21 Jun 19. Dr. Bruce Jette, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, approved the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program’s transition into Full-Rate Production yesterday.
The approval follows an Army decision in December 2018 to begin fielding the new platform with the Army’s 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia, in April. The 1-3 ID became the Army’s first unit equipped with JLTVs in April 2019, after receiving more than 300 vehicles.
Fieldings to the Ordnance School, Fort Lee, Virginia, the 84th Training Command, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, the Marine Corps’ School of Infantry-West at Camp Pendleton, California, as well as the School of Infantry-East, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, have also been completed.
“Thanks to tremendous teamwork across two services on requirements, resources, program management, testing, and other areas, this is a great modernization success story. JLTV shows how teams focused on stable requirements, mature technologies and the right incentives can deliver meaningful capability advancements in a cost-conscious way,” said Jeffrey White, Jette’s principal deputy.
The JLTV family of vehicles is designed to restore payload and performance that were traded from light tactical vehicles to add protection in recent conflict, giving commanders an improved protected mobility solution and the first vehicle purpose-built for modern battlefield networks.
“Getting an improved capability into the hands of Soldiers and Marines has been our team’s driving focus throughout this program,” said Michael Sprang, Project Manager, Joint Program Office, Joint Light Tactical Vehicles. “They are why we do what we do, and I’m so proud of the hard-working team that brought us to this point.”
“We are also grateful for Soldier feedback on new features and enhancements,” he continued. “The Soldiers of the 1st ABCT, 3rd Infantry Division provided valuable input on enhancements such as increased situational awareness, reduction of system noise, a troop seat kit, and a companion JLTV trailer. Their assessments helped bring us all to a successful Full-Rate Production decision.”
The JLTV program remains on schedule and on budget to replace a significant portion of the Army’s High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle fleet. The JLTV comes in two variants and four mission package configurations: General Purpose, Close Combat Weapons Carrier, Heavy Guns Carrier, and a Utility vehicle. The U.S. Navy and Air Force also plan to field JLTVs in much smaller quantities.(Source: US Army)