By Jen DiMascio
The Pentagon’s acquisition chief last month urged the Army to allow three industry teams to compete for Army-Marine Corps Humvee replacement program.
John Young, the assistant secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, reviewed the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program in early December and gave his blessing to proceed with technology development in a Dec. 22 acquisition decision memorandum. A request for proposals is expected Feb. 1.
Even before Young was officially confirmed in his position this fall, he stated his intent to drive more competition for programs up front. The JLTV program is one of the first to be affected by the policy.
In a handwritten note attached to the ADM, Young encouraged the Army–the lead service on the program–to allow three industry teams to participate, rather than just two.
“The Army should view the strong potential to fund at least three industry teams with existing funds. If industry proposals and carefully controlled government cost still do not allow three or more teams, then the Army and DoD should seek to identify additional funds to maximize knowledge and competition on this strategic program,” Young wrote.
But that could be difficult. The Army has said it would need additional funding to support three teams, according to a Marine Corps official.
Young and officials from the Army and Marine Corps are expected to discuss the feasibility of funding teams of contractors during a Jan. 29 meeting–just before the RFP is scheduled to roll out.
The ADM directs the services to fund the next phase of development–systems development and demonstration–in the budget plan for FY ’10 to FY ’15.
Young’s memo hints that the road will not be easy.
“Informed decisions for acquiring the JLTV capability require flexibility and agility in the JLTV acquisition strategy,” he said. “Decisions such as maintaining multiple contractor teams through systems development and demonstration and beginning low-rate initial production of some or all JLTV variants should be considered toward the end of the technology development phase and during the development of the acquisition strategy,” Young wrote in the ADM.
Young added that the Army and Marine Corps should cooperate with foreign countries–especially the United Kingdom and Australia.
An attachment to the ADM laid out exit criteria for the program’s technology development phase. The program must be able to produce a prototype of an integrated system that focuses on protection, transportability, reliability and its ability to be produced, according to the document. It should include also include assessments of the vehicle family’s commonality and of the technical risks that may affect initial production. The latter assessment would lay the groundwork for a manufacturing assessment in the system development and demonstration phase of the program.
A number of contractors have expressed interest in the project.
In October 2006, Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Armor Holdings(now a part of BAE Systems) joined forces. Three months later, AM General and General Dynamics said they would form a partnership to pursue the JLTV. One year later, Boeing [BA] and Textron Marine & Land Systems [TXT] threw their hat in the ring. Earlier this month, Northrop Grumman [NOC] and Oshkosh Truck Corp. [OSK] joined the competition (Defense Daily, Jan. 9). Navistar International Corp. [NAVZ] and BAE also intend to vie for the contract.