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21 Jul 19. The Sunday Times reports that British Army’s tank upgrade plans ‘unachievable’, says official report. A £1.6bn contract to overhaul half of the army’s fleet of Warrior vehicles is years late and hundreds of millions of pounds over budget. The army’s plan to overhaul its Warrior tracked vehicles and Challenger tanks is “unachievable”, a damning official report has revealed.
Defence chiefs are wrestling with a plan to repair and modernise its two main armoured fighting vehicles, which date back to the 1980s.
A £1.6bn contract for American defence giant Lockheed Martin to overhaul about half of its 769-strong fleet of Warriors is years late and hundreds of millions of pounds over budget. The Sunday Times recently revealed the upgrade of the old hulls was so problematic that officials were considering buying new ones.
A report by the Infrastructure Projects Authority, which oversees big government schemes, put the Armoured Infantry 2026 programme on a red warning for a second successive year.
The authority uses a traffic light scheme to assess the viability of projects. Red means that “successful delivery appears to be unachievable”. The report says: “There are major issues, which at this stage do not appear to be manageable or resolvable. The project may need re-scoping and/or its overall viability reassessed.”
Defence minister Stuart Andrew recently said that a decision on upgrading the army’s main battle tank, the Challenger 2, will not be made until 2021.
The upgraded Warriors were due to enter service next March, but last year Ministry of Defence (MoD) permanent secretary Stephen Lovegrove said the project was 3½ years late. The upgrade has been dogged by problems.
The MoD said: “This report reflects the complexity and scale of delivering the most advanced and complex government procurement programmes, with the Warrior programme upgrading a capability that is crucial to how the British Army fights.
“Although progress of the programme has not been as straightforward as we would have wanted, we are working with manufacturer Lockheed Martin to ensure the army’s requirements are met.” (Source: The Sunday Times)
BATTLESPACE Comment: Sources close to BATTLESPACE suggest that Changer 2 LEP is facing support issues given the uniqueness of the vehicle if sent to theatre. This was show in Afghanistan where the British Army had t borrow a Danish Leopard 2 for some missions. The new C2 LEP PQQ is believed to include as many as 70 new items to upgrade on the vehicle including installing a smooth bore canon and a new engine and gearbox, many more than the original PQQ, hence the delay to 2021. Given that the new Rheinmetall BAE Systems JV RBSL is now active, will the MoD revisit the proposal put by KMW/Rheinmattal to lease a fleet of Leopard 2 tanks, prior to the UK joining the new European tank venture? AS our readers know, the Warrior Achilles Heel remains the CT40 canon. There seems to be no problem with the Lockheed turret itself or the automotive upgrade on WCSP. However, with a recoil of 20,000 lbs the CT40 canon with the increased calibre demanded by DE&S, is rumoured to be putting strain on the ageing aluminum hull, the turret ring in particular, hence the reported BAE offer of its new hull Vs. a refurbished hull from Babcock. However, given the recoil, there is no proof that a new hull will make any difference to the extreme pressures on the turret ring. All of this has to be confirmed by DE&S so we add that it is pure speculation at the moment. But, if this is the case, there would be a long legal battle looming to prove whether the upgrade proposed by Lockheed Martin caused any cracking in the hull or the recoil of the GFE CT40 canon. BATTLESPACE cannot see WCSP being canned but there are rumours that Northrop Grumman is offering its 50mm canon as proposed for the US Mobile Gun System (MGS). With only France and the UK being confirmed customers for CT40 with a possible order from Qatar, in spite of extensive marketing efforts the system has yet to gain the mass required to make it affordable. As we said many years ago, the 40mm concept has failed to attract buy in from customers with the US in particular looking at 50mm given the increasing armour packages being experienced on the battlefield. The Sunday Time made no mention of Ajax which is also believed to be running late, with one source giving a timescale of five years (2024) before any of the above vehicles are fielded. GDUK was believed to have looked at the Bushmaster Mk 44 30/40 solution for Ajax but was deterred from offering this against CT40 by the MoD. Will the MoD quietly look at a Northrop Grumman 50mm solution for the Lockheed turrets as a common canon solution in line with its US ally to keep WCSP on track and thus save the Programme?
17 Jul 19. US Army To Hold Open Competition For OMFV Production Phase, Award Scheduled For FY ’23. The US Army will award a production contract for its Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle program in the third quarter of fiscal year 2023, with the competition to remain open for vendors that do not participate in the upcoming prototype phase headed for a downselect decision next March. Officials from the Army’s Next-Generation Combat Vehicle Cross Functional Team (CFT) told reporters on Tuesday the team is encouraging industry to continue making investments in advanced technologies, including emerging autonomy tools, for the program to replace its Bradleys with the OMFV as it looks to field the vehicles in the beginning of FY ’26.
“One of the concerns from industry that the CFT kind of drilled in on really fast was this perception that it’s winner-take-all for 40 years and there’s never any competition after that. So we will do [a competition] all over again, and even a company that doesn’t play today could come in with their own dark horse submission and win,” said Col. John Bryan, project manager for NGCV.
The Army released a Request for Proposals at the end of March for the OMFV prototype phase, with plans to accept bid samples this October. A downselect decision is scheduled for March 2020 when prototype deals to deliver 14 vehicles will be awarded to up to two vendors. Bryan and Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, director of the NGCV CFT, both said there will be a full, open competition for the production phase to encourage companies to continue working on technology solutions for their platforms that may not be ready for October and the prototype period.
“It could be a company that wasn’t select on this [prototype] phase or it could be a company that never even proposed on this phase,” Bryan said. “A company could conceivably watch the program, develop with their own dollars what they believe is a better proposal and then we’ll do it over again.”
Coffman noted an increase in discussion with industry before releasing the RFP to understand the capacity for realistically delivering advanced technologies for OMFV, a change he said was to avoid previous modernization missteps the Army made with rigid requirements.
“We knew that we were going to have to roll in new technologies, more computing power, more power for the vehicle, as well as more electronic generation. So we wrote in SWAP growth to enable that. Industry has come back and let us know what they thought was achievable, and we’ve kind of mirrored that within our requirements,” Coffman told reporters.
The CFT is specifically looking at advancements in the autonomy space, and monitoring industry’s progress beyond teleoperation and obstacle avoidance technology, according to Coffman.
“What we’re really trying to do, and what we think is achievable within the next three to five years, is lower the amount of touch points and intervention by a human to five per mission,” Coffman said. “We’re not talking about killer robots that you just let out to conduct a mission and then come back. What we’re talking about is being able to understand terrain and its impacts, how the enemy would use that, moving to a position of relative advantage to enableother robots or humans to accomplish the mission. That’s something we’re striving for, but we’re years, if not a decade, away from that. (Source: Defense Daily)
17 Jul 19. TRB takes Despot 4×4 APC to export market. The Despot (4×4) mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicle – now in service with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Republika Srpska in the armoured personnel carrier (APC) configuration – is being offered on the export market by its manufacturer, Tehnicki Remont Bratunac (TRB).
The vehicle was developed by TRB in co-operation with Republika Srpska, with the first production Despot delivered late in 2018 and shown for the first time during the National Day of Republika Srpska in January 2019, when it was deployed by the Ministry of the Interior’s anti-terrorist unit.
The Despot APC has a monocoque all-welded steel armour hull that is protected to the NATO STANAG 4569 Level 2 standard, but with higher levels of protection available if required by the customer, according to Gregor Waldhauser, senior consultant at TRB.
The front-mounted powerpack consists of a Mercedes-Benz OM 926 LA 7.2 litre diesel developing 322hp, coupled to an Allison 3000 SP automatic transmission with six forward and one reverse gears, two speed transfer box, and differential locks, Waldhauser said. This gives a top road speed of more than 120 km/h and, with a typical gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 14 tonnes, gives a power-to-weight ratio of 23hp/tonne.
Steering is powered on the front two wheels and the tyres are 395×85 R20 fitted with run-flat inserts. The vehicle has an independent suspension and a central tyre inflation system, said Waldhauser.
The crew compartment has 12 cubic m of internal volume and has positions for the driver, commander, gunner, and six dismounts. The vehicle is in left-hand drive configuration and both driver and commander are provided with a forward opening door. Dismounts are seated three on each side facing outwards on blast attenuating seats, and can enter and exit the vehicle via the power-operated ramp in the rear, according to Waldhauser. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
17 Jul 19. Australian SME expands export capability. South Australia-based engineering and precision machining company Verseng Group continues to build its export capacity in the international defence market, as it gears up to supply a new generation of military aircraft loaders.
The Elizabeth-based company, one of the few ground-support equipment manufacturers in Australia, is in the final stages of the design and manufacture of four TALU aircraft loaders, to be exported to the Qatar Air Force in the coming weeks.
The new equipment is designed to load and unload military aircraft and payloads, and can carry up to five military pallets.
Verseng Group business manager Melissa Parr said the project, which has created new jobs and supported a number of South Australian supply chain businesses, strengthens the company’s reputation as a leader in the ground-support equipment market.
“The ground support equipment market is something we have the capability for and delivering this contract proves that capability,” Parr said.
Verseng Group re-launched in July last year, after undergoing a restructure to incorporate Adelaide City Engineering and Broens SA, which extended the capability of the business to provide services to a broad range of industries such as defence, marine, mining and rail.
Parr said the company is a supplier to the Collins Class submarine sustainment program and is eyeing opportunities on LAND 400 and upcoming naval shipbuilding projects.
“We also manufacture and export scissor assemblies to a US-based ground support equipment company and are in discussions regarding ongoing supply agreements. While we have many arms to the business, Defence is an important market for Verseng Group and contributes up to 15 per cent of our annual turnover,” Parr added.
“In the last 12 months, we’ve really established ourselves as a serious player in the Defence sector. We’ve maintained our traditional markets, but we’ve also had a stronger focus in Defence and ground support equipment.”
Verseng Group is a wholly owned and operated South Australian engineering and precision manufacturing organisation. It specialises in the manufacture of precision CNC machined components, fabrication, complex assemblies for the defence, mining, heavy industrial, marine and agricultural markets.
Parr added, “Since our restructure, we’ve made some good in-roads speaking to various primes about potential opportunities on defence programs.”
Accredited to ISO9001:2015, Verseng operates from a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, comprehensively equipped with large capacity CNC machines, manufacturing equipment and dedicated metrology facility operated by trade qualified and experienced operators. (Source: Defence Connect)
16 Jul 19. US Army outlines robotic combat vehicle test plans. The US Army is set to carry out operational testing of robotic combat vehicles (RCVs) controlled from the back of modified Bradley Fighting Vehicles as part of work to inform where to go next with autonomous vehicles.
The testing, which will be conducted at Fort Carson, Colorado in March 2020, will provide input to Army Futures Command’s Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Ground Vehicle Systems Center and Next-Generation Combat Vehicle Cross-Functional Team.
Upgraded Bradleys, called Mission Enabler Technologies-Demonstrators (MET-Ds) have been equipped with a remote turret for the 25mm main gun, 360-degree situational awareness cameras and enhanced crew stations with touchscreens. Initial testing will include two MET-Ds and four RCVs on M113 surrogate platforms. Each MET-D will have a driver and gunner as well as four soldiers in its rear, who will conduct platoon-level manoeuvres with two surrogate vehicles that fire 7.62mm machine guns.
A light infantry unit plans to experiment with the RCV light surrogate vehicles in Eastern Europe next May, then work will continue in 2021 with company-level manoeuvres. Experiments are slated to incorporate six MET-Ds and the same four M113 surrogates, in addition to four light and four medium surrogate RCVs to be supplied by industry.
The third phase of testing will take place in 2023, with the same number of MET-Ds and M113 surrogate vehicles, but with four medium and four heavy purpose-built RCVs.
According to the army, the family of RCVs will include three variants. The light version will be transportable by rotary wing, the medium variant would be able to fit onto a C-130 aircraft, and the heavy variant would fit onto a C-17 aircraft.
Both future and legacy armoured platforms, such as the forthcoming Mobile Protected Firepower‘light tank,’ could influence the development of the RCV heavy. With no human operators inside it, the heavy RCV will be designed to provide the lethality associated with armoured combat vehicles in a much smaller form. (Source: Shephard)
16 Jul 19. Belgium chooses Thales for onboard intelligence and future data capabilities of its land forces.
- Further to the CaMo (Capacité Motorisée) government-to-government agreement signed by France and Belgium at the end of 2018, Thales began work on the initial CaMo capability on 26 June 2019 to provide vehicle electronics for Scorpion vehicles. The order covers 382 Griffon multi-role armoured vehicles (VBMR) and 60 Jaguar reconnaissance and combat vehicles (EBRC) to be supplied in partnership with Arquus and Nexter.
- As the French industry leader in intelligent onboard systems, Thales will provide the comprehensive range of data capabilities needed to engage the vehicles in future data capabilities in combat. This includes common vetronics and communication systems based on the CONTACT software defined radio (called SYNAPS in export markets).
- With Thales digital technologies on board, the vehicles will be ready for the collaborative combat of tomorrow.
The CaMo contract awarded by the French defence procurement agency (DGA) on behalf of Belgium includes 60 Jaguar reconnaissance and combat vehicles (EBRC) and 382 Griffon multi-role armoured vehicles (VBMR). As with France’s Scorpion programme, under this contract Thales is in charge of common combat vetronics, including communications, onboard computing and decision support solutions, and perimeter vision, self-protection and navigation systems. This unprecedented level of cooperation between the Belgian and French land forces is a strategic enabler for combat engagements by European armed forces.
15 Jul 19. Lithuania’s new Boxer combat vehicle packs a punch. Lithuania received its first round of a unique variant of the Boxer infantry fighting vehicle last month— equipped with Israeli-made anti-tank guided missiles and an American-made 30mm cannon — making it the most powerful version of the German-manufactured vehicle. The Rheinmetall-produced Boxer’s other customers are Australia and Germany, but neither are equipped with a gun as powerful as a 30mm.
And equipping Boxer with a 30mm gun means it shares commonality with the U.S. Army’s upgunned Stryker Infantry Combat Vehicle Dragoon fielded to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Germany. The U.S. recently added more firepower capability to some Strykers due to an urgent operational need in theater as preparation for a possible Russian threat. The service chose the ATK-manufactured Mk44 Bushmaster cannon to do the job.
And the U.S. Army has plans to upgrade at least three Stryker brigades with a 30mm gun in the near term. The Boxer will also carry the Spike non-line-of-sight anti-tank guided missile. The Australian Army’s Boxers are also equipped with the weapon system. As Lithuania has no tanks, the Boxer packs the most punch when it comes to firepower within the armed forces and helps the country meet its goal to fully mechanize its Iron Wolf Brigade.
The Iron Wolf Brigade is a mechanized brigade and one of two brigades in the Lithuanian military. It is held at the highest level of readiness. The newer Griffin Brigade — a motorized infantry brigade — was established in 2016 and is based in the western seaport of Klaipeda.
The Iron Wolf Brigade also commands the German-led NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battalion stationed at Rukla Training Center.
Lithuania, in a tenuous position sharing a border with Belarus and Russian exclave Kaliningrad, has dramatically ramped up its military capability since Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Lithuania is joined to Poland by just a short 40-mile border — the Suwalki Corridor — that separates Belarus from Kaliningrad. Should Russian forces close the gap, it would isolate Lithuania and its northern Baltic state neighbors, Latvia and Estonia, from the rest of Europe.
Part of its buildup and modernization efforts include the purchase of Boxers to replace its aging fleet of M113s. Lithuania decided to purchase the vehicles in 2016. There are a total of four M113 battalions in the armed forces.
The first two Boxers were to be delivered to the Iron Wolf Brigade by the end of June, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence told Defense News during an Atlantic Council-sponsored fact-finding mission there.
The plan is to equip two mechanized infantry battalions within the brigade with 88 new vehicles. Fielding will wrap up in October 2021.
Training on the vehicles started for different groups of specialists and instructors more than a year ago, and further training and preparations to take on the 88 vehicles will continue until the end of 2020, the MoD told Defense News.
It is foreseen the Iron Wolf exercises at the end of 2020 and other national drills will be used for testing and evaluation of the vehicles’ integration into the force, the MoD said.
The Boxers will allow the Lithuanian Armed Forces “to conduct more sophisticated operations as well as significantly increase maneuver and firepower capabilities,” according to a whitepaper issued by the MoD.
The acquisition is the largest investment in military equipment for the Lithuanian Armed Forces since the restoration of its independence in 1990.
Lithuania is considering purchasing other infantry fighting vehicles, but has not laid out requirements such as whether the vehicles would be tracked like M113s or wheeled like its Boxer fleet, according to MoD officials in charge of acquisition and requirements.
It is the country’s goal to mechanize the other two battalions in the Iron Wolf Brigade from 2024 through 2029.
The issue will be addressed after Boxers are integrated into the armed forces and the brigade can take lessons learned from that experience to come up with a procurement strategy for the next round of infantry fighting vehicles in the 2021 time frame. (Source: Defense News)
15 Jul 19. Spanish Contract for the Supply of Manufacture of 8×8 Wheeled Combat Vehicles. The Council of Ministers has approved the conclusion of a contract for the manufacture of 8×8 wheeled combat vehicles. The object of the contract is the supply of manufacturing of the first production batch of 348 Vehiculos de Combate a Ruedas (8×8 Wheeled Combat Vehicles, VCR 8×8) in 13 different configurations, including the respective components of mission systems (armament, level of protection, sensors, communications and command and control systems) as well as Logistic Support (AL) products derived from the corresponding Logistic Support Analysis (AAL). (The VCR 8×8 is a Mowag Piranha 5 armored vehicle adapted to Spanish Army requirements—Ed.)
The attack suffered in June 2007 in Lebanon, in which six soldiers died, showed the vulnerability of the vehicles then in use, which motivated defense minister José Antonio Alonso and, later, Carme Chacón to initiate the program to replace the fleet of wheeled armored vehicles. It was later decided to also replace the vehicles used in peacekeeping operations (BMR) with others that better meet conditions. Thus, the object of this contract is to renew the fleet of combat vehicles in service with the Spanish Army (BMR, VEC, Lince, RG-31, TOA M-113, VCZ) with a single, modular vehicle based on an open architecture. These vehicles will provide the capability to protect the Forces that cannot be achieved at present with the Army’s BMR vehicles, which are already obsolete and have fully completed their life cycle.
The contract that has now been authorized has its origins in the decision by the Council of Ministers of November 2, 2007, which approved the ‘Armed Forces Renewal Plan’ that called for procuring a new wheeled armored vehicle to replace the obsolete Blindados Medios sobre Ruedas (Medium Wheeled Armored Vehicle, BMR). However, the program was interrupted due to lack of funding.
The requirement to provide our Armed Forces with an operational vehicle that guaranteed both the efficiency of military operations and the safety of its crew determined the need to resume the program. The Council of Ministers of July 31, 2015, authorized the award of the contract for the development of technologies for a future 8×8 wheel combat vehicle (VCR 8X8) that led to the acquisition that has now been approved.
It is also important to note that by agreement of the Council of Ministers of December 14, 2018, the limits established in article 47 of the General Budget Law were modified to acquire expenditure commitments, in order to enable the Ministry of Defense to reschedule the annuities of the Special Programs of Modernization of the Armed Forces derived from the acquisition of 348 units of 8×8 Wheeled Combat Vehicles.
The authorized administrative contract is within the legal business excluded from the scope of application of Law 24/2011, of August 1, of public sector contracts in the fields of defense and security under article 7.1.b., according to the declaration of the Ministry of Defense’s defense and essential security interests, dated July 1, 2019, and the estimated value of the contract amounts to €2,083,275,262.81, distributed in annuities which extend from 2019 to 2030.
Currently, Santa Bárbara Sistemas is the main contractor and the Technical Integration Authority, together with the companies Indra and SAPA as first-level subcontractors, as it is the only option with sufficient industrial capacity to complete the contract.
The development of the program will strengthen the Spanish industrial base by obtaining a national product, integrated and with the design authority in Spain, technologically advanced and world-class, with many export possibilities because it is in high demand in all Armies. In addition, it will have a significant impact on the economies of Alcalá de Guadaira (Seville), Trubia, (Asturias), Aranjuez (Madrid) and Andoain (Guipúzcoa), towns in which the companies participating in the project have production plants.
In total, it is estimated that the production of the new armored vehicle will generate some 650 direct jobs, and another 1,000 indirect ones.
(defense-aerospace.com EDITOR’S NOTE: As presently envisioned, the VCR program will produce 1,000 vehicles, divided into three batches: one with 348 vehicles, to be completed by 2022; a second one with 365 additional vehicles to be ordered in 2022, and a third batch of 287 vehicles to follow at a later date. The total program cost is estimated at 3.836.2bn euros.) (Unofficial translation by Defense-Aerospace.com)(Source: defense-aerospace.com/Spanish Government Cabinet)
15 Jul 19. US Army to test robotic combat vehicles from modified Bradleys. The US Army will test robotic combat vehicles (RCVs) from the back of modified Bradley Fighting Vehicles next year.
Soldiers will test the RCVs during a month-long operational test scheduled to begin in March at Fort Carson, Colorado, US.
Testing will provide feedback to the Combat Capabilities Development Command’s (CCDC) Ground Vehicle Systems Center on autonomous vehicles.
Known as Mission Enabler Technologies-Demonstrators (MET-Ds), the upgraded Bradley vehicles consist of a remote turret for the 25mm main gun and 360° situational awareness cameras. The Bradleys also feature enhanced crew stations with touchscreens. Initially, the army will test two MET-Ds and four robotic combat vehicles on M113 surrogate platforms.
The MET-D vehicle will be able to carry a driver and gunner, as well as four soldiers.
Soldiers in the vehicle will conduct platoon-level manoeuvres with two surrogate vehicles that are equipped with 7.62mm machine guns.
CCDC-Ground Vehicle Systems Center emerging capabilities office chief David Centeno said: “We’ve never had soldiers operate MET-Ds before. We’re asking them to utilise the vehicles in a way that’s never been done before.”
The centre and next-generation combat vehicle cross-functional team will use the feedback provided by soldiers to undertake improvements for future test phases. A key objective is to figure out how to penetrate an adversary’s anti-access/aerial denial capabilities without compromising on the safety of soldiers. The army plans to eventually equip the autonomous vehicles with third-generation forward-looking infrared kits with a preferred target range of 14km and above.
The second phase of soldier testing will take place in the fiscal year 2021 when the vehicles will undergo company-level manoeuvres. This phase will include six MET-Ds, four M113 surrogates, four light and four medium surrogate robotic combat vehicles. Phase III is scheduled for mid-fiscal year 2023 and will involve four medium and four heavy purpose-built RCVs. (Source: army-technology.com)
13 Jul 19. US Army Heavy Robot. The Army on July 11 said it is readying a production contract for its Common Robotic System – Heavy ground robot program. The deal is expected to be a five-year IDIQ contract. CRS-H is the Army’s effort to find a ground robot to assist Explosive Ordnance
Disposal soldiers with detecting, accessing, exploiting and disposing IEDs, vehicle-borne IEDs and weapons of mass destruction. The robot is expected to be about 700 pounds. (Source: Defense Daily)
12 Jul 19. Nigerian Army commissions new locally produced vehicles. The Nigerian Army formally commissioned into service a range of new indigenously designed and manufactured vehicles during its annual celebration day at the Ikeja Military Cantonment in Lagos state on 6 July. Several types produced by the Nigerian Army Vehicle Manufacturing Company (NAVMC) were unveiled, including a new version of the Infantry Patrol Vehicle (IPV) featuring a larger frame, bigger wheels, and more space for personnel while still carrying a heavy machine gun in an overhead weapon station. A Tactical Patrol Vehicle was also presented, which appears to be a high-mobility platform. It features room for up to eight personnel and can be armed with a heavy machine gun in an overhead weapon station. An armoured personnel carrier designated as the Light Tactical Vehicle, which was first presented in an incomplete form during a firepower demonstration in April, was also exhibited. The vehicle appeared to be far less crude than its previous iteration, featuring a two-piece windscreen and an enclosed protected weapon station.
The latest version of the Proforce Ara mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicle, known as the Ara 2 was also unveiled during the event.
While an initial batch of five Ara 2s was delivered to the Nigerian Army in March, no images were released at the time as the Army did not want to advertise the vehicle and its capabilities, a Nigerian industry source told Jane’s.
The Ara 2 is very different from earlier designs and features a fully monocoque hull, all-round STANAG Level 3 armouring with STANAG Level 4a on the floor for increased protection against mines and improvised explosive devices.
As part of the Nigerian Army Day Celebration, a second batch of five Ara 2 MRAPs was handed over to the Nigerian Army, bringing the total number of this variant in service to 13 as three had been handed over a few weeks earlier, the same industry source added. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
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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.
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