The HMMWV, AM General’s military truck that has been in service since 1984, has a replacement, after years of testing and several prototypes. Oshkosh Defense was awarded the $6.75 billion (!!) contract to produce 17,000 of the L-ATV (Light Armored Tactical Vehicles) for use by the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps and is intended to take over the light transport/personnel carrier role that the HMMWV currently fills. Oshkosh has been working with the military since the early 1980s, and while they are best known for the HEMTT series of trucks, they also took over the LMTV production from Stewart and Stevenson.

The L-ATV is big. Don’t get mixed messages, it is bigger than the outgoing HMMWV. It will tip the scales at around 15,000 or so pounds. But a lot of that weight is due to the MRAP-level armor that the vehicle has. To power the beast, a GM-sourced 6.6L Duramax V8 powertrain has been tapped, and rumors are floating that a possible diesel-electric hybrid system could be in the works.

Top speeds would likely be limited to 70-ish miles an hour, if that, but performance should be sharply improved over the HMMWV. Oshkosh’s Tak-4i independent suspension system is utilized here, allowing 20 inches of wheel travel at all four corners. Layouts will determine passenger counts, and we should expect to see two-door and four-door pickups, a close-cap “suv”-style layout, and at least one gun truck layout early on.

Подпишись на наш Telegram-канал