Evraz North America Inc.’s armour plates produced for Oshkosh’s exported JLTVs were reported to have bypassed important ballistic tests before delivery.
Anonymous sources told Bloomberg that the firm had been falsifying its reports for the armour plates’ ballistic tests to ensure they could withstand enemy fire for two years. The armour plates were used on the JLTV vehicles exported to European countries.
Another interesting detail in the scandal is the company’s management. Roman Abramovich, of Russian nationality, owns the plant. This and the timeframe raise questions of deliberate sabotage to reduce the combat effectiveness of European-operated JLTV vehicles.
Considering the present tensions between the U.S. and European countries, this might strain the defence industry relatiıons further and lead to JLTV users switching to alternative manufacturers of 4x4 tactical wheeled vehicles.
A similar scandal occurred in Germany. FFG, chosen for a 4x4 tactical wheeled vehicle aid to Ukraine, supplied vehicles with sub-par ballistic protection of STANAG Level 2 (Protection against 7.62x39 mm API ammunition). The reports regarding the low protection came from Ukrainian personnel and Germany-based Bild.
