14.02.2010

Oshkosh wins appeal

The U.S. Army has upheld a $3 billion contract with Oshkosh, owner of JLG, after the appeal by two losing bidders – BAE Systems and Navistar failed.

The two losing bidders cast doubts on whether Oshkosh could build the vehicles and keep up with the rest of its booming military business.

The contract, which was initially awarded in August is for the production of 12,415 trucks and 10,926 trailers in the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) range starting in 2011.
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An FMTV truck

The bids of all three competitors for the FMTV programme were re-evaluated by the U.S. Army in response to a recommendation made by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) following a review of protests by BAE which has been building the FMTV.

The Army has now determined that the contract will remain with Oshkosh and has cancelled a stop-work order it had issued following the GAO's protest procedures.

The fixed price bid from Oshkosh undercut the existing BAE contract prices by 30 percent. Providing a saving for the US government of around $400 million over the five year life of the contract.
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An FMTV truck and trailer in action

"We are very pleased the Army affirmed its original decision that Oshkosh Corporation's FMTV bid clearly represents the best overall value for the Army, the taxpayers and the Warfighter," said Oshkosh chief executive Robert Bohn,

"Oshkosh Corporation, our employees and our suppliers stand ready to serve our customer, and we are delighted that the Army has yet again concluded that Oshkosh was the right choice. Our focus has always been on the Warfighter and making sure we deliver high-quality, high-performing vehicles on time."

The FMTV is a series of vehicles consisting of up to 23 variants and 17 different models, ranging from 2.5-ton to 5-ton payloads. BAE Systems will continue to build the FMTV through October.