After the Jeep and Humvee as vehicles which have served the US Army, it is now time for the Oshkosh JLTV. These state of the art military vehicles will be used by the US military as their new all terrain tactile vehicle. The US army plans purchase of over 50,000 units of Oshkosh JLTV, of which 5,500 units are for the Marine Corps. The total contract is estimated at $30 billion with deliveries scheduled to commence in the next 10 months.
The Oshkosh JLTV – Joint Light Tactical Vehicle is looked upon as a technological leap in the US military efforts to protect its troops. Oshkosh JLTV wins over the Humvee in overall weight, power and performance. The low underbelly and lower ground clearance of the Humvee proved unprepared to tackle roadside bombs and explosive devices while instead of deflecting or dissipating the energy, most of it was seen to shoot into the cab with devastating results. Excessive weight was also a factor that the US military had to contend with, with the Humvee.
Optimized engine power-to-weight ratio to provide superior acceleration, mobility and speed on grade capabilityIt is for these reasons that the US military started scouting around for a replacement to the Humvee with the protection of a MRAP. It was in August 2015 that the Army credited Wisconsin based manufacturer, Oshkosh with a $6.75 billion order for Oshkosh JLTV Military Vehicles while the total order could be in excess of $30 billion (INR 2.01 lakh crore) spread over the next few years.
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Oshkosh will be building these JLTV Military Vehicles in two and four seater variants. The two seater will have one variant while the four seater will be offered in two variants – General Purpose Vehicle and Close Combat Weapons Carrier. Tests conducted prior to placement of the order found that the JLTVs were capable of withstanding mine blasts similar to that seen on the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles used by the U.S. in 2007 while speeds of the JLTV were also found to be 70% faster as compared to the Humvee specially when tackling rough terrain.
