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01 Jul 15. UK-based Scout production study due. A study into setting up an assembly line for the General Dynamics Scout Specialist Vehicles (SV) in the UK will be presented to government ministers later this month, UK defence sources have told IHS Jane’s. Dubbed the economic viability review, the exercise by Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials was launched by UK defence procurement minister Philip Dunne last September in the wake of the award of a GBP3.5bn (USD5.46bn) production contract to General Dynamics for the Scout project. The Scout programme is the United Kingdom’s largest land sector programme, with the initial contract covering the purchase of 589 vehicles and ultimately leading to the fielding of nine variants to serve across the British Army. An MoD source told IHS Jane’s on 26 June that the review was still in progress but would be complete during July and then be considered as part of the UK’s Strategic Defence and Security Review, which is expected to report in October. The review is looking at the financial impact on moving production from Spain to the United Kingdom after the first 100 vehicles have been assembled, as well as the implications for the long-term in-service support of the vehicles.
“There are 300 jobs supporting the final manufacture of the Scout armoured vehicle in South Wales, with the main assembly of the vehicle currently taking place at production facilities in Spain,” an MoD spokesperson told IHS Jane’s. “A review of the economic case to transfer vehicle assembly to the UK is currently in progress with a decision expected later this year.”
A spokeswoman for General Dynamics UK, told IHS Jane’s on 1 July, “We remain in dialogue with the UK Ministry of Defence regarding the potential for Scout SV assembly to be moved to the UK. We expect a decision to be taken later this year.” (Source: IHS Jane’s)
01 Jul 15. TVS Supply Chain Solutions has won two contracts with the Defence Support Group (DSG) to support the Ministry of Defence (MOD), worth £4.2m. The two new contracts, both won after competitive tenders, will see TVS Supply Chain Solutions provide spare parts for Armoured Fighting Vehicles and DSG Workshop Spares for the next two years, continuing a 15 year involvement in the spares support to the UK MoD’s Heavy Armour Fleet. TVS will provide the MOD with an extensive range of spares for Armoured Fighting Vehicles including Warrior, CVR(T), Challenger II, CRARRV, Stormer and Titan & Trojan; together with supply to the DSG workshops to support assembly, repair, overhaul and upgrade activity. TVS will utilise its procurement and technical expertise to source quality spares at a reduced total cost of supply for the MOD. TVS continues to support MOD and DSG, currently managing a number of contracts including the provision of Land Rover vehicle spare parts, field kitchen equipment and general consumable spare parts. The supply chain specialist oversees all its armed forces contracts from its dedicated Defence facility in Bicester, managing over £10m of inventory.
Irene Ainscough, Defence Director at TVS Supply Chain Solutions, commented: “At TVS, we strive to provide the best support we can to Babcock DSG and the Ministry of Defence. The award of these two new contracts is testament to the reputation we have built for delivering reliable and responsive supply chain and procurement solutions in support of the UK’s Armed Forces and we look forward to continuing to work closely with them.”
01 Jul 15. Rheinmetall to supply Kuwait with advanced armoured
NBC reconnaissance vehicles. The Emirate of Kuwait has contracted with Rheinmetall to supply it with twelve state-of-the-art armoured NBC reconnaissance vehicles, the 2 NBC-RS “Spürfuchs”. Now binding, the order also includes comprehensive support in the form of trainin