SAIC, Ford join Boeing's JLTV bid team

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ST. LOUIS, April 18 (UPI) -- SAIC has joined Textron Systems and Boeing in their bid to win the U.S. Army's Joint Light Tactical Vehicle contract.

The Ford Motor Co. will also join the team as a subcontractor, Boeing said in a statement Monday.

The announcement was made when the Boeing-led group of companies put in their bid for the 27-month Technology Development phase of the JLTV program to create a new generation of light tactical vehicles and trailers for the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps.

Boeing said its team of companies also included MillenWorks, which focuses on off-road motor racing heritage and advanced mobility; and Carlson Technology, with expertise in pit-stop engineering and maintenance simplicity.

Boeing said its industry team would focus on proposing and building vehicles that would be fast and robust and that could be cost-effectively manufactured and maintained.

It said its proposed JLTVs would have better viewing for their crews and would utilize a hybrid electric for auxiliary purposes.

"The Textron Systems-Boeing-SAIC team is leveraging its expertise in tactical wheeled vehicle production, along with its proven experience in large-scale systems engineering and integration, to provide a best-of-industry approach," said Roger Krone, president, Boeing Network and Space Systems.

"In addition, we've incorporated the talents and legacy of the commercial automotive industry to ensure a new, yet balanced approach to the design and development of the JLTV family of vehicles for our nation's war fighters," Krone said.

"Our team's solution takes advantage of hybrid electric drive technology in the drive train, implemented with a focus on achieving JLTV required capabilities," said Jed Dunbar, SAIC's vice president for Landforce Systems Operation. "The drive train … allows for maximum protection while maintaining payload capability and achieving exceptional mobility performance and increasing acceleration."

The next-generation JLTVs are planned to take over from the U.S. armed forces' current light Tactical Wheeled Vehicles such as the Humvee. The contract is expected to be awarded this summer and to be worth $30 billion over the next decade.