JOINT LIGHT TACTICAL VEHICLE FAMILY OF VEHICL

The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle Family of Vehicles (JLTV FoV) is a major Army procurement program detailed in Line Item 5731D15610 of the Department of Defense budget. The program is a joint initiative, led by the U.S. Army in partnership with the U.S. Marine Corps, aimed at delivering a new family of tactical vehicles that provide improved protection, mobility, and payload capacity for personnel and equipment across a variety of mission profiles. The JLTV FoV is designed to replace a portion of the existing High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) fleet, offering enhanced survivability and performance in response to evolving operational requirements.

The primary objective of the JLTV Truck program is to procure multiple variants of light tactical vehicles, including General Purpose, Heavy Guns Carrier, Close Combat Weapons Carrier, and Utility configurations. These vehicles are intended to offer increased protection against small arms, improvised explosive devices, and other battlefield threats, while maintaining high levels of mobility and transportability. The program also emphasizes minimizing total ownership costs by maximizing commonality of components, maintenance procedures, and training across the variants. Improving fuel efficiency and reliability is also a key focus.

The JLTV Trailer (JLTV-T) is a companion system to the JLTV truck, designed to safely transport additional payloads while maintaining the same mobility characteristics as the prime mover. The trailer is fielded to units with documented requirements and is integral to the overall JLTV FoV solution. The Army's approved procurement objective for the JLTV-T supports a wide range of operational and logistical needs.

Procurement under this line item supports not only the acquisition of vehicles and trailers but also encompasses fielding, technical publications, engineering change proposals, fielding support, interim contractor support, program management, system technical support, test and evaluation, and training costs. Funding is primarily dedicated to completing Full Material Release (FMR), transitioning the program to sustainment, and facilitating the transition of acquisition lead responsibilities to the U.S. Marine Corps. No new procurement of JLTV trailers is requested in FY 2026, reflecting the completion of major trailer acquisition in prior years.

The JLTV program is structured to maintain effective competition throughout its lifecycle, with contracts awarded to multiple vendors. This competitive approach is intended to drive innovation, control costs, and ensure timely delivery of vehicles. The program's fielding plans are updated semi-annually to align with operational requirements. The Army remains committed to equipping both active and reserve components, including the National Guard, with their authorized quantities of JLTVs and trailers.

This line item is also aligned with the Army Transformation Initiative, supporting modernization efforts to ensure that tactical vehicle fleets meet current and future mission demands. The JLTV FoV is essential for homeland defense, domestic emergency response, and military support to civil authorities, as mandated by Section 1815 of the FY 2008 National Defense Authorization Act. The program's focus on commonality, survivability, and lifecycle affordability reflects broader Department of Defense goals for force modernization and readiness.