Oshkosh
via Defense News.
The Army plans to purchase 20,000 JLTVs, while the Marines expect to buy 5,500. The current development and procurement schedule is expected to stretch out over an unknown period if the automatic spending cuts triggered by sequestration are allowed to remain permanent, according to Heidi Shyu, the Army's top acquisition executive.
"Clearly sequestration is going to stretch out the program," Shyu told ITA in a brief interview on Feb. 28. The delay will most likely result in increased development costs, which could cause the Marine Corps to balk at staying aboard (ITA, Feb. 18).
The Army's new equipment modernization strategy maintains that the service is fully committed to the JLTV and is planning for the "aggressive divestiture" of tens of thousands of light wheeled vehicles to be able to afford it (ITA, March 6).
Both the Army and Marine Corps have pointed to the JLTV as an acquisition success story because of how rapidly the services were able to tone down the vehicle's technology-development requirements for greater affordability and technological tenability (ITA, April 4, 2012). Those efforts rescued the program from termination after Senate appropriators recommended canceling the JLTV in their FY-12 spending bill.
Go to Defense News to read the whole article, but the question must be asked.
Will the JLTV survive?
The Marine Corps has already stated that if cost rise, participation in the program will have to be reconsidered. That appears almost certain now. The question at hand is what will the Army do?
Will it fight to keep the GCV, AMPV or JLTV. Quite honestly I see the Marine Corps being given the same choice. MPC, AAV Upgrade/ACV or JLTV.
I see both services dumping the JLTV.
Upgrading the HUMVEE is already planned and the JLTV was never planned to replace it on a one for one basis. Both the Army and Marines will cast aside a combat support vehicle in favor of combat vehicles without blinking an eye.
The JLTV is DRT. Dead right there. You heard it here first.
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