Web Page sponsored by MILLBROOK
Millbrook, based in Bedfordshire, UK, makes a significant contribution to the quality and performance of military vehicles worldwide. Its specialist expertise is focussed in two distinct areas: test programmes to help armed services and their suppliers ensure that their vehicles and systems work as the specification requires; and design and build work to upgrade new or existing vehicles, evaluate vehicle capability and investigate in-service failures. Complementing these is driver and service training and a hospitality business that allows customers to use selected areas of Millbrook’s remarkable facilities for demonstrations and exhibitions.
Tel: +44 (0) 1525 408408
www.millbrook.co.uk/military
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18 Aug 09. New turret and RCWS launched at TADTE. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) has unveiled two new armament options for its fleet of 8×8 CM-32 Yunpao (Cloud Leopard) wheeled armoured personnel carriers (APCs). On display at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE) 2009 were a 20 mm turret system and a second-generation remote-controlled weapon station (RCWS). (Source: Jane’s)
14 Aug 09. A new industry team has exclusively showcased an innovative modular vehicle family offering substantial mine and ballistic protection with a lightweight, relatively small footprint to Jane’s. The new vehicle, known as Ocelot, is the result of a partnership between Force Protection Europe – supplier of the UK’s large MRAP (mine resistant ambush protected)-type vehicles – and automotive engineering specialist Ricardo. (Source: Jane’s)
25 Aug 09. Lockheed Martin UK, Panhard and Rheinmetall have teamed up to pitch the PVP HD armored vehicle in Britain’s upcoming competition for a Light Protected Patrol Vehicle (LPPV), Charles Maisonneuve, marketing and communications director of French manufacturer Panhard, said Aug. 25.
“Rheinmetall will be the prime contractor,” Maisonneuve said, while Lockheed Martin UK will bring knowledge of the British market, provide support and integrate jamming equipment against IEDs. The Petite Véhicule Protegé Heavy Duty (PVP HD), jointly developed by Panhard and Rheinmetall, is based on the Gavial vehicle supplied by the German partner to the German Army. The PVP is a Panhard four-wheel drive vehicle under order for the French Army. Rheinmetall Defense spokesman Oliver Hoffmann said, “Rheinmetall and Panhard have answered the prequalification questionnaire for the project.” He added, “We are talking to Lockheed Martin.” The new LPPV vehicles are intended to replace the Snatch version of the Land Rover, and eventually the weapons-mounted installation kit (WMIK) Land Rover model. Losses of personnel riding in the Land Rover Snatch due to roadside bombs in Afghanistan led to the requirement for the LPPV to provide protection against 50 kilograms of explosives detonated at three meters. That is reflected in the stated need for Stanag level two protection against ballistic and mine threats. “The LPPV is very demanding in protection terms,” Maisonneuve said. High maneuverability is also a requirement. (Source: Defense News)
17 Aug 09. Lockheed Martin UK and Surrey University are to investigate future military vehicles that are lighter than current models and whose armour could possibly function as a power source. The effort is part of the £6.2m government-sponsored Micro and NanoMaterials and
Technologies (MiNMaT) project that starts at Surrey University this October. Lockheed Martin and Surrey hope to engineer new materials with microstructures or nanostructures that possess multifunctional capabilities such as power storage. The group believes these new materials could be a creative way to meet growing energy demands brought on by the increasing amounts of electrical equipment installed in military vehicles. ‘The history of legacy vehicles such as Warrior and Challenge