Army Technology

Daily Newsletter

07 August 2023

Daily Newsletter

US Army orders $201m FMTV vehicles in series of Oshkosh contracts

Oshkosh rebound from loss of JLTV A2 work with a growing portfolio of contracts for military vehicle production, most recently an order for FMTV A2s.

John Hill August 04 2023

Oshkosh have announced that it will deliver an order from the US Army for its Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles A2 (FMTV A2) in a contract worth $201m on 3 August.

Since its government contract rival AM General overtook the follow-on production contract for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) A2 in February this year, and after the company’s protest was denied in a US Government Accountability Office review in June, Oshkosh has shown a mounting willingness to rebound from this $8.66bn loss.

Oshkosh will deliver FMTV A2 trucks and trailers designed to transport troops and supplies, vehicles and weapon systems, and haul equipment where the mission requires.

Oshkosh’s work since the loss of the JLTV A2 follow-on production

This latest $201m deal is just one of a growing list of contracts in which the Wisconsin-based land systems manufacturer is currently engaged.

As it stands, Oshkosh is providing the Army with an ongoing delivery of JLTV A1s from an $84.9m contract made in February.

In March, the company manufactured 95 M1278A1 heavy gun carrier JLTVs for a foreign military sales delivery to Romania valued at $43.73m.

The vehicles supplier is pursuing a bid for the US Army’s next-generation Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) programme since May, which could result in a contract worth approximately $607m for 211 RCVs.

Similarly, around the same time, the defence contractor supplied the US Department of Defense (DoD) with the third batch of 50 JLTVs that the department agreed to send to Lithuania under an agreement signed in 2019 for a total of 200 units.

Continued relationship with the US Army

“The versatility and mobility of the FMTV A2 is a direct result of Oshkosh’s partnership with the US Army to provide the advanced technologies and expertise necessary to meet the ever-changing demands of the battlefield,” said Pat Williams, Chief Programmes Officer for Oshkosh Defense. “As the exclusive provider of medium tactical vehicles, Oshkosh is committed to delivering the best performing vehicles in the world to the Army and our allied partners.”

Oshkosh has received orders for almost 2,000 FMTV A2s and 982 FMTV trailers for a total order value of $858m.

GlobalData intelligence reveals that the US currently has 359 JLTV general purpose vehicles, 614 JLTV heavy gun carriers and 714 JLTV utility vehicles – all delivered by Oshkosh in 2021-22. While the contractor may have missed out on this follow-on production deal, it is still making considerable effort to offset this loss.

Combat UGV is expected to remain the dominant market segment followed by the logistics UGV segment

As the global appetite for unmanned systems continues to grow, the market for unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) has expanded significantly since 2015. While insufficient technological maturity had previously stymied the wider development and procurement of UGVs, continued investment within the defense industry has produced notable advancements in autonomous navigation, modularity, and endurance over the last several years. Modern UGVs are now suitable for a wider variety of defense and security applications beyond the traditionally limited scope of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), with nations including China, France, India, Russia, the UK, and the US developing logistics, ISR, and combat-capable UGV platforms. Despite the significant untapped potential of compact and miniaturized UGV platforms, defense procurement officials worldwide are increasingly expressing interest in the development of larger, heavier UGV platforms designed to support and eventually replace certain ground forces and platforms on future battlefields. Per GlobalData analysis, over the next decade, the combat UGV segment is expected to remain the dominant market segment, primarily driven by procurement programs in countries such as the US, the UAE, Russia, Turkey, Italy, and Ukraine.