AUSA 2023: Oshkosh Defense receives new order for remote JLTVs

The US Marine Corps fires the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California, on 28 June 2023. (US Marine Corps)

Oshkosh Defense was awarded a contract to provide 24 remotely operated Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) for the US Marine Corps (USMC) new anti-ship capability, the service told Janes on 11 October.

The contract – worth up to USD39.5 million – was announced on 2 October, and tasks Oshkosh with providing 24 Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary Fires (ROGUE Fires) systems for the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS), spokesperson Morgan Blackstock told Janes in an email.

The order for 24 JLTVs represents low-rate initial production for the systems, said Pat Williams, chief programme officer for Oshkosh, in an interview on the sidelines of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2023 annual conference. The order for 24 systems will go into production in early 2024, he told Janes on 10 October.

Oshkosh delivered six production representative models of ROGUE Fires in August to achieve initial operating capability for the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR), one of the new organisations the USMC is building as part of its Force Design 2030 (FD2030) modernisation plan. NMESIS comprises a Kongsberg-made Naval Strike Missile (NSM) – which has a range of around 100 n mile – integrated with the ROGUE Fires platform.

The USMC performed a live-fire test in June, but Williams declined to provide details of the test, calling it an additional “proof point” for the capability.