Belgian Army cleared to purchase 322 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles

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The Belgian Council of Ministers has cleared the purchase of 322 Oshkosh Joint Light Tactical Vehicles for the Belgian Army on Sept. 11.

The vehicles, which will be called CLV (Commando en Liaison Voertuigen, “Command and Liaison Vehicle”) in Belgian Army service is being procured from American military vehicle manufacturer, Oshkosh Defense. The contract, which includes a multi-year technical assistance agreement, is worth 135 million euros.

The first CLV vehicles are expected to be delivered in 2023. The CLVs will replace the Army’s Iveco Lynx Light Multirole Vehicles (LMVs), which were acquired from Italy’s Iveco and have been in service since 2007.

“The new CLV will significantly increase occupant protection and equip Defense with vehicles adapted to current and future threats during their deployment,”said a Belgian Defense statement.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the new vehicles will be used for command and liaison missions and will better protect personnel against mines, projectiles and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED).

The CLVs will be installed with FN DeFNder Light lightweight remote-controlled weapon stations (RCWS) from Belgian firearms manufacturer FN Herstal. The FN DeFNder Light can be integrated all FN Herstal machine guns up to 7.62mm caliber (such as FN MINIMI 5.56, FN MINIMI 7.62 and FN MAG) and is capable of extreme elevation and depression angles of operation.

Belgian Defense decided on the purchase of CLV vehicles almost a year ago with a budget of 142 million euros allocated for the program. It sought a Military Of The Shelf (MOTS) product to avoid unnecessary development costs.

Oshkosh Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV)

The Oshkosh Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) is a light utility/combat multi-role vehicle developed by Oshkosh Defense for the U.S. military under Army-led JLTV program. The vehicle was called L-ATV (Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle) before the selection for the program.

The JLTV family now consists of three base vehicle platforms – Utility (JLTV-UTL), Close Combat Weapons Carrier (JLTV-CCWC) and General Purpose (JLTV-GP)- and four configurations based on specific Mission Packages – M1278 Heavy Guns Carrier (JLTV-GP – HGC), M1279 JLTV-UTL, M1280 JLTV-GP and M1281 JLTV-CCWC.

The U.S. Army approved the JLTV for full–rate production in June 2019 and the vehicle achieved initial operational capability (IOC) with the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) next month. The U.S. Navy and Air Force also plan to field JLTVs in much smaller quantities.

The vehicle is also ordered/in process of being procured by UK, Lithuania, Slovenia and Montenegro in addition to Belgium.

Belgian Army cleared to purchase 322 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles - Belgian Defence News

The Belgian Council of Ministers has cleared the purchase of 322 Oshkosh Joint Light Tactical Vehicles for the Belgian Army on Sept. 11. The vehicles, which will be called CLV (Commando en Liaison Voertuigen, “Command and Liaison Vehicle”) in Belgian Army service is being procured from American...

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