Oshkosh starts building Dutch marines’ Kaaiman vehicle

Oshkosh Defense has started building the first prototype of the Dutch Expeditionary Patrol Vehicle, a version of its Joint Light Tactical Vehicle known in the Netherlands as the Kaaiman, for the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps, the company said on Oct. 13.

The Netherlands Ministry of Defence ordered 150 of the vehicles in June 2025 at a signing ceremony in Doorn, with deliveries to the Dutch marines, known as the Korps Mariniers, scheduled for 2028. Neither Oshkosh nor the Dutch ministry has disclosed the value of the contract, how many prototypes will be built or when testing of the first one will begin.

The Kaaiman is an unarmored variant of the JLTV, the four-wheel-drive tactical vehicle Oshkosh designed to replace the Humvee in U.S. service, tailored to a Dutch requirement for a patrol vehicle that can operate along coastlines and in shallow water. When the Dutch Defence Materiel and IT Command opened the competition in 2024, it asked for a vehicle able to work in extreme coastal conditions, wade through salt water and supply enough electrical power to take on weapons or sensors later. Oshkosh says the Dutch version adds better off-road mobility and reworked suspension, corrosion protection for maritime use, optional add-on armor, upgrades for hot and cold climates, and integrated mission systems.

“The start of DXPV prototype production is an important step in delivering next-generation capability to the Netherlands,” said Jeff Heggemeier, vice president and general manager at Oshkosh Defense. “Just as importantly, it demonstrates the strength of an active production base and our ability to continuously evolve proven vehicle technologies to address the changing needs of our customers and their missions.”

The Kaaiman is being built on the same JLTV production line in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, that is also turning out JLTV-based counter-drone vehicles for a customer the company described only as having an urgent need. Oshkosh argues that working from a vehicle already in production lets it move from design to prototype much faster than a clean-sheet program.

“Because we’re building on a mature platform from an active production line, we can move from concept to prototype much faster than traditional vehicle development. That allows us to deliver capability quickly while maintaining the quality and reliability our customers expect,” said Heggemeier.

More than 20,000 JLTVs have been delivered to the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps since full-rate production began in 2019, and the vehicle has been bought by several European allies, including the United Kingdom, Belgium, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Slovenia. Oshkosh lost the U.S. follow-on JLTV production contract to AM General in 2023, but it remains the only company authorized to sell the vehicle to foreign customers through direct commercial sales, the route the Netherlands used for the Kaaiman.