Web Page sponsored by MILLBROOK
Tel: +44 (0) 1525 408408
www.millbrook.co.uk/military
————————————————————————
19 Aug 14. The Australian Defence Material Organisation (DMO) has awarded a $105m contract to high mobility vehicle specialist, Supacat, to deliver 89 Special Operations Vehicles – Commando (SOV-Cdo) for the Australian Defence Forces under the JP2097 Ph 1B (REDFIN) program. The new SOV-Cdo are based on the latest MK2 version of Supacat’s HMT Extenda and designed to meet Australian Special Force’s specific requirements.
The contract follows the successful completion of the Prototype Development and Evaluation phase in which Supacat built and delivered the prototype SOV-Cdo.
Nicholas Ames, Managing Director, Supacat Group said “This is the first of the MK2 HMT Extenda’s to go into production and represents a significant increase in capability in terms of protection, transportability and firepower, while retaining the mobility and versatility for which the vehicle has become well known.”
Designed for, and used by, the world’s elite special forces, the HMT Extenda is unique in being convertible to either a 4×4 or 6×6 configuration to meet different operational requirements. Its open architecture provides for various levels of protection and great variety in the roles and missions for which it can be configured. The SOV-Cdo will be delivered in four reconfigurable roles, emphasising the flexibility of the HMT platform. Supacat has partnered with Australian companies located throughout NSW and Victoria within Supacat Team Australia to manufacture components and assemble the vehicles at a facility in Western Sydney. In January 2012 Supacat opened offices in Australia to manage Supacat’s activities in the Asia Pacific region and which will be responsible for delivering the program.
Michael Halloran, Managing Director, Australia, said “The award of this contract is another important stepping stone in the development of our presence in the Asia Pacific market and is due recognition of the performance of Supacat and our partners in the Australian market to date.”
04 Aug 14. Researchers focus on reducing weight of US vehicles. Leading experts in military combat-vehicle research, engineering and design gathered on July 29-31 to discuss a single goal: reducing the weight of the Army’s tanks and infantry fighting vehicles by 40 percent in the coming decades. Representatives from the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command as well as the Training and Doctrine Command kicked off the Combat Vehicle Lightweight Science and Technology Campaign Workshop, with presentations to about 75 attendees from across the federal government, academia and industry. Col. Chris Cross, director of the Science and Technology Division at the Army Capabilities Integration Center, explained why it is imperative for researchers to lighten combat vehicles. “The problem is the ability to deploy rapidly to turn the tide, to transition very quickly into offensive operations in a very austere environment. The world is complicated and getting more complicated every day,” Cross said. “In order to be more relevant to the nation, we have to be more rapidly deployable. “As events unfold, they are unfolding more quickly than in the past. If we don’t have the ability as an Army to get there rapidly, with a significant-enough force to turn the tide of events, we may get there too late.” RDECOM leaders stressed that achieving the Army’s aggressive goals in weight reduction will require non-traditional approaches and new ideas from throughout the science and technology community. Dr. Patrick Baker, director of the Army Research Laboratory’s Weapons and Materials Research Directorate, said that a holistic approach will be necessary. Researchers must work on materials science, mechanisms, modelling and simulation, and manufacturing technology in parallel. “How can materials foster a s