SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- AM General LLC released the following statement on the Pentagon’s recent Joint Light Tactical Vehicle decision attributed to a company spokesman:

For more than 50 years, AM General has been the world leader in Light Tactical Vehicle production for the U.S. Military and forces around the world. We believe that our Blast Resistant Vehicle - Offroad (BRV-O) continues that tradition and represented the best value solution for the JLTV program providing unmatched capability, world-class survivability, and outstanding performance for the Army and Marine Corps.

AM General continues to believe that the BRV-O was the right choice for JLTV. However, we believe a protest would ultimately result in a distraction from our current growth business areas, including meeting the significant current and future needs of our customers in the United States and around the globe. Specifically, with approximately 230,000 HMMWVs currently serving as integral tactical vehicles of fleets around the world, AM General has a critical role in ensuring these vehicles remain mission ready and as capable as possible, to include the most innovative survivability and communications capability available only from AM General, now and into the future.

The JLTV does not and will not replace the HMMWV. With the JLTV still subject to additional testing and several years away from fielding, the Army and Marine Corps have repeatedly emphasized the need to modernize and maintain the more than 160,000 HMMWVs in their service and ensure the vehicle can meet the requirements of future missions through at least 2050.

AM General intends to aggressively develop and execute, in partnership with the Army and Marine Corps, a comprehensive HMMWV modernization and maintenance program to service current and future light tactical vehicle fleets in the United States and around the world. The need for this program is recognized and supported by a strong, bipartisan coalition in Congress who stand ready to work with the Army and Marine Corps to accelerate this critical modernization program in order to meet the operational needs of our military — and customers around the world — right now and for decades to come.

No one has more light tactical vehicle experience than AM General and we look forward to working with all stakeholders to leverage our five decades of expertise in the design, engineering, protection, and manufacturing of this iconic vehicle on behalf our Army, Marine Corps, and international customers.

AM General
09.09.2015