On 11th September the Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) section of the Ministry of Defence issued a UK Land Mobility Programme – Prior Information Notice giving seven days advance notice of a briefing at the biennial DVD (Defence Vehicle Dynamics) event being held at the UTAC Millbrook Proving Ground.
I have attended every single DVD since the launch event held at MVEE Chertsey at the start of the millennium so, with my recuperation from illness and injury going well, it was a foregone conclusion that I would not only put in an appearance at the expo but also sit in on the LMP/LMV briefing to ensure JOINT-FORCES had the latest information. However I must confess I was just a little bit underwhelmed by the industry briefing, which did not really give much more information than was released at DSEI 2023 in London; though with a new UK government in power for just over ten weeks, resulting in yet another strategic defence review being underway, I was not really surprised that details were still a bit vague.
The UK Land Mobility Programme is broken down into three Category A Sub-Programmes: Light Mobility Vehicle or LMV, with a Gross Vehicle Mass of less that 3,500kg; Light Protected Mobility or LT PM, with a GVM under 10,000kg; and Medium Protected Mobility or MED PM, with a maximum GVM no greater than 20,000kg. The LT PM and MED PM programmes build on existing capability, and there is now no mention of a Heavy Protected Mobility (over 20,000kg) requirement, but LMV (basically the Land Rover and Pinzgauer fleet replacement) is intended to be a new capability focussed on light and mobile tactical platforms.
Several manufacturers or conversion specialists, some working in partnership to cover the full range of potential requirements, were present with display vehicles at DVD 2024 and I attempted to visit those companies at the event that I believe may be serious contenders for LMV. There were also some vehicles on display which would fit in the LT PM sub-programme, but as my time was limited (two days is insufficient to properly cover everything at DVD) and the two heavier categories are presently not as urgent as LMV, I concentrated mostly on the smaller vehicles at the event:-
- Babcock Toyota GLV: Babcock International Group displayed several of their GLV (Ground Logistic Vehicle) prototype variants based on the Toyota Land Cruiser 70-series, both static and dynamic, plus a static example of the new 5th Generation (4th Facelift) Land Cruiser 250 SUV.
- Supacat LMV: Supacat, who work closely with Babcock, displayed their new Light Mobility Vehicle potential WMIK replacement which has a HiLoad LUV 4×4 chassis, ACS upper hamper similar to Caracal, and Toyota running gear for commonality with the GLV.
- HiLoad LUP 6×6: Yorkshire-based ProSpeed HiLoad displayed a Toyota HiLux 6×6 chassis cab conversion with loadbed.
- Ford Ranger: Defence manufacturer General Dynamics UK, in cooperation with Ford Europe and Ricardo, displayed both COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) and General Support Vehicle versions of the Ranger 4×4.
- Ricardo Hex 6×6: Ricardo, in cooperation with Ford and GDUK, displayed a Hex 6×6 version.
- GM Defence Colorado and ISV: Both a GM Infantry Squad Vehicle and a Chevrolet Silverado, on which the ISV is based, were exhibited in the dynamic display area and around the off-road circuit.
- INEOS Grenadier: Hobson Industries exhibited both Station Wagon and Quartermaster plus Crew Cab Pick-up versions of the Grenadier on their stand but none of the examples displayed appeared to have been militarised; incidentally production of this French-built vehicle is reportedly currently halted until at least the end of this year due to a supplier issue.
- Mercedes-Benz G-Class: M-B displayed both 2-Door Pick-Up and 4.5-ton GVM G-wagen versions of the G-class 464 Model and partners Rheinmetall displayed a Caracal weapons carrier version of the same base vehicle (as procured for Germany’s elite DSK).
- Torsus Terrastorm: Finally, Rheinmetall also displayed a four-door pick-up or crew cab version of the Czech 4×4 conversion of the MAN TGE Volkswagen Crafter on the off-road area.
Clearly some of these vehicles would exceed the 3,500kg GVM (i.e. Category B driving licence) requirement of the LMV sub-programme, but as the current MoD fleet up for replacement includes both 6×6 variants and light armoured vehicles it made sense for potential suppliers to show what could be available and how much fleet commonality could potentially be achieved if there is some overlap between LMV and LT PM categories.
It is my intention to return in due course to Babcock’s GLV Toyota conversions, first unveiled at DSEI 2023 in London Docklands, because: we have not looked at these in any great detail; the company has now produced a 28-page brochure with some specification details; and I have so far managed to snap five of the prototypes in three different configurations.
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