The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia (Ministrstvo za Obrambo Republike Slovenije; MORS) received its new Oshkosh 4×4 JLTV (Joint Light Tactical Vehicles). The JLTV 4×4 light armored vehicles arrived at the port of Koper, which Slovenia bought from the United State. The purchase includes 38 JLTV 4×4 light armored vehicles with an integrated M153 Kongsberg remotely operated weapon station. In Slovenian service, the vehicles will be called LKOV 4×4 (lahkih kolesnih oklepnih vozil, light wheeled armored vehicles).
In October 2018, Slovenia has signed an Intergovernmental Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) with the U.S. Government for the purchase of 38 Oshkosh JLTVs. The value of the contract for the purchase of 38 JLTV vehicles was around 15.7 million euros. Eighteen of the new JLTVs will be delivered to the special operations forces with the remaining 20 units to the medium battalion battle group for the provision of national defense and fulfillment of NATO’s goals of capability for the Slovenian Armed Forces.
The Oshkosh joint light tactical vehicle (JLTV) was developed by American Company Oshkosh Defence for the US Army and Marine Corps, to replace the aging fleet of High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV/Humvee). The JLTV is a tactical wheeled vehicle which includes hull designs that are built to optimize survivability against a full range of blast and ballistic threats, including protection from underbelly blasts, and an “intelligent” suspension system that can be raised and lowered for off-road conditions.
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). It was designed to bridge the capability gap in balanced protection, performance, and payload between the lighter Humvee and the more heavily armored Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles. The JLTV family now consists of three base vehicle platforms, Utility (JLTV-UTL), Close Combat Weapons Carrier (JLTV-CCWC) and General Purpose (JLTV-GP).
