Lockheed Martin [LMT], AM General and Oshkosh [OSK] all say they have all successfully completed the government’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) Manufacturing Readiness Assessment (MRA), moving closer to vehicle production.
The current government JLTV plan is to choose a single contractor in 2015. The JLTV is designed to replace many of the current Army and Marine Corps HMMWV Humvee vehicles, providing significant advances in survivability and capability.
Lockheed Martin this week said the MRA, which measures manufacturing maturity and assesses technical risk, took place at Lockheed Martin’s Camden Operations on Nov. 18-19. The Camden manufacturing complex is where the company’s JLTV offering would be built.
In October, the company announced plans to produce the JLTV at the Camden facility, where program officials expect to gain significant production efficiencies and cost reductions. Earlier plans to produce the vehicle at team partner BAE Systems’ Sealy, Texas, plant were changed as the company made a business decision to shutter the facility (Defense Daily, Oct. 16).
Oshkosh Defense also said it successfully completed its MFR this fall.
AM General said it successfully completed its MRA some months ago. “We are unique in the JLTV program with our fully tooled production line; long experience in high- quality, lean manufacturing; successful track record of on-time and at-cost delivery; highly skilled workforce, and network of 1,700 suppliers across 43 states,” recently said AM General Vice President Business Development and Program Management Chris Vanslager.
Lockheed Martin’s Camden Operations has received more than 60 awards over the last decade, including the 2012 Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award and the Shingo Silver Medallion Award for Operation Excellence.
“We look forward to adding another joint U.S. Army/Marine Corps vehicle-manufacturing program to our Camden Operations,” said Scott Greene, vice president of Ground Vehicles for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “With proven assembly methods, a keen focus on efficiency and a highly skilled workforce, we are confident that the tremendous success we’ve achieved producing the HIMARS launcher for the Army and Marines will translate to an outstanding JLTV for those very same customers.”
The Lockheed Martin JLTV is systems-engineered to provide the crew protection of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, while returning crucial mobility, reliability and transportability to Soldiers and Marines. A patented Meritor Pro-TecTM all-independent air-ride suspension brings unprecedented agility and off-road mobility to this class of vehicles, while the dependable Cummins turbo diesel and Allison transmission combine abundant power with exceptional fuel efficiency. Rounding out the vehicle’s portfolio of capabilities are an exportable power-generation with substantial margin for future growth, and state-of-the art connectivity with other platforms.