Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) vs. Humvee (HMMWV)
Well folks, given that it has been a few months since the contract award for the new JLTV, we have been debating what, if any, improvements the US Army will be getting for the $6.75 Billion (yes, billion with a “B”) it plans to spend. Given that cost, we thought we would start a discussion on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) vs. Humvee (HMMWV).
It seems that the whole upgrade is really stemming from the aging fleet of Humvees (HMMWV’s) that the military seems to think aren’t as suited for combat as they used to be; case in point is the Humvee’s weakness for IED’s. Of course, our warehouse team doesn’t think that the newer “more expensive” JLTV will be any better at handling that stray RPG that the soldiers regularly face anyway. Don’t get us wrong, the JLTV is expected to be much more “mine resistant” than the HMMWV; this is definitely worth the $250K price point if our soldiers/vets return home alive and in one piece, safely. Plus, if the JLTV is 70% faster as some articles have stated, that could really be an improvement over the Humvees currently in the field.
Given that our understanding is that GM and Allison are supplying the engine and running gear, means that the new JLTV is not much different from the current HMMWV’s, however, we do not yet know which specifications/units the JLTV will utilize. When that term “off the shelf” is used for cost cutting in manufacturing, we would expect to see existing technologies and parts that pretty much are common to the HMMWV as of current. The hope here is that similar parts to the HMMWV will be used which will allow continued production for later surplus acquisitions (yes, we know we all like great quality surplus).
So, Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) vs. Humvee (HMMWV) may not be really debatable at the moment, but we are certain that what ever occurs, more HMMWV’s will make it out to the public if the aging fleet that the DoD controls is slowly phased out.
Who knows, the DoD might accidentally auction a few of these beauties out like they did with the Humvee’s in the 90’s. Until then, we can all just keep our focus on HMMWV patrol in the neighborhood.
