Oshkosh grabs huge armored vehicle contract

The head of the Oshkosh Corporation says the U.S. military might not be the only customer for its new grade of light tactical vehicles.

For the next 25 years, Oshkosh needs to deliver as many as 55,000 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles to replace part of the Humvee fleet and some larger military trucks, the Washington Post reported.

The contract initially calls for 17,000 vehicles, with the Army to decide in 2018 whether to purchase the rest of its share, which would push the value of the contract up to around $30 billion.

The communicate with means business venture for companies which offer Oshkosh Corp. and the monetary positive factors would undulate across the Oshkosh location for existence, said Rob Kleman of the Oshkosh Area Chamber of Commerce. Oshkosh Mayor Steve Cummings said the contract also will help attract young talent to the east-central Wisconsin city, as the company seeks to hire engineers and other workers. The defense contractor outbid industry giants Lockheed Martin and AM General.

It is the aim of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps’ JLTV program to restore the flexibility and mobility of armored vehicles that are transported using CH-47 Chinook, CH-53 heavy-lift helicopters and by amphibious vessels, according to Defense News, which adds that the JLTV trucks should be both light enough for transport but heavy to protect deployed military from ground attacks. Oshkosh will begin delivering vehicles approximately ten months after contract award. “Soldiers and Marines can be assured that the highly capable Oshkosh JLTV will perform the mission”.

Critical demands had to be met in order for Oshkosh to win the bid.

The contract is a timely boost for Oshkosh, which eliminated about 760 jobs past year because of declining defense spending.

“They’re not little plastic widgets”, Grothman told Oshkosh Northwestern Media.

“Oshkosh was not dependent on economic incentives or taxpayer-funded bonds to build brand new capabilities to build the JLTV”, Jennifer Christiansen, vice president of Business Development Operations at Oshkosh Defense, said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Oshkosh may still have to fend off competition.