Photo: USAF/Joseph Coslett Jr.
Ever since 1984, one of the workhorses of American military operations has been the Humvee. Made by AM General, it was so appreciated by its users that it grew to take on roles far beyond its original one, including tactical operations.
Not being specifically made for this task, and also because of its age, the Humvee was in dire need of a replacement. A machine that could be used across the American military branches with the same effectiveness was needed, and this is how the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program was born
Dating back to the middle of the 2000s, the JLTV is already in operation in a number of variants, but mostly with the U.S. Army. It was only back in April, for instance, when one of the U.S. Air Force's (USAF) more specialized units got to use one, for the first time, during a real-world operation. And the airmen are simply delighted with it.
The first drive out of airmen in a JLTV took place on April 24 in Nebraska. The mission was on behalf of the Air Force Global Strike Command and called for people from the 90th Missile Security Forces Squadron to take the JLTV out for launch facility maintenance.
The Squadron is part of the 90th Missile Wing (Twentieth Air Force), and handles Minuteman III land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles. As most other units of their kind, it relied heavily of Humvees to go about its mission.
The fleet will be replaced with JLTVs soon, making the transition from a machine from two decades ago to something that's akin to the Batmobile, as one of the men who drove the armored truck for the first time said.
Initially designed by defense contractor Oshkosh, we're talking about a beast weighing over 11 tons and measuring 20 feet (6 meters) long and 8 feet (2.5 meters) high. Powered by a 6.6-liter diesel engine tied to a six-speed automatic transmission, it can move over various terrain at speeds of up to 70 mph (110 kph).
Presently, there are four main variants of the JLTV available, depending on how they are supposed to be used by armed forces: General Purpose, Heavy Guns Carrier, Utility, and Close Combat Weapons Carrier.
Operating one of these things is not as straight-forward as you may think. Before letting any airmen inside the JLTV, the USAF trains each of them for 40 hours, both for theoretical and practical aspects. While waiting for the JLTV to be released for general use the Air Force has already trained a large number of operators, and says deployment of the truck shouldn't take more than a few weeks.
At the time of writing the U.S. military has roughly 16,000 JLTVs in operation, with allied nations like Belgium, Brazil, and Romania fielding their own.
Dating back to the middle of the 2000s, the JLTV is already in operation in a number of variants, but mostly with the U.S. Army. It was only back in April, for instance, when one of the U.S. Air Force's (USAF) more specialized units got to use one, for the first time, during a real-world operation. And the airmen are simply delighted with it.
The first drive out of airmen in a JLTV took place on April 24 in Nebraska. The mission was on behalf of the Air Force Global Strike Command and called for people from the 90th Missile Security Forces Squadron to take the JLTV out for launch facility maintenance.
The Squadron is part of the 90th Missile Wing (Twentieth Air Force), and handles Minuteman III land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles. As most other units of their kind, it relied heavily of Humvees to go about its mission.
The fleet will be replaced with JLTVs soon, making the transition from a machine from two decades ago to something that's akin to the Batmobile, as one of the men who drove the armored truck for the first time said.
Initially designed by defense contractor Oshkosh, we're talking about a beast weighing over 11 tons and measuring 20 feet (6 meters) long and 8 feet (2.5 meters) high. Powered by a 6.6-liter diesel engine tied to a six-speed automatic transmission, it can move over various terrain at speeds of up to 70 mph (110 kph).
Presently, there are four main variants of the JLTV available, depending on how they are supposed to be used by armed forces: General Purpose, Heavy Guns Carrier, Utility, and Close Combat Weapons Carrier.
Operating one of these things is not as straight-forward as you may think. Before letting any airmen inside the JLTV, the USAF trains each of them for 40 hours, both for theoretical and practical aspects. While waiting for the JLTV to be released for general use the Air Force has already trained a large number of operators, and says deployment of the truck shouldn't take more than a few weeks.
At the time of writing the U.S. military has roughly 16,000 JLTVs in operation, with allied nations like Belgium, Brazil, and Romania fielding their own.
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