehicle solution based on its Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle (L-ATV). The company has provided more than 20,000 JLTVs to the US military and its allies, but soon after the initial JLTV contract was awarded the US government purchased the data rights to the JLTV Technical Data Package from Oshkosh to allow for competition for further production of the JLTV for the US military.
Bleck noted to ESD, however, “That licence to the US government does not extend to DCS contracts. Oshkosh is therefore the only OEM that can sell the JLTV via DCS.”
Although Oshkosh was the incumbent JLTV provider, under the JLTV A2 Program the US Army on 9 February 2023 awarded AM General a five-year contract (plus five-year option) worth USD 8.66 Bn to produce up to 20,682 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) and up to 9,883 JLTV Trailers for the US armed forces and FMS customers.
In March 2023 Oshkosh filed a formal bid protest with the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) over the US Army’s decision to award the JLTV follow-on contract to AM General, but the protest was rejected in June.
Nevertheless, Oshkosh has been able to continue to take orders under its existing JLTV contract, originally awarded in August 2015, as AM General prepares to take over future JLTV production.
Oshkosh had previously indicated that, in light of not securing the JLTV A2 Program, it would close its production line for the vehicle in 2024. However, Bleck told ESD on 5 December, “We currently expect to produce JLTVs into early 2025.”
