Cracked armor scandal: U.S. military vehicles hit by flaw
Bloomberg, citing sources within the metallurgical holding company Evraz North America Inc., revealed issues with the armor of American military vehicles, particularly the JLTV. The armor, produced in a factory owned by a Russian national, has been found to crack under fire.
According to Bloomberg, the armor tests at Evraz factories in Portland, Oregon, were falsified for years. This information comes from anonymous sources within Evraz North America Inc., a holding company that owns several metallurgical plants in the United States.
The holding is owned by Russian Roman Abramovich. The armor plates produced in his factories were supplied to the defense firm Oshkosh Defense LLC. Bloomberg reports that 12,800 armor plates of various types were delivered to defense plants.
These plates were used, among other things, to armor vehicles from the JLTV family. These vehicles are considered workhorses of the American armed forces and are intended to partially replace the Humvees (HMMWV). Unfortunately, the vehicles' armor has started cracking despite being theoretically capable of maintaining its properties for 20 years, as the manufacturer declared.
The faulty armor plates were supplied by falsifying test results between 2017 and 2019. Although all elements were expected to be controlled, only a few from each production batch were selected for quality control.
This scandal likely explains why Oshkosh Defense LLC lost the contract in 2023 to build the next series of JLTV vehicles, a contract valued at $8.6 billion.
JLTV - complement and successor to the Humvee
The JLTV (Joint Light Tactical Vehicle) is a wheeled vehicle powered by a 6.6-liter V8 engine. It was introduced into the American armed forces in 2019, and over 20,000 units have been produced. The basic variant weighs just over 11 tons and includes a three-person crew plus the driver.
Developed with MRAP (mine-resistant) requirements in mind, the JLTV is better armored than the HMMWV. All vehicles come with standard armor (kit A), which can be enhanced with additional reinforced armor (kit B).
The universal JLTV chassis is the basis for numerous specialized vehicles, such as transport trucks, M2 heavy machine gun carriers, tank destroyers equipped with TOW anti-tank missiles, and the MADIS light anti-aircraft system developed for the Marine Corps.
JLTV vehicles are used by armed forces worldwide, not just the American army. In Europe, countries such as Belgium, Montenegro, Lithuania, and Romania have ordered them.
