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05 Aug 15. Defender, it’s definitely the end! Since the announcement last year that Land Rover Defender production would cease this year, rumours have abounded that a Third Party, rumoured to be Otokar, would take over production of military Defender. Sources have told BATTLESPACE that whilst this option was discussed, it won’t now proceed and all defender production will cease in January 2015, with very little stock now available for new sales. The new Defender rumoured to be at least two years away will concentrate on the lifestyle market with a possible Station Wagon option. Given its monocoque chassis, there is little scope for military specials. This is the end of an era with Defender having loyally served armed forces across the world since 1948.
04 Aug 15. The Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) Team continues to produce company-funded Production Representative Vehicles (PRVs) at its Camden, Arkansas, production facility. The PRVs are being assembled to reduce technical risk, optimize the advanced production processes at the Camden assembly plant, and to exercise and prepare the supply chain.
“The first two of these PRVs are now in Dallas going through a series of tests to validate technical capability and performance,” said Scott Greene, vice president of Ground Vehicles at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “Our goal is to produce the best-value, most protected, most tactically effective JLTV possible to help assure our soldiers and Marines complete their missions and return safely.”
The Lockheed Martin JLTV Team plans to produce as many as eight PRVs over the next few weeks.
“These PRVs are confirming that our processes work just as we knew they would,” Greene said. “As a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winner for Manufacturing Excellence, we will leave nothing to chance in the production of the JLTV.”
The Lockheed Martin Team’s JLTV is a fully integrated combat tactical system that meets today’s requirements and was designed with the future in mind. It offers MRAP levels of protection with unprecedented cross-country mobility, a substantial increase in performance and payload, as well as greater reliability, outstanding fuel efficiency, and lower operations and sustainment costs.
BATTLESPACE Comment: Sources suggest that the JLTV selection announcement between AM General, Lockheed Martin and Oshkosh will be made on or around August 28th. No news as to the possible winner has filtered out with officials for all companies and the DoD remaining tight lipped. Its too close for anyone to call with no favourite seen as pulling away to win.
08 Aug 15. Llangefni-headquartered FAUN Trackway are once again proud sponsors of the Anglesey Show which takes place on 11th and 12th of August. The Anglesey Show celebrates the best in the region’s agriculture and the Trackway Team will be on hand to share their engineering knowledge and expertise. FAUN Trackway will be rolling into their stand (D129) with their Heavy Ground Mobility System (HGMS) named ‘Nia’, with children invited to sit in the driving seat of their 8×8 IVECO vehicle. Face-painting will also be provided free of charge, by local face-painting company ‘Cree-Ations.’ There will also be the opportunity to decorate cakes with all donations raised going towards the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). The best dressed cupcake will be judged by the Trackway panel with the winner announced on the 13th August via the FAUN Trackway Facebook and Twitter pages. The lucky winner will receive a FAUN Trackway hamper.
Chris Kendall, CEO at FAUN Trackway, said: “Attending last summer was a great way of educating the local community about our products and revealing what we do here in Llangefni – from the contribution of our people and their technical expe