With the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, you can almost be sure of a safe return home, even from the deadliest of war fronts.

The 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, once said, “Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind." A solid 42 years after Kennedy’s assassination, the formidable vehicle of war we know as Joint Light Tactical Vehicle was born. Indeed, war comes and war goes, and no matter the level of destruction, there'll always be soldiers (and their toys).

Unfortunately, conflict is an inevitable aspect of human existence. In organizations, nations, and even families, discord and clash of interests are almost always unavoidable. Peace is much better, but war may be the only road to survival. This is why shying away from a fight is considered cowardice in many quarters.

The U.S. Marine’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle is always ready for war. Just like the Roman General, Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus wrote, "If you want peace, prepare for war." Like the horse that the Bible says is "anxious and excited… eats up the ground, and smells the battle far away," the JLTV is built to confidently maneuver terrains of war while keeping the warriors safe within its belly.

The JLTV is not just one vehicle. It is a family of military vehicles controlled by the U.S. Army and the U.S. Special Operations Command. The tools of battle are indifferent to the beauty of peace or the ugliness of war. Whether you believe war is peace or peace is war, the JLTV is a vehicle worthy of appreciation. It can take you wherever you wish to go, be it to war or peace.

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The Future Tactical Truck Systems (FTTS) program preceded the Joint Light Tactical Vehicles program. The JLTV program, a collaborative effort of the US Army, Marine Corps, and the United States Special Operations Command, is the fruit of insights gained from the FTTS’s 4-year R&D program. For instance, JLTV’s V-shaped hull protects against blasts from below.

During FTTS’s four years of research and development, it was dedicated to preparing the US military for the future of war by improving transport vehicle performance through the Combat Service Support tactical vehicle program. In other words, the JLTV is an innovative military transport program.

The family of Joint Light Tactical Vehicles will replace the Humvee. Surely, retirement is in order for a “loyal soldier” that has served faithfully in combat since 1989. The Humvee is no less a battle-hardened high-mobility multipurpose tactical vehicle. But the new JLTV, approved for takeoff in 2006, is specifically built to provide enhanced survivability and payload.

Since JLTV is an improvement on the Humvee, you can expect upgraded features bordering on power-to-weight ratio, fuel efficiency, payload capability, vehicular sensor's technology, and durability. The main highlight of the JLTV, however, is enhanced survivability.

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The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle is American-born and bred. The US Army says JLTV is a family of vehicles (FoV) army-led program produced by Oshkosh Defense with headquarters in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Oshkosh Defense is a subsidiary of Oshkosh Corporation that specializes in the design and manufacture of “specialty trucks, military vehicles, truck bodies, airport fire apparatus, and access equipment.”

The Oshkosh industrial company incorporates cutting-edge technology to create “best-in-class military vehicles and mobility systems,” for the advancement of “troop safety and mission success.” Initial production of the JLTV is a $6.7 billion contract awarded to Oshkosh Defense in 2015 as a low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract for 16,901 JLTVs.

The new vehicles were first deployed by the US Army in April 2019, while the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) remains loyal in the face of impending retirement. It’s like John the Baptist said, “I must decrease that He may increase.”

The Humvee is proof, yet again, that a new wife does not necessarily mean the old wife was bad. Coming straight from the horse’s mouth, the Humvee is “maintainable, reliable and survivable. They meet all of these requirements while incorporating new standards of reliability for combat vehicles.”

It's obvious, though, that the old wife is not good enough. If she was, there’d be no need for a new wife. Don’t get riled up, honey. We’re still talking about the AM General Humvee versus the new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.

It’s almost disrespectful to relegate the Humvee as a less-than, especially considering the ol" sheepdog will remain in the service until 2050. Still, the new JLTV is a technological leap forward for tactical vehicles. There's no shame in being outdone by your kids. In that sense, the Humvee is a proud papa to a substantially safer personnel carrier.

Although the Army is not keen on providing technical details of the JLTV, we know that the new mother hen is far better than the Humvee at protecting against multiple threats, including bombs, mines, and RPGs. That's just one count, though. The JLTV also has improved mileage, off-road mobility, payload, and MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) capability. In essence, a soldier is safer in the JLTV.

AM General’s Humvee is currently powered by a 6.5L (400 cu in) V8 turbo diesel and non-turbo diesel engine producing 190 horsepower at 3,400 rpm and 380-pound feet of torque at 1,700 rpm. The engine is paired with a 3-speed or 4-speed automatic transmission and independent 4X4 suspension for optimum handling and ground clearance. Those are great powertrain specs until you consider the Humvee’s around 6,000-pound curb weight or an armored Humvee that weighs more than double.

The JLTV, on the other hand, offers an improved power-to-weight ratio. It is propeled by GM’s new L5P Duramax 6.6L turbodiesel V8 engine scaled down to 400 horsepower for improved reliability by striking a balance between performance and durability. We'll like to tell you more about what the JLTV can do better, but not while shoving it in the face of the long-serving HMMWV. The Humvee deserves better.

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The engine beneath the hood of the new JLTV is the same as in the 2017 Chevrolet Silverado HD. However, the JTLV fields a Gale Banks Engineering-detuned version of the Duramex V8 engine, offering reduced horsepower. The engine is tied to an Allison 2500SP 6-speed fully automatic transmission common in GM heavy-duty trucks.

The powertrain also features Oshkosh’s advanced TAK-4i (i=intelligent) independent suspension system. Earlier versions of the TAK-4i are a familiar sight in thousands of military vehicles, but neither the US Army nor Oshkosh is willing to provide details of the version in the new JLTV.

However, we do know that the JLTV features the Suspension Aided Egress System (SAES), a necessary feature considering the vehicle’s heavy-duty constitution. This means a JLTV operator can maintain cabin level by raising one side of the suspension height when parked on an incline. This can be done side to side or front to rear. JLTV can handle well across multiple terrains, including urban areas. The SAES technology is also handy for transporting the JLTV; by sea, rail, or air.

Also, the design of the JLTV follows the U.S. Army's Long Term Armor Strategy (LTAS). In other words, the vehicle is built armored ready which means limited armoring (base-level armoring) on the production line and on-field specific armoring– even B-Kit MRAP-level armoring–when required.

This system makes the JLTV’s armor upgrade easier and cheaper. A five-man crew can install an 800lb RPG protection kit on the JLTV within 30 minutes. Scalable armor capability allows the vehicle to adapt to mission variables and situational developments while keeping the troop safe. The vehicle also comes with an armored crew capsule to ensure passenger safety in dire circumstances.

As for connectivity and networking, JLTV is the first battlefield networks purpose-built military vehicle capable of inter-agency network connectivity and integrated command and control. There are currently just two variants of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, including 4-seat Combat Tactical Vehicles (CTV) and 2-seat Combat Support Vehicles (CSV).

Philip Uwaoma, this bearded black male from Nigeria, has single-handedly written more than a million words in the form of articles published on various websites, including toylist.com, rehabaid.com, and autoquarterly.com. Of all the websites and platforms Philip’s work appears on, the absence of his name attached to the articles published on Auto Quarterly is the only one that makes him moan; “ghostwriting sucks.” Albeit, Philip still won’t shy away from writing as a ghost. After all, it's the value he adds to human life with his pen that fuels his passion for writing. He has no dog, no wife- yet- and he loves Rolls Royce more than he really should.