Among the vehicles Oshkosh Defense is showcasing at AUSA 2016 are a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) and MRAP All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) with upgunned remote weapons systems mounting a 30mm gun, according to a company news release.
The upgunned JLTV General Purpose (GP) variant is equipped with the EOS R-400S-MK2 remote weapons system with an Orbital ATK M230 LF 30mm chain gun, a significant up-gunning of a typical light tactical vehicle platform. While prior platforms like the HMMWV have been equipped with remote weapons systems, and are sometimes seen with cannon, they are not not typically medium caliber weapons like the M230.
“Our JLTV and M-ATV platforms are engineered with industry leading suspension and protection systems, as well as the ability to support a spectrum of C4ISR suites, mission kits and weapon systems required for the modern battlefield,” said John Bryant, senior vice president of Oshkosh Corporation and president of Oshkosh Defense. “These vehicles represent a technological leap forward in off-road mobility, protection, lethality and communications, which is opening the door for such vehicles to play more significant role in a variety of ground operations.”
“Our JLTV and M-ATV platforms can be configured with the protection and mission equipment to support both defensive and offensive operations outside-the-wire.”
Oshkosh Defense won the JLTV competition a little over a year ago, beating out competing teams led by Lockheed Martin and AM General.
The JLTV family of vehicles was designed from the ground up to retain mobility and reliability while supporting a range of add-on armor options. Next-generation networking and lethality are to be integrated into the vehicles, and the several variants are planned to seamlessly support a range of add-on capabilities, such as upgunning over a typical 5.56mm, 7.62mm, or .50-caliber armed remote weapons system.
Oshkosh Defense’s M-ATV equipped with the Moog RIwP, armed with a 30mm chain gun, Javelin, and M240 and sporting advanced sensors and sighting. Oshkosh Defense photo
The JLTV will come in 2-door and 4-door variants in four different configurations:
- JLTV Utility
- JLTV General Purpose
- JLTV Close Combat Weapons Carrier
- JLTV Heavy Guns Carrier
Along with the JLTV, Oshkosh Defense is displaying an even more heavily-armed variant of its successful M-ATV), thousands of which have been bought by the Defense Department. The M-ATV Assault variant on display is outfitted with a Moog Reconfigurable Integrated-weapons Platform (RIwP). Along with the same Orbital ATK M230 LF 30mm lightweight automatic chain gun as on the JLTV variant, the RIwP mounts a Javelin missile, an M249 5.56mm machine gun, and a DRS Long Range AIM target acquisition sensor suite.
“Looking ahead, future battlefields will generate an unpredictable combination of terrain, tactics and threats,” said Bryant. “Our JLTV and M-ATV platforms can be configured with the protection and mission equipment to support both defensive and offensive operations outside-the-wire.”
M-ATVs are produced in five variants available in standard and extended wheelbase variants:
- M-ATV Special Forces
- M-ATV Assault
- M-ATV Engineer
- M-ATV Command
- M-ATV Utility