Just last week, GM Authority brought you exclusive coverage of GM Defense’s pursuit of the JLTV (Joint Light Tactical Vehicle) contract. Now, we’re bringing you new photos of the JLTV leaving the General Motors Milford Proving Grounds on a trailer.
For those readers who may have missed the news, GM Defense, General Motors’ military vehicle and technology division, is seeking to secure a contract to produce the JLTV for the U.S. military. What’s more, the GM Defense also hopes to develop and produce the next-generation JLTV that will replace the current model.
To this end, GM Defense purchased or rented two JLTVs, per statements made by General Motors Vice President of Global Product Programs, Tim Herrick.
“We actually took one of them and put it on durability [testing] out in [the GM Proving Grounds in] Yuma. And then we brought it back and tore it down in Warren. We actually had the Army in there when we had it in pieces, so we know it as well as or better than Oskhosh now,” Herrick said during a recent round table with media attended by GM Authority. Herrick previously served as President of GM Defense until earlier this month.
Exactly what General Motors was doing with the JLTV at the Milford Proving grounds is unknown, but benchmarking and testing are the two most obvious possibilities.
The JLTV first hit full-rate production in 2019, serving the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps as a replacement for the up-armored Humvee. The JLTV was designed by the Oshkosh Corporation 2005 and 2015, and is currently manufactured by Oshkosh Defense. The powertrain includes the 6.6L turbodiesel 866T from Gale Banks Engineering, which is based on a GM Duramax architecture. The powerplant connects to the Allison 2500SP six-speed automatic transmission.
Back in June of 2020, GM Defense secured the contract to build the new Infantry Squad Vehicle, or ISV, for the U.S. Army. Now, GM Defense hopes to expand to the JLTV as well.
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Comments
Looks pretty dangerous how they have it tied down. The truck goes up and down. Could you imagine if it leaked, fell off the trailer and killed someone.
That’s nothing compared to a tractor. Thousands of pieces of equipment get shipped like that every single day of the year.
Exactly, we haul 100K lb excavators with just 6 chains connecting tracks to the lowboy, one bad bump or accident, and the chains break the excavator will slide off the trailer like it is on ice (steel on steel is very slippery). Thank goodness I have not seen it happen in 30 years of doing it (knock on wood), doesn’t mean it will not happen tomorrow. I have seen plenty of excavators slide off the trailer while loading, it even happened to me while loading a 40K lb excavator on a tilt top trailer, scared the —- out of me, that is why my trailers have timber deck surface, the wood gets torn up and does not look pretty, but it provides more grip with steel track machines. In theory a load should be chained down enough to handle .5G in any direction, that JLTV is not going anywhere! they have the suspension sucked down enough it should not react over bumps.
That’s the only vehicles they might sell to the public for our own safety the way things are going now. 😉
Relax, Mary will soon announce the civilian JLT-EV for the unique EV market requirements in Blue cities.
With a democrat in the white house GM and the union will get what they want and will take it from anyone they can.