NOT YOUR DADDY’S (OR GRANDDADDY’S) TACTICAL VEHICLE
BIGGER, STRONGER, SAFER
Leaders from the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command tested a production model of the JLTV, far right, at Joint Base Langley- Eustis, Virginia, in May. The JLTV bridges the capability gaps in protection, performance and payload of the HMMWV on the left. (Photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Teresa J. Cleveland)
JLTV is an Army-led, joint-service program designed to replace a portion of each service’s light tactical wheeled vehicle fleets while closing mobility and protection gaps. Te intent is to provide protected, sustained, networked mobility for warfighters and payloads across the full range of military operations.
PROGRESSIVE CAPABILITY During World War II, the Jeep was con- sidered the workhorse for logistical and support tasks. Te early vehicles were used for laying cable and hauling logs, and as firefighting pumpers, field ambu- lances and tractors. However, the vehicle didn’t include protective armor, a radio, seatbelts—or even doors. After the war, the Jeep went through many modifica- tions and upgrades
and remained in service for the next 44 years.
Te HMMWV was fielded in 1985, a couple of years later than anticipated back in 1981. Since then, HMMWVs have been used as
troop carriers, command
vehicles, ambulances, for psychological operations and as weapon platforms. In the early 2000s, HMMWVs faced an entirely new threat in the post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq—the IED—and they proved vulnerable. DOD responded with up-armoring and the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle was born, designed specifically to resist and deflect IED explosions.
JLTV gives the current warfighter signifi- cantly more protection against multiple threats while increasing mobility, payload and firepower, something that Soldiers and Marines from past conflicts could envision only in their wildest dreams.
“Te JLTV has been designed to keep pace with the fast-changing nature of today’s battlefield,” said Dave Diersen, vice president and general manager of Joint Programs at Oshkosh Defense, which won the JLTV contract. Diersen added that JLTV offers “a leap forward in per- formance and capability that can only come from a vehicle that is purpose-built for a spectrum of light vehicle missions.”
Te JLTV has two variants, to cover the requirements of both the Army and Marine Corps, and can be transported by a range of lift assets, including rotary- wing aircraft. It can traverse rugged and dangerous terrain, including urban areas, while providing built-in and supplemen- tal armor against direct fire and IED threats. Te JLTV features advanced net- working; it is wired for current and future command,
control, communications,
computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems.
JLTV was built purposely for the Army’s tactical network and designed to have MRAP-like protection, but also to improve fuel
efficiency, increase
reliability and performance—plus the potential for continuous improvement to meet future mission requirements.
Te first production vehicles are intended to serve as assets for JLTV’s perfor- mance and operational testing programs. Roughly 40 vehicles have been delivered to test sites thus far. Tey will undergo complete reliability, transportability, sur- vivability, network and other testing to verify the production vehicles’ ability to satisfy program requirements. Te most important outcome of this testing is to ensure that Soldiers can work effectively with the JLTV and all of its integrated equipment.
As the Jeep and HMMWV did on past battlefields, JLTV no doubt will face chal- lenges of 21st-century military operations that the Army and DOD can scarcely imagine today, as well as provide a much- needed tactical vehicle capability for the Army and Marine Corps that doesn’t compromise
among payload, mobility, performance or protection.
For more information on JLTV, go to http://
www.peocscss.army.mil/.
For a historical tour of Army AL&T over the past 56 years, go to the Army AL&T magazine archives at
http://asc.army.mil/ web/magazine/alt-magazine-archive/.
pay- load and provide greater maintainability, 156 —MR. ROBERT E. COULTAS
Army AL&T Magazine
July-September 2017
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