The Northrop Grumman/Oshkosh JLTV: Why was it rejected? (Updated x2)

One of the favorites for the JLTV competition failed to make the first cut: the Northrop Grumman/Oshkosh entry based on the Millenworks Light Utility Vehicle.

Though I'm no expert in any aspect of the military hardware field, the media accounts of the JLTV competition offer a couple of clues.

The primary drawback mentioned in media accounts was the team's decision to use a diesel-electric drive system. News accounts compared the team's JLTV to the Toyota Prius, and relayed complaints from officials and congressional representatives that the technology was not mature.

However, that complaint seems dubious. As I pointed out in an earlier post, the drive system was closer to the type used in a diesel locomotive rather than the system used in a Prius. The description offered by Northrop Grumman of their system (the .pdf is gone, but Google preserves an HTML version) confirms this fact. The drawback with diesel-electric stems from the expense, not from any lack of maturity for the technology.

If officials rejected the Northrop Grumman entry based significantly on this complaint, then they may have made a mistake large enough to call a blunder, especially since a significant effort was made to distinguish the JLTV diesel-electric drive system from hybrid technology. Accordingly, I would expect Northrop Grumman/Oshkosh to appeal the final decision on that basis.

I wrote of a couple of hints regarding design drawbacks. The other hint was more subtle. Millenworks produced a LUV superficially identical to the Northrop Grumman/Oshkosh JLTV (see Update and Update II below). It may be that the Millenworks design did not sufficiently meet the parameters set by the Army. One could infer that the use of the Millenworks LUV indicated a shortcut to the JLTV prototype, and the shortcut in turn led to a less-than-glowing professional assessment of the bid.

Though I was pleased to have accurately predicted a strong entry from surprise winner BAE Systems/Navistar, I wouldn't want to see any of the three winners in that position because of any misconception about the diesel-electric propulsion system. The Army professed a desire for innovative thinking for the JLTV program. The idea of a diesel-electric power plant seems to perfectly fit that expectation. Hopefully the program gives strong consideration to the idea regardless of which three end up pursuing the final contract.


Update:

In the commentary section Tim W (an industry insider) offers that the resemblance between the Millenworks LUV and the Northrop Grumman/Oshkosh JLTV was, in fact, superficial. Given the thin evidence on which I postulated otherwise, it's reasonable to take the claim at face value.

Update II:

I erred in calling the Northop Grumman/Oshkosh JLTV prototype "superficially identical" to the Millenworks LUV, having confused Boeing/Textron with the former. That leaves my secondary suspicion about the rejection of the Northrop Grumman bid on even boggier ground.