Oshkosh wins $30 billion JLTV award, Arkansas plant misses the cut - The City Wire
After courting three of the nation’s largest defense contractors for the past three years, the Pentagon on Tuesday (Aug. 25) announced Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Defense as the winner of $30 billion award to build nearly 55,000 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV) for the U. S. Army and Marine Corps over the next 25 years. The Army selected Oshkosh from two other competing firms – Lockheed Martin and AM General – participating in the program’s engineering and manufacturing development phase, which began in 2012 and concluded earlier this year. Each vendor delivered 22 prototype vehicles as part of JLTV development, which were utilized as part of an intensive, 14-month competitive test. Over the past several months, workers at the defense giant’s operations in south Arkansas spent several months getting the plant production-ready. In early August, Lockheed officials announced the Camden factory had begun work on eight company-funded prototypes, or Production Representative Vehicles (PRVs) ahead of Tuesday’s announcement by the Department of Defense. Lockheed said PRVs are now rolling off the assembly line in south Arkansas in preparation to reduce technical risk, optimize the advanced production processes at the Camden assembly plant, and to exercise and prepare the supply chain. Source: www.thecitywire.com
