Will Northrop Grumman/Oshkosh appeal JLTV decision?

Oshkosh Truck officials held a conference call yesterday reporting on the state of the company.

Finally, we are disappointed that we are not selected for a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle or JLTV technology development contract with a partner in North of Roman (sic). We remain firm in our belief that the JLTV concept we presented was the best solution for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. needs for Light Tactical Vehicles and represent an innovative and proven design that leapfrogs current capabilities to exceed the customers' requirements for protection, payroll and performance. We expect to receive a de-brief from the U.S. government on our proposal and we'll determine at that time with our partner our next steps.

I'm as certain as could be that "North of Roman" is some kind of phonetic rendering of "Northrop Grumman." Somewhere there's a sheepish transcriptionist.

If it is true, as seems to be the case, that the diesel-electric power system was not the primary reason for rejecting the bid then I don't know on what grounds the team would appeal. The Army reportedly wants the JLTV to use a diesel-electric drive system. That's small consolation, if any, to the JLTV partnership that used that approach for its prototype.