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08 Feb 18. Analysis: UK MIV requirements morph into job creation. With a decision imminent on how the British Army will move forward on purchasing a new 8×8 vehicle, leading European manufacturers are making last-minute attempts to woo the UK government with promises of local assembly and job creation.
This industrial focus is a likely sign that there is growing pressure – from the Treasury and elsewhere – for the army’s Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV) to have a tangible return on investment for the UK economy, namely through jobs and investment in domestic industry.
On 5 February, the German ARTEC consortium, which manufactures the Boxer vehicle, announced that it had signed agreements with a trio of British firms including BAE Systems, Pearson Engineering and the UK arm of French aerospace and defence firm Thales.
The three companies will be partners with ARTEC on Boxer production should it be selected by the British Army for the MIV programme. More significantly, the German consortium announced that 60% of Boxer’s value creation and 100% of final assembly would be in the UK.
‘By signing this MoU we have formalised our intent to provide a significant part of the work from the UK if Boxer is chosen by the MoD,’ Natasha Pheiffer, Land UK business development director at BAE Systems said in a statement to Shephard.
One source on the UK Boxer initiative suggested that a significant amount of work would be carried out at BAE Systems’ major combat vehicles facility at Telford, a site that manufactured Warrior vehicles for the British Army in the 90s. Pearson Engineering also has manufacturing capacity in Newcastle, where the original Challenger 2 MBTs were built.
The source confirmed that it had yet to be decided fully how the work will be divided between the three companies, but discussions were ongoing.
‘The MoU sets out how we will work together if Boxer is selected… there is competition within the MoU as it is still to be decided who will do what,’ they said.
The UK MoD was originally involved in the development of Boxer between 1999 and 2004, during which BAE Systems produced 12 prototypes of the vehicle. According to ARTEC, acquiring the vehicle would resume the UK’s rights to export it from the UK.
The Boxer has long been a favourite for the MIV programme, with senior officers keen to purchase the vehicle as a rapid off-the-shelf acquisition to equip its new Strike brigades, with little thought on offset deals. That appears to be changing as pressure mounts from both industry for a competition, and a cash-strapped Treasury that wants to see strong returns from the MoD’s investment.
‘Despite officials saying it is a top priority, speed has dissipated very quickly,’ said Ben Barry, senior fellow for Land Warfare at the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies.
Indeed, there has been deep scepticism in the UK over the potential sole-source selection of a German-made vehicle for the UK’s MIV programme. Politicians have warned that selecting the Boxer, without a competition, over bids by UK-based companies such as General Dynamics UK – makers of the Ajax vehicle – would place British manufacturing jobs at risk.
ARTEC’s agreement with three British companies and its commitment to UK assembly and job creation seems to go some way in addressing that.
‘It might well be an indication that the consortium wants to strengthen its position for a competition… it’s fair to say the Boxer is a strong competitor,’ Barry said.
Other contenders for the MIV programme include General Dynamic with its Piranha and Patria with the AMV. Both companies have stated their intent to assemble the vehicles in the UK and either create jobs, or sustain jobs it already provides in the country. Last year, GDUK outlined its intention to assemble the Piranha V