Lockheed's business is going on the road with vehicle programs

GRAND PRAIRIE -- The Lockheed Martin name evokes images of America's aviation and space heritage: iconic Constellation and TriStar airliners, F-16 fighter jets, and rockets and missiles for space and the military.

Now the defense giant is trying to build a growing role producing machines with wheels, not wings.

The company's Missiles and Fire Control division in Grand Prairie is aiming to be a major supplier of ground combat vehicles designed for future use by the Army and Marines, as well as foreign buyers.

The new vehicles, known in military vernacular as joint light tactical vehicles, are supposed to be faster and safer for troops, as well as more fuel-efficient and affordable, than the Humvees and other vehicles now used by the Army and Marines.

"In the past, there was a clear line of demarcation between where the bad guys were and where the good guys are. That has changed," said Scott Greene, Lockheed's vice president for ground vehicles.

Lockheed will demonstrate the capability to produce a highly capable family of combat vehicles, Greene said.

"We are extremely comfortable ... that this vehicle is going to do what we say it will," Greene said of the Lockheed-BAE Systems joint entry into a competition to make the vehicles.

In August, the Army awarded a $65 million contract to Lockheed Martin-BAE and two other teams, AM General and Oshkosh Corp., to build and deliver 22 prototype vehicles, including 20 before June 30.

The Army will put the vehicles through 14 months of testing and evaluation before making a final selection and awarding a production contract.

The vehicles are designed to replace Humvees and many of the heavy, less mobile mine-resistant, ambush-protected trucks that were produced to counter the roadside bombs and guerrilla tactics encountered in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As usual, the military's requests were daunting. The vehicles have to be fast, off-road capable, able to withstand mines and roadside bombs, and preferably be more fuel-efficient and affordable.

But the requirements are not insurmountable, Greene said. "This is a clear systems engineering dilemma."

Everyday parts

The Lockheed-BAE vehicles -- three early prototypes were built and operated more than 60,000 miles to win the contract -- were designed around key, everyday commercial automotive industry components: Cummins diesel engines, Allison transmission and Meritor suspension systems.

Cost savings were big factors in Lockheed's work, Greene said. The company has focused on reducing the longer-term, "total ownership cost" of the vehicles. They will share 90 percent of the same parts.

The Lockheed vehicles have been shown to achieve 11 miles per gallon fuel economy, compared with 3-4 miles per gallon for the Humvee. That's an important consideration given that it costs the military services roughly $400 a gallon to transport gasoline and diesel fuel into combat zones in the Middle East.

A trip in the Lockheed prototype is something to experience. The passenger is strapped in a seat with a four-point, aircraftlike safety harness, handed a bicycle helmet and taken for a ride at speeds up to 70 mph.

With an air-bag suspension system that travels 17 inches up and down, the vehicle rolls over hills and obstacles and through gullies with amazing agility. The ride doesn't damage the spine, although you don't want to try to drink hot coffee off-road.

If the Lockheed team wins the contract, the vehicles would be built by BAE in Sealy, where prototypes are now being assembled. Grand Prairie's role is largely in engineering and development, with about 100 workers involved in all the company's vehicle programs.

Washington defense analyst Loren Thompson, who is also a consultant to Lockheed, said the tactical vehicle program is one of the few that is almost assured of being funded by the Pentagon and Congress amid likely defense budget cuts.

"It looks fairly secure because the Army badly needs a more capable, survivable vehicle," Thompson said.

Lockheed's entry is probably the leading contender unless, Thompson said, the decision comes down purely to price. "If this becomes a story about just low price, Oshkosh will be hard to beat," he said.

Other vehicles
The light tactical vehicle isn't the only one Lockheed is focused on.

Working with Finland's Patria, Lockheed is working to re-engineer that company's eight-wheel armored infantry vehicle and modify it to Marine Corps requirements.

Called the Havoc for the Marines, the Finnish vehicle is in use with several nations including Polish troops fighting with U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The mobility, speed and armor of the Polish vehicle have reportedly earned it the nickname "Green Devil" among the Taliban and other insurgents.

Several have taken blasts from improvised explosive devices without being disabled or troops suffering serious injuries, said Patrick Shepherd, Lockheed manager for the Havoc.

The Havoc can travel at more than 65 mph on the road or, operated as an amphibious vehicle, swim ashore at 5 knots. It can carry a crew of three plus nine troops.

"I've personally driven this vehicle into 6-foot-high surf at full combat weight" about 60,000 pounds, Shepherd said.

Shepherd knows something about operating armored vehicles in modern combat zones. He served 17 months in Iraq in 2005-06 with the Army's 172nd Stryker Brigade, fighting insurgents with the Army's armored vehicle.

Lockheed has other vehicle designs and systems in the works, including one that would allow a single driver to operate a convoy of trucks remotely, lessening the dangers and freeing up other troops to be ready to fight.

But perhaps the most intriguing project is what Lockheed calls the "Squad Mission Support System." It's also known around Lockheed and the Army as the Ox because, Greene said, it's "a slow but powerful beast of burden."

Developed with company funds, the Ox is a six-wheel unmanned vehicle designed to carry troops, gear and supplies over rough terrain and in tight spaces.

Four were produced and sent to Afghanistan this year and got rave reviews, Greene said.

The Ox can be operated remotely with an Xboxlike controller. It can be programmed to follow a predetermined course and leaves GPS "bread crumbs" -- digital way points stored on computer -- to drive itself back over the same route.

There's also is a "follow me" mode in which the vehicle's digital controller follows a soldier, speeding up or slowing down as need be over all but totally impassable terrain.

The diesel-engine powered vehicle's rated capacity is 1,500 pounds of cargo, but Lockheed officials say they've seen videos of troops using it in Afghanistan that suggests it's even more capable.

"We counted the number of sandbags they put on it and we're absolutely convinced they put 4,000 pounds on it," Greene said.

The Ox is small enough to be transported to remote locations slung under an Army H-60 Blackhawk helicopter or carried aboard the bigger CH-47 Chinook.

Lockheed expects the Army to officially request proposals for a vehicle like the Ox in 2014.

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