GTV is pulling a fast one and it won't go unnoticed by the competitors in the JLTV comp.
The GTV Eagle...or Mowag Eagle...or Duro Mowag...or whatever you want to call it is basically an off the shelf solution to the JLTV issue.
Problem is...BAE could have teamed with Iveco and submitted the Panther. Lockheed Martin would have built and designed a less costly and probably less robust vehicle etc....
The Army led ground vehicle programs are a mess.
This will be contested. The competition will have to be redone. The Humvee will soldier on and the MRAP will continue.
Looks like the Marine Corps might end up rebuilding the Humvee after all. Read more about this vehicle and the other contenders here.
If it meets the requirements who cares if it has "off the shelf" components?
ReplyDeletethe point though is that when this all started out it was suppose to have MRAP type protection, HUMVEE type mobility with just a minor weight increase over the HUMVEE.
ReplyDeletethey changed all that in the middle because it weighed too much and the Marine Corps was gonna pull out.
with the change in requirements it allowed off the shelf vehicles to become competitive which leads me to believe that upgraded HUMVEEs might be in play again.
long story short, i contend that the competition is fucked up and will be challenged no matter what the outcome is.
The Army just announced that HUMVEEs will be taken out of all combat roles. I doubt any HUMVEES will get back in the race. Just MHO though.
ReplyDeletethe Army is making statements without properly doing background work. they haven't developed an MRAP sustainment plan...they changed the RFP for the JLTV that opened it up to everyone under the sun with little improvement over the legacy humvee, they have a Ground Combat Vehicle program that looks set to merge with their M-113 program replacement and they still have yet to classify/clarify what new tech they're looking for in their vehicles.
ReplyDeletecheck out the GCV program. BAE busted ass and developed a brand new vehicle and then the Army brought in off the shelf solutions (of which BAE has many)..then look at the M-113 program. they have the same vehicles in that program that they have in the GCV and the requirements are supposedly entirely different.
the Army is jacked up from the bootstraps.
also notice that the Marine Corps didn't join in that statement. you're probably already seeing a bit of back peddaling behind the scenes by the Corps but they don't want it to get out.