Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation, has begun production of its Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle (L-ATV). The L-ATV was selected for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) Engineering, Manufacturing and Development (EMD) phase, and it was exhibited at AUSA 2012, October 22 to 24 in Washington, D.C.
“Oshkosh is building our JLTV offering on a flexible and integrated production line using proven lean manufacturing processes, a rigorous Oshkosh quality-assurance system and an efficient supply chain to deliver mature vehicles, ready for government testing,” says John Bryant, Vice President and General Manager of Joint and Marine Corps Programs for Oshkosh Defense. “We have also completed our start-of-work meeting with the government, and we will stay in close touch throughout the program with ongoing meetings and reviews.”
The JLTV program aims to replace many of the U.S. military’s aging High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) with a lightweight vehicle that offers an optimal balance to protection, performance and payload for the joint forces. Oshkosh’s JLTV provides that optimal balance and enables unmatched off-road mobility while meeting stringent transportability and protection requirements. The L-ATV can accept multiple armor configurations, allowing the vehicle to easily adapt to operational requirements. The L-ATV also applies the Oshkosh TAK-4i intelligent independent suspension system to provide significantly faster speeds when operating off-road, which can be critical to troops’ safety.
Because the JLTV production phase is years out and will only replace a portion of the existing HMMWV fleets, Oshkosh Defense is offering HMMWV modernization options that can improve the aging vehicles’ mobility and protection for Warfighters today and into the future. Oshkosh displayed HMMWV upgrade capabilities at AUSA 2012 that provide the best mobility solutions for the investment. The company is “right sizing” its proprietary technologies to deliver affordable performance improvements through proven components, both for unarmored and armored HMMWVs.
These offerings are backed by Oshkosh’s Integrated Product Support services, which are designed to support military readiness, life-cycle management and fleet modernization. This includes training services, instruction manuals, maintenance and repairs, parts supply and fleet restoration services. Oshkosh Field Service Representatives (FSR) travel globally to ensure vehicles and personnel are at peak operational readiness. The company’s robust operator and maintenance training services provide systems-level expertise on the platforms and technologies they support, and Oshkosh’s parts-supply network is available 24/7 to provide instant access to spare and repair parts for all vehicle makes and models.