Industry Winners
General Tactical Vehicles, a joint venture between General Dynamics (GD) Land Systems and Humvee-maker AM General, offered a 10-ton JLTV prototype with two overlapping hulls, 30 inches of ground clearance and semi-active suspension.
"GD and AM General are the team to beat because they combine the company with legacy knowledge of the Humvee with the company that is already the Army's biggest contractor," Thompson said.
The GTV vehicle has a 300-horsepower engine with a high power-to-weight ratio.
"We have a 27- to 29-horsepower-to-ton ratio, which gives us the performance characteristics we did not want to lose by increasing payload and protection," said GTV's director of business development, Jim Flynn. "There is growth in the program to make it electric drive that is hybrid-capable if needed."
Northrop-Oshkosh is the one team of the three with an alternative propulsion system as its primary mode. Their prototype uses a diesel-electric propulsion system drive: a diesel engine drives a generator that creates electricity to power an electric traction motor that drives the axle, Oshkosh Vice President Steve Zink said in September. The system is built to be easily modified as technology improves, he said.
"Our diesel-electric propulsion system allows you to optimize the weight of the system," Zink said. "We have gone with lightweight components. This also enables us to create a smaller crew capsule."
The Northrop-Oshkosh JLTV also has a recently upgraded TAK-4 independent suspension, allowing the vehicle to move faster across open country and rough terrain.
"They [the Army] wanted a nontraditional contractor who could come up with something very imaginative. Northrop-Oshkosh brings imagination to the table," Thompson said.
The Lockheed Martin-BAE team delivered three prototype JLTVs to the Army led program with variable ride-height suspension, a unique hull design and lightweight armor composites.
"What the Army saw in the Lockheed team was the opportunity to get new ideas," Thompson said. "The virtue of the Lockheed team is that it combines new ideas with all of the vehicle depth and expertise of Armor Holdings, which is part of BAE."
I see it "borrows" some design concepts from earlier vehicles such as the South African TFM Casspir, namely the large separation between the ground and the chassis itself, while keeping the centre of gravity low. Should be very safe to be inside in the eventual case a mine or IED goes off under the vehicle.
Originally Posted by DesktopArmor
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