U.S. Government Gives Green Light To Lockheed Martin Team's JLTV Production Plans
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The Lockheed Martin Team's Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program successfully completed the government's Production Readiness Review at the company's Camden, Arkansas, Ground Vehicle Assembly facility.
During the PRR event, the team assembled a JLTV on its production line to further demonstrate production readiness.
The PRR was an intense evaluation of Lockheed Martin's JLTV production planning and readiness in terms of schedule, performance, cost and other criteria.
Successfully completing the PRR is one of the government's critical steps for a contractor to demonstrate production readiness.
"Our Camden facility is ready for production," said Scott Greene, vice president of ground vehicles at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.
"To fully prove that point, we assembled a JLTV on our Camden production line during the PRR event, proving conclusively that the line and facility are ready for vehicle assembly right now."
The Lockheed Martin Team had successfully completed a government Manufacturing Readiness Assessment at the Camden site late last year.
As the only contractor in the JLTV competition to have won a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Manufacturing Excellence, Lockheed Martin will perform final assembly of JLTV at the Camden facility with support from long-time military vehicle manufacturer and partner BAE Systems.
"Lockheed Martin's Camden Operations is one of the most recognized and highly awarded military-equipment manufacturing operations in the United States, with a reputation for producing high quality systems on-schedule, and at a very competitive cost.
We wanted to leave no doubt to our Army and Marine customers that we're ready to build JLTVs in Camden," Greene said.
The Lockheed Martin Team's JLTV is systems-engineered to provide crew protection comparable to Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, while returning crucial mobility, reliability and transportability to Soldiers and Marines.
The Lockheed Martin Team's JLTV pioneered the single level of protection approach for both the Army and Marine Corps, demonstrating protection above that of the smaller MRAP vehicles fielded in-theater.
A patented Meritor Pro-Tec all-independent air-ride suspension brings unprecedented agility and off-road mobility to this class of vehicles, while the dependable Cummins turbo diesel and Allison transmission combine abundant power with exceptional fuel efficiency.
Rounding out the vehicle's portfolio of capabilities is on-board and exportable power-generation with substantial margin for future growth, and state-of-the art connectivity with other platforms.