The British Army will buy the new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) currently in production for U.S. Army by its maker, Oshkosh Corporation, an industrial firm based in Wisconsin that designs and builds military vehicles and specialty trucks.

In June, 2016, the British Ministry of Defense (MoD) confirmed it had held discussions about purchasing the vehicle.

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"We are working through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process. A letter of request has been sent to our American colleagues, and we expect a response in the next few months," said Maj. Gen. Robert Talbot Rice, director of land equipment at the Defense Equipment and Support arm of the MoD.

Gen. Talbot Rice said the British Army opted for the single-source purchase due to its ability to meet UK requirements and its value for money.

"The price point the Pentagon had achieved for a (U.S.) production run of up to 55,000 was not going to be matched by other contenders. On the basis of the assessment on price and value for money, we made the case to go the FMS route," he said.

The sale to the British Army will be the first export success for the JLTV, which will replace the Humvee in both the U.S .Army and the U.S. Marine Corps starting 2019.

The acquisition of JLTVs is part of an Army program to replace most of its Humvees, otherwise known as the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWVS). JLTVs are more survivable; provide more crew protection and have greater off-road mobility compared to Humvees.

The U.S. Army might arm the recon version of the JLTV with a modified version of the Hughes M230LF chain gun, a 30 mm cannon used on Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. The Army intends to field the modified M230 cannon to around 800 vehicles by 2019.

It's ordered an initial run of some 17,000 JLTVs from Oshkosh and should receive the first of these new vehicles by 2018.

A 30 mm cannon will significantly increase the firepower of recon JLTVs that would otherwise be armed with the M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun, which has been in service for close to a century.

TagsBritish Army, Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, JLTV, U.S. Army, Oshkosh Corporation, Maj. Gen. Robert Talbot Rice, Hughes M230LF chain gun, M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun