During the AUSA Global Force Symposium and Exposition, scheduled for March 25-28 in Huntsville, Alabama, the American company AM General presented an upgraded multi-purpose armored vehicle, the JLTV (Joint Light Tactical Vehicle) A2 version, at booth number 121.
Photo: AM General
According to two contracts dated February 9, 2023, between the U.S. Army Contracting Command (ACC) from the Detroit Arsenal in Michigan and AM General from South Bend, Indiana, the latter received $230,874,512 in funding to establish a second production line for JLTV vehicles in the new A2 version, which until now had been produced only in the A1 version by the original manufacturer, Oshkosh Defense. The second contract, totaling $8.66 billion, covers the production of up to 20,682 JLTV A2 vehicles along with a maximum of 9,883 JLTV-T trailers.
Another contract with AM General was concluded on May 24, 2023, with a value of $4,653,330,000 – it covered an unspecified number of JLTV A2 vehicles and JLTV-T trailers, estimated to be around 10,000 vehicles.
The new JLTV is intended to be more resistant to corrosion and characterized by reduced average fuel consumption, as well as the use of 24-volt lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries, which increase their operational range. The company is also to maintain readiness for future vehicle architecture upgrades through the Modular Base Integration Kit package. The vehicles are powered by MY 2024 L5P Duramax diesel engines, coupled with a 6-speed Allison 2500 SP transmission, and feature solutions to reduce acoustic signature. Therefore, the vehicles are referred to as second generation.
The production of JLTV vehicles passed the 20,000 mark. So far, in addition to the United States Armed Forces being the main user (with plans to purchase a total of approximately 65,000 vehicles), the following countries have decided to purchase JLTV vehicles: Montenegro, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania, Belgium, and Brazil. Recently, Mongolia and Israel have also joined them. Potential future users may include the United Kingdom, Greece, Portugal, and Poland (which expressed interest in purchasing 26 armored vehicles in the M1279A1 transport variant).
Of course, Oshkosh Defense remains the manufacturer of the JLTV, and it is to deliver vehicles still in the A1 version based on the latest contract valued at $208,890,089 from November 3, 2023.
The JLTV A2 has arrived in Huntsville! If you're attending @AUSAorg Global Force, stop by Booth #121 to talk to us about this next generation Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, built to support SGT Smith and their mission! #AUSAGlobal https://t.co/khaEuwwYjH pic.twitter.com/sfBJCGk59E
— AM General LLC (@AMGeneral_LLC) March 26, 2024