Romania quadruples request for JLTV Heavy Gun Carriers
The US State Department has approved an increased FMS request by Romania for 95 more Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) in M1278A1 Heavy Gun Carrier (HGC) configuration.
The overall value of the acquisition is $104 million.
Romania originally sought 34 JLTV HGCs under a $43.73 million FMS request and this latest notification takes the total to 129 vehicles, closely matching the total of 130 cited in Romania media reports when the intent to acquire JLTVs was first made public.
Also included are AN/VRC-104 HF and AN/VRC-114 multiband radios and Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR) terminals along with other equipment items. The contract also covers spare parts, technical assistance and other programme support elements.
According to Shephard Defence Insight, in October 2020 the Romanian Ministry of National Defence announced that it intended to buy a then unspecified number of JLTVs from the US in order to equip special forces units.
It is intended that the JLTV's will replace HMMWVs already in use.
After further discussions between Romania and the US, it was announced in June/July 2021 that a $152 million contract to equip Romania and several other NATO partners had been signed by the US Army Contracting Command.
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