AM General Showcases Proven Blast Resistant Vehicle

AM General will proudly exhibit its proven Blast Resistant Vehicle – Off road (BRV-O) Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) candidate, at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Defense Exhibition, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington D.C., Oct. 13-15, Booth 7415/ Upper Level/ Hall D.

Since announcing delivery of 22 BRV-Os ahead of schedule for the Engineering, Manufacturing and Development (EMD) Phase of the JLTV program 14 months ago, the vehicles have been engaged in both severe, off-road testing and extensive survivability challenges by the U.S. Government. Vehicles are now demonstrating their capabilities in U.S. Government Limited User Testing (LUT).  

"AM General has successfully completed and/or exceeded every milestone to date throughout the JLTV program's EMD phase, including the production readiness review, manufacturing readiness assessment and design understanding review," said AM General Vice President of Business Development and Program Management, Chris Vanslager. "We are very pleased with the BRV-O's performance and its demonstrated ability to fill the Capability Gap in Light Tactical Vehicles. Our BRV-Os will continue to demonstrate the groundbreaking capabilities this innovative vehicle brings to Soldiers and Marines during the Government's Limited User Test."

BRV-O reflects more than a decade of AM General investment in research, development and testing for this innovative, next-generation vehicle and is the latest offering in AM General's five decade history of designing, producing and supporting light tactical vehicles for the U.S. military.  AM General has built more light tactical vehicles for the military than any other manufacturer on its dedicated Light Tactical Vehicle (LTV) production line in Mishawaka, Ind.  The BRV-Os that are currently engaged in LUT include a four-seat variant Combat Tactical Vehicle in three different configurations and a two-seat variant Combat Support Vehicle to support different mission roles across the full spectrum of military operations.

BRV-O's crew capsule and modular armor have successfully completed all requirements for force protection in blast tests, and provide protection levels similar to much heavier and less mobile Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles.

Operationally, if armor is damaged in future combat situations, its separate components can be readily replaced while remaining in the area of operation.  This will dramatically reduce the time and cost associated with higher-level repairs.

BRV-O also uses a new lightweight, fuel efficient and high performance diesel engine developed and manufactured by AM General.  Additional features include a self-leveling suspension system, electronic braking and stability control, robust on-board power resources, and a C4ISR backbone with open-standard networked architecture and clustered super-computing power.

Vanslager emphasized that AM General could start producing BRV-Os immediately if Soldiers and Marines need them. "We have a hot production line right now building and delivering advanced Light Tactical Vehicles and components for the U.S. Government and International Customers."

The BRV-O can also benefit from AM General's existing relationships with more than 1,400 LTV-related suppliers across the nation, as well as the company's own extensive parts, technical support, training, and global logistics resources.