Military light vehicle market set to explode, driven by JLTV program, says Forecast International

NEWTOWN, Conn., 23 Feb. 2015. International demand for light wheeled military vehicles is set for explosive growth, fueled by the U.S. military Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program and its associated vetronics, predict analysts at market researcher Forecast International in Newtown, Conn.

The international light wheeled vehicle market will produce more than 36,000 units worth at least $30.9 billion through 2024 -- despite the ongoing worldwide economic crisis, Forecast International analysts predict.

"Assuming the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program survives the ongoing budget crisis and enters serial production as scheduled in FY18, we believe the vehicle will utterly dominate the light wheeled vehicle market, just as the HMMWV did between 2005 and 2009," says Dean Lockwood, military weapons analyst at Forecast International.

The JLTV, in fact, could account for 75 percent of worldwide light military vehicle production through 2024, Lockwood says.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) wants to buy 54,599 JLTVs -- 49,099 for the U.S. Army and 5,500 for the U.S. Marine Corps. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that the DOD will spend more than $53.3 billion on the JLTV program -- $1.1 billion for research and at least $52.3 billion for procurement.

Related: Raytheon to develop UAV-killing laser weapon small enough to fit on Joint Light Tactical Vehicle

The JLTV program is in a 33-month engineering and manufacturing development phase. The three competitors -- AM General, Lockheed Martin, and Oshkosh -- are vying for the low-rate initial production contract, which the U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) expects to award to one contractor later this year.

In Russia, production of the BTR-80A, BTR-82, BTR-82A, and GAZ-2975 will provide Arzamas Machine Building Plant JSC with about a 4 percent share of all light wheeled vehicle production worldwide, Forecast International analysts say.

"This level of production makes the Arzamas organization the most prolific producer of light wheeled vehicles in the international market," Lockwood says.

Meanwhile, the Type WZ 551 is the new standard Chinese People's Liberation Army light wheeled combat vehicle. Forecast International research indicates that the PLA may hold a revised procurement objective of more than 3,000 Type WZ 551 series vehicles.

The Type WZ 551 ranks as the second-largest light wheeled vehicle program in terms of volume, accounting for 3 percent of all light wheeled vehicle production worldwide and worth about 1 percent of the market value through 2024, analysts say.

For more information contact Forecast International online at www.forecastinternational.com.