Video: Lockheed Martin JLTV

A recent video, which apparently includes footage of the Lockheed Martin JLTV going through some of its paces at Aberdeen.

JLTV testing underway

Test vehicles from BAE/Navistar, Lockheed Martin and General Tactical Vehicles have arrived at the Aberdeen testing grounds.

Military.com has images of vehicles representing each of the competing partnerships.

Lockheed Martin JLTV video, 2009

The video shows the full range of JLTV variants, but is a bit short on information other than the program milestones and the visuals. Otherwise it's a slick production that represents the product pretty well.

I'd like to see a video of the Oshkosh Sandcat that shows that vehicle zooming around at 30+ miles per hour!

Three for JLTV; early call off by one

Early information regarding the three partnerships chosen for the JLTV development phase was apparently off by one, with the Northrop Grumman/Oshkosh entry failing to make the cut.

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 29, 2008) -- The Army announced today the awarding of three contracts for technology development on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.

Together, the three contracts are worth a combined total of approximately $166 million. They have been awarded to: BAE Systems Land & Armament Systems – Ground Systems Division, Santa Clara, Calif.; General Tactical Vehicles (A Joint Venture of General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc. and AM General, LLC), Sterling Heights, Mich.; and Lockheed Martin Systems Integration – Owego; Owego, N.Y.
(Army.mil)

BAE has two fingers in the pie, since the Lockheed Martin entry includes a partnership with BAE subsidiary Armor Holdings, Inc.

General Tactical Vehicles was an odds on favorite.

The first winner listed, BAE Systems, is the partnership between BAE and Navistar International. I like it that this partnership made the cut because it makes me look almost like I know what I'm talking about.

clipped from picasaweb.google.com

BAE/Navistar

clipped from subloviate.blogspot.com

General Tactical Vehicles.

clipped from www.aviationweek.com

Lockheed Martin/Armor Holdings (BAE)
This is the most becoming of all of the images of the Lockheed Martin vehicles I've seen thus far (photo posted by Bettina Chavanne). This "Category A General Purpose Mobility Vehicle" doesn't look half bad.

DefenseNews with JLTV winners

Just hours ago, Kris Osborn of DefenseNews.com named the winners of the first round of the JLTV competition--at least according to his unnamed sources.

The story ends up naming the odds-on favorites in the competition, minus one pairing that I would have squeezed in as a favorite based on its success with the MRAP programs: Navistar/BAE Systems.

That leaves the other heavyweights AM General/General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman/Oshkosh and Lockheed Martin/BAE Systems (Armor Holdings).

It won't be long before we know how reliably Osborn's sources spoke.

Lockheed Martin JLTV video

I tried comparing this video to an earlier one I posted to see if it was the same, but the old one (at YouTube) is no longer available.

So if this one is the same, I don't apologize.

Congressional porker in Lockheed Martin's corner for JLTV?

Disclaimer: I have no realistic idea of how much or how little influence Congress has over specific military purchases. I do know that a plausible argument may be made that the Pentagon over-purchased MRAPs because of congressional meddling.

clipped from www.tribune-democrat.com Murtha didn’t just get to observe the vehicle in action, he drove it to and from JWF’s facilities to a testing ground the company has constructed in hills above the plant. Murtha said the heavily armored vehicle “drove like an SUV.”

Of Murtha and pork. Runnerup porker Bill Young (Republican) is my congressman.

Lockheed Martin JLTV not a direct descendent of MRAP

A Lockheed Martin official was recently quoted in The Ithaca Journal regarding the company's approach to force protection in the next generation Humvee.

Lockheed said its vehicle offering relies more on situational awareness to avoid and communicate threats versus additional armor for survival.

“Today's brute force approach to survivability is based on adding more armor,” said Louis DeSantis, vice president and general manager of Ground Vehicle Systems at Lockheed in Owego. “Our holistic approach to JLTV survivability sees armor as a last resort.”

Lockheed said its vehicle also features excellent mobility, weapons and countermeasures to neutralize threats, and a new armor composition combined with a hull and structural design for protection if an attack cannot be avoided. The Lockheed-led JLTV team includes BAE Systems Mobility & Protection Systems, Alcoa Defense and JWF — Defense Systems

The quotation about "armor as a last resort" stands out. And it makes sense as a strategy.

For all the protection it offers, the sheer weight of MRAP armor severely limits the tactical applications for MRAPs, as illustrated by the cutback on MRAP orders by the Marines along with numerous stories of MRAPs straining bridges and negotiating the urban environment with difficulty. Effective avoidance of mines and ambush is the superior strategy--if it works. Most likely the countermeasures will add a new dimension to the technological aspect of the contest with terrorists. Enemies will come up with ways to beat current countermeasures, and new countermeasures will be developed to meet the threat.

*****

New video promo for Lockheed Martin JLTV

This video improves considerably on the earlier version. Instead of driving it around the front yard at headquarters the promo contains some shots from testing grounds. The vehicle still doesn't look as sprightly as the Force Protection Cheetah, but as already noted the JLTV program has requirements that the Cheetah probably does not address at present.



Nice production, though the music could have been better.

*****

More on the Lockheed Martin JLTV (UVL) prototype (Updated)

It seemed only fair to seek out a better representation of the new Lockheed Martin JLTV prototype after the energy I expended trying to get the goods on the BAE/Navistar truck.

"Ed" made a comment about yesterday's post on the unveiling of the new prototypes, pointing out that the Lockheed Martin UVL essentially functions as a military pickup truck.

A visit to the Lockheed Martin Web site gives us a look at the vehicle minus the protective barrier of blue plastic (correction: make that blue canvas director's chairs) chairs, and gives the company a chance to explain what's up with the big box in the back.

clipped from www.lockheedmartin.com

From the Web site:

In contrast to Lockheed Martin's first prototype, the Combat Tactical Vehicle Payload Category B, which was designed as an infantry carrier, the new The Utility Vehicle Light (UVL) Payload Category C prototype is designed with a focus on payload. The variant is used to carry personnel, general cargo and ammunition, or can be configured to carry an S250 shelter. When the shelter is removed, the UVL can be used as a utility or prime mover vehicle.

Update:

What's a S250 shelter?

*****

JLTV prototypes (Updated)

clipped from www.aviationweek.com

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Lockheed Martin unveiled its second operational Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) prototype at the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) winter symposium here Feb. 27, while BAE Systems and Navistar showed off their JLTV prototype.
(Aviation Week)

Less than snazzy with the big box piggybacked onto the rear half of the vehicle, though no doubt the performance of the vehicle weighs far more heavily than its aesthetics.

Lockheed Martin's earlier prototype,unveiled in late 2007, was the one that looks like a Humvee on steroids.

clipped from www.defense-update.com

The Aviation Week story teases us with their report of the unveiling of the BAE Systems/Navistar JLTV prototype. With no flippin' photograph.

The best I can find at the moment is an unfamiliar low resolution pic at the Navistar Web site with the caption "JLTV Vlog Unveiling: Coming Feb. 28, 2008."

clipped from navistar.mediaroom.com

Update:

I should have given myself a few more minutes to search.

Navistar issued a press release including a superior photo to the one I clipped above.

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (February 27, 2008) BAE Systems and teammate Navistar International Corporation today unveiled a fully-operational system the team will use for the competitive Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program. JLTV is the U.S. multi-service initiative for fielding a family of future light tactical vehicles.

"Our approach to the JLTV program is focused on the Warfighter," said Matt Riddle, vice president of Wheeled Vehicles at BAE Systems. "The BAE Systems-Navistar JLTV team has taken a warrior-centric design approach that provides the foundation for a future family of vehicles that will meet the Joint Services' light tactical vehicle requirements for decades to come."
(Navistar.com)

Click on the link above to get a look at the better photo.

*****

Lockheed Martin JLTV video

Lockheed Martin's JLTV really does look like a Humvee on steroids, a term lately employed to describe the Cougar MRAP.

Comparing this video to one of the Force Protection Cheetah, the latter looks faster and more maneuverable. I'm sure the armed forces have more concerns other than those, but speed is certainly one of the key factors to take into consideration when contemplating a replacement for the Humvee.

I'm not that impressed by the soundtrack music they chose, either. But at least you can't complain that the driver is sitting over the wheel well.


*****

Navistar and BAE team up to get in the JLTV game (Updated x2)

Force Protection has its Cheetah. PVI has its Protector. Lockheed Martin has this (see image at the bottom).

Each vehicle (see update below) is a JLTV, the class of vehicles the Pentagon hopes to use as a replacement for the Humvee. The Pentagon wants something lighter, smaller, and faster than the current crop of MRAPs (with the possible exception of the Cheetah, which may qualify in both classes).

Now Navistar, which won big in the MRAP sweepstakes with its MaxxPro vehicle, has agreed to work with powerful BAE to produce an entry in the JLTV competition.
Navistar International Corp. said Tuesday afternoon that the Warrenville truck and engine maker has teamed up with BAE Systems PLC to produce a platform for the Pentagon's planned Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program.

The Navistar/BAE venture "will also be investigating other global opportunities" with militaries around the world, Navistar said.
(Chicago Tribune)

The Pentagon delayed the JLTV program to focus on getting MRAP vehicles to areas where they're needed.

Though Force Protection seems to have an advantage with a viable design at the early stage, the Navistar/BAE partnership should produce a formidable entry.


Update:
Jeffrey Colburn made the comment that the internal link to the Lockheed Martin design is not a JLTV but the FTTS (Future Tactical Truck System).

Unfortunately, Colburn's URLs didn't seem to work so it was hard to verify his claim.

In early February, Lockheed Martin was awarded a $9 million contract to build a technology demonstration vehicle for the second phase of the U.S. Army’s Future Tactical Truck Systems (FTTS) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD). The FTTS ACTD will help refine the requirements for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.
(LockheedMartin.com)

If that doesn't make the FTTS a prototype of sorts for the JLTV then the hairs are split a bit too fine for novices such as me.

Update 2:
Jeffrey Colburn was correct to draw a hard distinction between the FTTS and the JLTV by Lockheed Martin. While the FTTS may have been used to road-test some of the features of the later vehicle, the physical designs bear little resemblance to one another.

If the image doesn't appear, just hit the hotlink at the top to get to the source page.

clipped from www.tribune-democrat.com

Lockheed Martin JLTV prototype

*****