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04 Jun 13. Terrier Combat Engineer Vehicle (CEV): On Display. The BAE Systems’ Terrier CEV was demonstrated to the media at Bovington on 4 Jun 13. The armoured digger, which can be controlled remotely, is destined to be a key part of the Royal Engineers’ capability “for decades to come”. 60 Terrier are being procured, with the last vehicle being delivered to the Army by January 2014. An initial five-year programme of contractor logistic support started on 1 Apr 13.
Comment: Production Terrier are due to be on display at DVD (Defence Vehicle Dynamics) in Bedfordshire on 19/20 Jun 13. Terrier replaces the Combat Engineer Tractor, which was removed from service in March 2008. The new vehicles should have entered service in December 2008 but the project was delayed by development difficulties. The estimated cost of 60 Terrier was given as £339m in April 2009 although the acquisition is now (5 Jun 13) described by the MoD “as part of a £360m project with BAE Systems”. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 13/23, 10 Jun 13)
13 Jun 13. Skan broadens coverage to include specialist engineering, platform integration and MRO. Defence Vehicle Dynamics, Millbrook, 19th & 20th June 2013, Concept 2: Stand C2-10. Oldbury UK and Boughton Engineering, the two defence supply chain specialists within Skan Group Holdings, use the Defence Vehicle Dynamics exhibition this week (19th & 20th June 2013) to reveal further step changes in both programme and production capability. The Group has also successfully broadened its reach into target export and emerging markets. Oldbury UK is now one of Europe’s leading specialist platform providers and integrators, with a core focus on vehicle engineering and containerised, trailerised, bespoke, special purpose and UOR solutions. Its design, development, engineering resources and fully equipped fabrication, erecting and finishing facilities also provide extensive MRO, upgrade and re-engineering capabilities. The company believes this capability will become increasingly important as in-service equipment returns from theatre. Co-located Boughton Engineering, which was acquired by Skan Group two years ago, has its own portfolio of defence products, including the current in-service AVRE trailer. It can also offer Demountable Rack Offload and Pickup Systems (DROPS) with lift capabilities from 3 – 30 tonnes. Concurrently, the Group has extended its hitherto best known mobile platform and trailer business into provision of new build, fully bespoke integrated and containerised solutions, to meet portable battlefield infrastructure requirements and urgent operational requirements (UORs) for specialist equipment.
07 Jun 13. Russia’s Ministry of Defense expressed interest in using robots in warfare. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu chaired a working meeting recently at the Leader Center for High-Risk Rescue Operations, where he demonstrated the capabilities of robot technology. The military was, by all accounts, impressed with the mine-clearing machines. Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, proposed the implementation of these machines in Chechnya. The Ministry of Defense expressed interest in snow- and swamp-traversing vehicles, as well as in the Yel-10 and Yel-4 firefighting complexes. The LUF-60 mobile firefighting support unit, which has already been used to put out a fire at an ammunition depot, is also of interest to the ministry. The Ministry of Defense is planning to purchase all of this equipment in the immediate future. Testing of the multipurpose MRK-27 BT (“Point of Combat”) robotic soldier, which was developed by the Applied Robotics Laboratory of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, has been underway since 2009. The robot was created to ensure that combat tasks are executed in situations where fataliti