Lockheed Martin, the US aerospace and defense company, released a video of their newest ground vehicle called the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV). The vehicle has been created in order to fulfill a bid for the United States Marine Corps to replace the ageing High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMV) or Humvee.
JLTV specifications
Operational range: 400 miles
On-road speed: 65 mph
Main armament: 7.62mm or 12.7 mm machine gun (Depending on variant)
Weight (Maximum weight): 15,500 lb
Humvee specifications
Operational range: 350-400 miles
On-road speed: 55 mph (Up-armored)
Main armament: 7.62mm or 12.7 mm machine gun (Depending on variant)
Weight (Maximum weight): 5,900 lb
Information
The JLTV armored vehicle was chosen to replace the Humvee and other vehicles such as the MRAP in certain situations where the JLTV would perform better. It is essentially the combination of the Cougar MRAP armored vehicle and the Humvee combined into one. The US military had to make certain design changes as a short-term measure to perform in situations in Iraq and Afghanistan where mine resistant and IED resistant vehicle combinations were needed. The JLTV fulfills this role on a long term basis and the US Marine Corps are to field this vehicle in tandem with Humvee vehicles, as funding could not be found to completely replace fielded Humvees.
The improvements with the JLTV when compared to a standard Humvee are in areas such as engine, transmission and suspension. The Marine Corps plans to buy 5,500 JLTVs and plans to keep 3,500 A2 Humvees, 9,500 ECV Humvees in service by 2017.
It’s a pretty nice vehicle, and almost fits the same profile as a Foxhound LPPV.