Oshkosh receives $803.9M contract for JLTVs for U.S., Montenegro

Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Oshkosh Defense was awarded an $803.9 million deal to provide joint light tactical vehicles to the U.S. military and military of Montenegro, the Department of Defense said in an updated contract listing Wednesday.

Under the contract, announced Tuesday, Oshkosh will deliver 2,721 JLTVs and 16,714 associated kits for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and Army, as well as to the Balkan nation.

Under the contract, Montenegro will receive 30 JLTVs, making it the first NATO country to receive the new vehicles, according to Oshkosh.

"As the threats on today's modern battlefield continue to evolve, our warfighers need a highly capable light tactical vehicle that is uniquely suited for mission adaptability," George Mansfield, vice president and general manager of joint programs for Oshkosh, said in a press release on Wednesday.

The JLTV was developed by the U.S. Marines and the Army as a replacement for Humvee, with the Marines announcing in August that the first JLTVs were ready for use.

During a visit to the country in October Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US had offered an agreement to Montenegro to deliver $36 million worth of light tactical vehicles to Montenegro. He described it as "the largest sale of military equipment in the history between the two countries."

Montenegro, which joined NATO in 2017, is not the first member nation to to express interest in the JLTV program.

This is the second major arms sale to Montenegro this week: on Monday Israel signed a $35 million deal to supply Montenegro with remote controlled weapons stations, which will reportedly be mounted on its new JLTVs.

Several other NATO countries have expressed interest in the JLTV program, including Lithuania, which inked a $170 million deal for 500 JLTVs in August.

In October, Breaking Defense reported the UK had expressed interest in buying 2,747 JLTVs, but the country has not yet signed a deal to do so.

Work on the new contract will be performed in Oshkosh, Wisc., and should be completed by Jan. 31, 2022.