Oshkosh has just started delivering Joint Light Tactical Vehicles to replace the military’s iconic and under-armored Humvee, but it’s already got its sights — literally — on the next big thing. The Army is looking for a Light Reconnaissance Vehicle to scout ahead of its infantry units, and after exploring a purpose-built vehicle, it decided… Keep reading →

After a summer of speculation and anticipation, truck maker Oshkosh is rolling out the much-awaited upgunned variant of its Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, meant to scout ahead of Army infantry. While Oshkosh didn’t confirm or deny they were going for the Army’s Light Reconnaissance Vehicle requirement with this upgrade, it’s an extremely open secret. Adding a… Keep reading →

AUSA: “There’s never been that much power on a vehicle this small,” said Jeff Wood, showing off Northrop Grumman’s new Hellhound scout car. In fact, he told reporters, standing amidst the buzzing chaos of the exhibit space at Washington’s biggest defense conference, “I can power this entire hall with this vehicle.” In a disaster scenario, he… Keep reading →

You are reading the first of three in-depth stories on the future of US land forces and their new combat vehicles.  In this first piece, Sydney details what the Army wants in its new air-droppable vehicles for the oft-outgunned light forces who are first to the fight. The next two stories will explore the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV),… Keep reading →

A very small company competing to build the Army’s lightest vehicles just got a big lift from a heavy hitter. “This levels the playing field,” Vyper Adamas president Shane Sterling told me of his firm’s new alliance with Spartan Chassis. “We as a company now have the industrial might behind us to produce our product.” That might… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: “In the next two years,” Army chief of staff Ray Odierno said today, the service could move out on four new combat vehicles and reboot its aging inventory for a new era of war. They range from a parachute-droppable light truck for Airborne soldiers to a scout car, a light tank, and a new… Keep reading →

Can the big guys go fast? In the race to build the Army’s new Ultra-Light Combat Vehicle, General Dynamics is the second biggest competitor, after Boeing, now that aerospace giant Lockheed Martin has dropped out altogether. A traditional defense contractor that builds everything from Army tanks to Navy submarines, GD faces outsiders like commercial offroad… Keep reading →