Sequestration Threatens Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Acquisition: With round two of sequestration looming over the Pentagon, major weapon programs could be on the chopping block. The joint light tactical vehicle program — which if fulfilled would see more than 50,000 vehicles manufactured — could be a casualty, some experts said.
The fierce competition pits Lockheed Martin, Oshkosh Defense and AM General against each other to build the Army and Marine Corps’ next light tactical vehicle. The Army has said it intends to purchase more than 49,000 vehicles and the Marine Corps is slated for 5,500 units.
Interviews with JLTV program office leadership were not made available to National Defense, but a joint program office spokesman pointed to October remarks from Army Col. John R. Cavedo Jr., program manager for the JPO, in which he describes sequestration’s potential effects.
“The impact will more than likely … be a slowdown of production, which equals a stretch out of production,” Cavedo said at the Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting-exposition in Washington, D.C. “If you buy less, the cost will move up.”
He noted that the program was able to survive earlier budget cuts through efficiency.
