WASHINGTON — The US Army has ordered its first lot of Joint Light Tactical Vehicles from Oshkosh Defense, the company announced Wednesday.

The first order includes 657 vehicles along with kits and related support for "more than" $243 million, according to Oshkosh.

The JLTV program was finally able to move ahead after work stopped on the program for 98 days while Lockheed Martin protested the Army's award to Oshkosh to build the vehicles. Lockheed then filed a lawsuit in the US Court of Federal Claims because it claimed newly supplied Army information that emerged toward the end of the Government Accountability Office's protest process was enough to move the protest to court. Oshkosh did not have to stop work while the lawsuit played out in court. Lockheed dropped its lawsuit last month.

During the Association of the US Army's Global Force Symposium in March 2016, Scott Davis, the Army's program executive officer for combat support and combat service support, said the Army expects to field the first vehicle delivery in October. The service is on track to reach a full-rate production decision in 2019.

Oshkosh's vice president for Global Integrated Product Support, Mike Ivy, said the company is delivering its first trucks to the Army in September and is prepared to deliver at any rate the Army requests.

Email: jjudson@defensenews.com

Twitter: @JenJudson

Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.

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