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18 Jun 15. MRV(P) moves up a gear. Sources close to BATTLESPACE said that the UK Multi-Role Vehicle (Protected)Programme has moved up a gear by reaching the Initial Gate Stage. The MoD has a Requirement for up to 1600 vehicles with an initial batch of 500 being planned with an order placed in 2018. The ambulance variant is the most urgent requirement with this order expected to be placed earlier with offers reported to being made by Oshkosh, NAVISTAR Defense, Renault and Rheinmetall for an initial batch of 15 vehicles. The MoD expects six final bidders for MRV(P)with a list which is believed to include Oshkosh, NAVISTAR Defense, Renault and Rheinmetall, Ricardo, GDUK and Mercedes.
02 Jun 15. Contract open for remanufacture of Army trucks. The Army Contracting Command intends to solicit for the remanufacture of 175 x M915A3 Trucks. A special notice has been issued to identify potential sources “both within 250 straight line miles of Red River Army Depot [RRAD] in Texarkana, TX and to determine if there are any interested Sources outside of this distance.” The contractor is required to augment RRAD maintenance capabilities and must provide all labour, parts, facilities, management, transportation, tooling, and equipment to remanufacture the M915A3 Trucks.
Reference Number: W56HZV15R0208
Procuring Authority: Department of the Army – Army Contracting Command Response Deadline: 29 June 2015
(Source: MPI – Hawk Information)
16 Jun 15. Textron readies more mobile TAPV for Canada. Textron Systems said it has solved the mobility problems that had plagued the armored vehicles it will deliver to the Canadian Army, the result being a more advanced product that will be offered to the international market. The Tactical Armored Patrol Vehicle (TAPV) to be delivered to Canada early next year is now the most advanced of Textron’s Commando series, said Michael Gelpi, vice president of land systems for Textron Systems. The company is starting to market it to other nations, he added. Defense News reported in April that Textron’s TAPV failed a series of tests last year, forcing the company to go back and make design changes to the wheeled vehicle it is offering Canada.
“We did a true bottom-up systems engineering look and evaluated every single aspect,” Gelpi said. “We’re confident we have all of the issues licked.”
The testing at the Nevada Automotive Test Center ended in late May, although additional tests are expected in coming months. Canadian Department of National Defence spokeswoman Ashley Lemire said deliveries of the first TAPVs are expected to start in early 2016. Gelpi said that should occur in March but could begin sooner. Canada awarded the TAPV contract to Textron in June 2012. The company, based in Slidell, Louisiana, is to produce 500 armored vehicles, with an option to build another 100. The vehicle deal would be worth up to CAN $600m (US $534m) for Textron. The firm has also been awarded another $105m contract for in-service support for the TAPVs for an initial five-year period. In 2014, pre-production TAPVs experienced a number of technical issues, which particularly affected vehicle mobility, according to an Aug. 22, 2014, briefing report for then-Canadian Defence Minister Rob Nicholson. That two-page briefing, obtained under the Access to Information law, pointed out those problems included issues with suspension and steering. Textron implemented design changes and modifications to address the problems but the issues continued. The problems were related to the vehicle’s ability to travel distances on medium cross-country terrain. The Canadian Army is acquiring the TAPV because it needs a well-protected vehicle capable of negotiating tough terrain and providing troops with a cross-country capability. Gelpi said the test vehicle has been operated for