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23 Apr 20. Upgrade of Warrior 1 to Warrior 2 (WCSP). S80 Supplies – Voluntary ex ante transparency notice – Negotiated procedure without a call for competition – Intent to Purchase.
United Kingdom-Bristol: Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment
2020/S 080-189826
Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Supplies
Legal Basis:
Directive 2009/81/EC
Section I: Contracting authority/entity
I.1)Name and addresses
Official name: Ministry of Defence, Land Equipment, Other
Postal address: MOD, Abbey Wood
Town: Bristol
NUTS code: UKH25
Postal code: BS34 8JH
Country: United Kingdom
Contact person: Jonathan Pople
E-mail:
Telephone: +44 306792184
Internet address(es):
Main address: www.des.mod.uk
I.4)Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisions
I.5)Main activity
Defence
Section II: Object
II.1)Scope of the procurement
II.1.1)Title:
Upgrade of Warrior 1 to Warrior 2 (WCSP)
II.1.2)Main CPV code
35000000
II.1.3)Type of contract
Supplies
II.1.4)Short description:
WCSP will upgrade the current Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) to meet the requirements of the British Army and extend its scheduled Out of Service Date to 2040+.
II.1.6)Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: no
II.1.7)Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: 800 000 000.00 GBP
II.2)Description
II.2.1)Title:
II.2.2)Additional CPV code(s)
35000000
II.2.3)Place of performance
NUTS code: UKH25
Main site or place of performance:
Central Bedfordshire.
II.2.4)Description of the procurement:
WCSP will upgrade the current Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) to meet the requirements of the British Army and extend its scheduled Out of Service Date to 2040+.
II.2.5)Award criteria
Criterion: Criterion 1 100
II.2.11)Information about options
Options: no
II.2.13)Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no
II.2.14)Additional information
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1)Description
IV.1.1)Type of procedure
Negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice
- The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
o absence of competition for technical reasons
Explanation:
The Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme (WCSP) is part of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and intends to place a contract with Lockheed Martin UK Ampthill Ltd (LMUK) for the Manufacture and supply of Warrior 1 vehicle updated with WCSP Capability vehicles. WCSP will upgrade the current Warrior to meet the requirements of the British Army and extend its scheduled Out of service date to 2040. The programme is concentrated on improving lethality, fightability and survivability.
The contract will include the production and supply of Warrior vehicles with the WCSP upgrade (‘the Upgraded Vehicles’), provisioning of consumables and management of the repair asset loop and maintainer training in relation to the WCSP Upgrade and operator training in relation to the Upgraded Vehicles as an option. It is considered that this contract can be placed using the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice for technical reasons pursuant to Article 28(1)(e) of Directive 2009/81/EC (Regulation 16(1)(a)(ii) of the UK Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011.)
Reasons for single sourcing manufacture:
The design and manufacture of the Upgraded Vehicles was competed in 2009 and LMUK was the successful supplier in this competition. A contract for the design and demonstration of the Upgraded Vehicle, with options for manufacture, was granted to LMUK in 2011. The demonstration phase of that contract is approaching completion. During the design and demonstration phases, LMUK has generated a technical data pack relating to the Upgraded Vehicles (the technical data pack). MOD does not have the right to use the technical data pack. The technical data pack is necessary to perform the manufacture of the Upgraded Vehicles within a level of risk which is tolerable to MOD.
Reasons for single sourcing other scope as outlined below:
LMUK is the only contractor which will have access to the necessary technical information to enable it to provide:
- provisioning of consumables and management of the repair asset loop for an initial 2-year period for the WCSP elements only;
- technical and maintainer support for 14 vehicles only;
- maintainer Train the Trainer (T3) package and provision of training equipment and course material in relation to the WCSP upgrade;
- an option to provide training equipment and course material to enable an initial period of operator training in relation to the WCSP upgrade.
IV.1.3)Information about framework agreement
IV.1.8)Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: yes
IV.2)Administrative information
IV.2.1)Previous publication concerning this procedure
Section V: Award of contract/concession
V.2)Award of contract/concession
V.2.1)Date of contract award decision:
20/04/2020
V.2.2)Information about tenders
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: no
V.2.3)Name and address of the contractor/concessionaire
Official name: Lockheed Martin United Kingdom
Postal address: Reddings Wood, Pine View Park, Ampthill
Town: Bedford
NUTS code: UKH25
Postal code: MK45 2HD
Country: United Kingdom
E-mail:
Telephone: +44 12079798000
Internet address: www.lockheedmartin.com
The contractor/concessionaire will be an SME: no
V.2.4)Information on value of the contract/lot/concession (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot/concession: 800 000 000.00 GBP
Total value of the contract/lot/concession: 800 000 000.00 GBP
V.2.5)Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3)Additional information:
The authority reserves the right to amend any condition related to security of information to reflect any changes in national law or government policy. If any contract documents are accompanied by instructions on safeguarding classified information (e.g. a security aspects letter), the Authority reserves the right to amend the terms of these instructions to reflect any changes in national law or government policy, whether in respect of the applicable protective marking scheme, specific protective markings given, the aspects to which any protective marking applies, or otherwise. The link below to the Gov.uk website provides information on the Government Security Classification.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-security-classifications
Advertising Regime OJEU: this contract opportunity is published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), the MoD Defence Contracts Bulletin and www.contracts.mod.uk Go reference: GO-2020421-DCB-16405653
VI.4)Procedures for review
VI.4.1)Review body
Official name: Ministry of Defence, Land Equipment, Other
Postal address: Abbey Wood
Town: Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
Country: United Kingdom
E-mail:
Telephone: +44 3067982184
Internet address: www.des.mod.uk
VI.4.2)Body responsible for mediation procedures
Official name: Ministry of Defence, Land Equipment, Other
Postal address: Abbey Wood
Town: Bristol
Postal code: Bs34 8JH
Country: United Kingdom
E-mail:
Telephone: +44 3067982184
Internet address: www.des.mod.uk
VI.4.3)Review procedure
VI.4.4)Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
Official name: DES
Postal address: Abbey Wood
Town: Bristol
Postal code: BS34 8JH
Country: United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 3067982184
VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice:
21/04/2020
(Source: Europa TED)
BATTLESPACE Comment: A Lockheed Martin spokesperson told BATTLESPACE, “The MOD has published a Voluntary Transparency Notice stating their intent to enter into negotiations for a single source contract with LMUK for WCSP Manufacture. A Voluntary Transparency Notice is used to announce a procurement decision that the Authority intends to place a non-competitive contract under OJEU (Official Journal of the EU) procedures. Lockheed Martin is pleased to confirm that we continue to work closely with MOD to bring the essential WCSP capability into service. The MOD will publish a Contract Award Notice if negotiations are successful and a contract is awarded to LMUK for Manufacture.”
This announcement has surprised some observers who thought that WCSP was deemed as unaffordable. The £800m figure quoted is a 40% drop on the current estimated value of £1.225m. £450m has already been spent on development and trials which are slated to finish by the end of July 2020. Various numbers have been bandied around with 360 vehicles being the top end prediction to 265 at the lower end. A 40% cut would mean 144 vehicles which would signal an initial buy for one Brigade and training units in the UK and Canada. A source told BATTLESPACE that there was £1.4bn in the P9 line for a mix of vehicles with about 250-270 IFVs. As MoD has already sunk the cost of 515 CTA40s with 245 for Ajax so the £800m + Vat is under a billion. Given the total is for a mix of vehicles between 250-270, it is not clear whether the Warrior ABSV, the model of which was exhibited at DSEI by Lockheed, will be included under the same sole source contract, thus locking out RBSL. This will leave surplus vehicles for disposal or for breakdown for spares.
23 Apr 20. Russian forces to receive RKhM-8 CBRN vehicles in 2020. The Russian Land Force is to receive the newest RKhM-8 chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) reconnaissance vehicle this year, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced in April.
“The Land Force is set to receive more than 1,500 combat vehicles … including the modern RKhM-6 and RKhM-8 CBRN vehicles,” the MoD’s press department said.
The RKhM-8 is the latest Russian CBRN vehicle and is based on the chassis of the AMN-233114 Tigr-M 4×4 armoured utility vehicle. A spokesperson for state corporation Rostec told Jane’s on 18 April that the RKhM-8 was designed by the Tula Plant (JSC Zavod Tula; a subsidiary of Rostec’s holding Roskhimzashchita).
He said the RKhM-8 was integrated with an automated command-and-control (C2) system. “The vehicle transfers gathered information via the C2 system and radio link to command posts,” the spokesperson added.
The vehicle detects gamma radiation sources and radiation directions, and “identifies toxic agents in the air, on the field, and on military vehicles,” he said. The RKhM-8 is capable of express identification of biologically pathogenic agents. It would transport other chemically, and radiologically contaminated samples to specialised laboratories, said the spokesperson, noting that the vehicle has been fitted with an automatic meteorological sensor. (Source: Jane’s)
22 Apr 20. Do US Soldiers Dream Of Electric Trucks? While Tesla won’t be building heavy tanks, the Army Futures & Concepts Center says moving lighter, wheeled vehicles from fossil fuel to electric drive could streamline supply lines – and save lives.
In wartime, the cost of gas is often partly paid in blood. Hundreds of US troops have died and thousands have been wounded fighting to move supplies in Afghanistan and Iraq. Against an adversary with long-range missiles like Russia, the carnage among convoys would be worse.
The bulkiest cargo and often the most needed (along with bullets and bombs): fuel. If you could dramatically reduce the amount of gas the US military consumes, you could reduce the logistics burden a great deal. Fewer fuel convoys on the road would save money in peacetime and lives in wartime. But how do you get there?
With electric vehicles, answers Lt. Gen. Eric Wesley, head of the Futures & Concepts Center at Army Futures Command.
“Tesla is building large [semitrailer] trucks,” he told reporters in a wide-ranging roundtable yesterday. “Battery costs have gone down precipitously over the last 10 years,” he said, recharge times have dropped, and ranges has grown longer. What’s more, electric motors have many fewer moving parts than internal combustion ones, making them potentially easier to maintain and repair.
“The entire automotive industry is migrating towards this idea of electrification,” he said. “We’re already, I would argue, late to the need.”
Not only do electric motors not need gas, Wesley said. They also can generate power for high-tech combat systems – sensors, command networks, even laser weapons and robots – that currently require dedicated auxiliary power units or diesel generators that burn even more fuel. Imagine a squad of soldiers recharging their jamming-resistant radios and IVAS targeting goggles in their vehicle between missions, or a mobile command post running its servers off the same truck that carried them.
The Hard Part
Electric motors can even help frontline forces sneak up on the enemy, he said. They run much quieter and cooler than internal combustion engines, making it much harder to hear electric vehicles approaching or spot them on infrared.
Now, Wesley isn’t talking about electric tanks, just trucks. “Right now, we don’t see the technology, on the near-term horizon, being able to power heavy vehicles,” he said. That’s because even the latest batteries still provide less power per pound than fossil fuel. (Engineers call this “energy density”). So, for example, the replacement for the Reagan-era M2 Bradley troop carrier – likely to weigh about 50 tons — is going to need an internal combustion engine or at least a hybrid diesel-electric one. But the vast majority of Army vehicles are wheeled, from supply trucks to the JLTV, an armored 4×4 replacing many Humvees: That weight class, up to 10 or even 15 tons, can move on electrical power alone.
Wesley had planned to kick off his electrification drive with a panel discussion at last month’s AUSA Global Force Symposium in Huntsville, Ala. (I would’ve been the moderator). But that conference got canceled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, so he’s rolling it out to the press instead. His staff is working on an in-depth internal study for his boss, the four-star chief of Army Futures Command, Gen. John “Mike” Murray.
There are a lot of thorny problems to work out, Wesley acknowledges. The big one: Where do you generate the electricity in the first place? In a war zone, you can’t just pull into your garage and plug into a charger overnight.
A TRISO fuel pellet — less than a millimeter across — cut open to reveal the three protective layers around the uranium core.
“We can’t just go buy an electric vehicle. We have to look at the supply chains,” he said. One option the Army’s considering, he said, is miniaturized, mobile nuclear power plants – something the Pentagon is now researching and says should be safe even after a direct hit.
While Wesley didn’t discuss other alternatives, the fallback option is presumably burning some fossil fuel to run a generator, which then charges batteries or capacitators.
“We’re writing a draft white paper proposal for Gen. Murray and the Army to look at this holistically,” Wesley said, “[and] we are building up a proposal that we will publish here in early summer that is going to describe a recommendation for how the Army transitions toward the future.”
“My expectation is that it’s about a 10-year horizon right now to do something like that which I just described,” he said. “If that’s true, then we have to have a transition plan for the Army to move in this direction.”
Extended excerpts from Lt. Gen. Wesley’s roundtable with reporters, edited for length & clarity, follow below. He also discussed how Army units have to evolve for future multi-domain operations: more on that later this week.
Q: The Army’s been interested in electric vehicles and alternative fuel for some time. What’s new here?
A: We were going to have a panel on this to kick off [at AUSA Global Force]: a broader look at electrification and alternative fuel sources for the Army. We’re writing a draft white paper proposal for Gen. Murray and the Army to look at this holistically. And we are building up a proposal that we will publish here in early summer that is going to describe a recommendation for how the Army transitions toward the future.
Tesla is building large [semitrailer] trucks. UPS and FedEx are starting to buy these vehicles to learn how they move into that area. The entire automotive industry is migrating towards this idea of electrification, and there’s a lot of good reasons for it. And as the entire industry goes to electrification, the supply of internal combustion engine parts is going to go down and therefore prices are going to go up.
Battery costs have gone down precipitously over the last 10 years. Recharge times and range [have improved]. The trajectory that all of that is on, in the next two years, it’ll be far more efficient to have an electric vehicle than internal combustion, so we’re already, I would argue, late to the need.
Q: What’s slowed the Army down?
A: The problem is bigger for the Army than it is for any corporation, industry, or family, because you have to have a means to move the energy and generate the energy at the right time and place. It’s not that the Army is slow to move on this, we just have a bigger problem to solve, and I would argue that’s what we have to do now.
The issue is not whether we can build hybrid vehicles. That’s easy. In fact, any one of us could go out and — as long as there’s not a waiting list — buy a Tesla tomorrow and sell our Chevy Suburban. You plug it in at home, we’ve got the infrastructure. You don’t have to change your supply chain or your way of life when you buy a Tesla.
The Army, we can’t just go buy an electric vehicle, we have to look at the supply chains. How are you going to have [electricity] sources for charging?
If technology tells us that safe, mobile nuclear power plants, for example, something that goes on the back of a truck, are realistic, and if you add capacitor technology [to store the electricity], you can distribute that forward in varying ways.
Q: Are we talking about electric-drive tanks here? Or just trucks?
A: The Army hasn’t said, we’re going all-electric. Right now, we don’t see the technology, on the near-term horizon, being able to power heavy vehicles, it’s just too much of a drain on the battery. The Next Generation Combat Vehicle, it’s still going to require you to have an internal combustion engine.
But if we could reduce the fossil fuel consumption by transitioning our wheeled vehicles [to electric motors], you can reduce the volume of travel on your supply route to only [move] fossil fuels for the much heavier vehicles.
Q: Could you make an electric version of something like the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle?
A: The technology to power a vehicle of that weight exists today. We’re talking [up to] about 10-15 tons; that technology exists now.
If it exists now, you can anticipate that we’re going to have to transition some of this in the next 10 years. And if that’s true, then we have to have a transition plan for the Army to move in this direction.
It should require a very detailed strategy and step by step pathways. It should include starting to build in hooks into our requirements [for new designs]. And then there are other experimentation efforts where we can learn about enterprise-level supply chain decisions.
(Eds. note: We ask all fans of Phillip K. Dick to forgive us for the headline). (Source: Breaking Defense.com)
22 Apr 20. US Army Officials Working on Proposal That Could Lead to Electric JLTVs. The U.S. Army may need to start converting its wheeled fleet, including the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, to run on electric engines in the next decade, according to the general in charge of future force design.
Vehicle designers at Tesla Inc. in Palo Alto, California, have already shown that electric motor technology can be scaled up to run vehicles the size of the JLTV and larger, Lt. Gen. Eric Wesley, deputy commander of Army Futures Command and director of the Futures and Concepts Center, told defense reporters Tuesday.
“The technology to power a vehicle of that weight exists today,” he said. “If it exists now, you can anticipate that we are going to have to transition some of this stuff in the next 10 years.”
Wesley is leading an effort to write a proposal, set to be published in early summer, that lays out a path for overcoming the challenges the Army would face if it transitions from internal-combustion engines to electric-powered vehicles.
Such an undertaking, however, would not be easy for an organization as large as the Army, he said.
“The issue is not whether we can build hybrid vehicles — that’s easy,” said Wesley, describing how it’s simple for people to buy a Tesla vehicle without drastically changing their way of life.
“The Army has to look at this bigger, because we have to look at the entire supply chain, which is why you haven’t seen a lot of movement on this in the past,” he said. “But as you can see, the entire automotive industry is migrating toward this idea of electrification, and there [are] a lot of good reasons for it.”
If the automotive industry “goes to electrification, the supply source for internal combustion engine parts is going to go down and therefore prices are going to go up,” Wesley said.
Transporting fuel for vehicles in wartime is also a huge undertaking for the Army.
“The main supply routes that we have to protect in a given theater and the ability to move fuel, it really takes combat power away from the battlefield,” Wesley said.
Electric engines would also be simpler to maintain and create less of a burden on the supply chain, he said.
“The number of parts associated with electric vehicles is in the dozens,” he said. “If you count the number of moving parts in an internal combustion engine, it’s in the thousands. So, if you are talking about a logistic supply line, you have to carry fewer parts.”
One of the biggest challenges for the Army would be figuring out a way to dependably recharge electric vehicles anywhere on the battlefield, Wesley said. “We can’t just go buy an electric vehicle; we have to look at the supply chain, so how are you going to have sources for charging?”
This is a bigger problem for the Army than for any corporation or private family, he said. “You have to have a means to move the energy and generate the energy at the right time and place.”
Currently, the Pentagon is looking at ways to make alternative fuel options organic to its formations, he added.
“Technology tells us that safe, mobile nuclear power plants — for example, that is something that goes on the back of a truck — is something that is realistic,” Wesley said.
It will likely be a long time, however, before electric motor technology can reliably power heavy combat vehicles such as the Next Generation Combat Vehicle — a top Army modernization priority that is being developed to replace the Bradley fighting vehicle, he said.
“Right now, we don’t see the technology on the near-term horizon being able to power heavy vehicles; it’s just too much of a drain on the battery,” he explained.
But Wesley said the Army may have to make a decision in the next decade to transition its wheeled vehicles to electric motor technology.
“If that is true, then we have to have a transition plan for the Army to move in that direction. It should include a very detailed strategy and step-by-step pathways,” he said. “If we can reduce the fossil-fuel consumption by transitioning our wheeled vehicles on a horizon that we can see … it wouldn’t be prudent not to consider that and have a plan to do so.” (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Military.com)
21 Apr 20. UAE appears to have ordered Wahash IFVs. A Finnish export approval indicates that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has placed an order for the Wahash 8×8 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) developed by the local company Calidus.
Official documentation shows that, during a 12 March session, the Finnish government gave Sisu Axles and Katsa licenses to export axles and transmissions that Calidus would use in its own products. The Wahash is the only land vehicle promoted by Calidus.
Both companies produce similar parts for the Patria AMV 8×8 IFV, 40 of which were delivered to the UAE in 2016 as an urgent requirement while it continued to develop an indigenous counterpart.
A version of the Turkish company Otokar’s Arma 8×8 called the Rabdan appeared to have won the contest when it was announced during the IDEX show held in Abu Dhabi in February 2017 that the Emirati military had ordered 400 from a joint venture called Al-Jasoor (now part of the UAE’s Edge defence conglomerate).
Otokar said it would produce the first 100 Rabdans in Turkey and some of these were delivered in time for the IDEX show held in February 2019. However, the Wahash was unveiled by the leaders of Abu Dhabi and Dubai during the same show, prompting speculation that the competition might still be open.
At the time, Calidus had no known manufacturing capability. Nevertheless, it was announced during the Dubai Air Show in November 2019 that the UAE’s air force had ordered 24 of the B-250 light attack aircraft developed by the company.
Meanwhile, a member of the Wahash engineering team uploaded a photograph of an industrial building to Google Maps that he identified as the location of the Calidus Land Systems facility in Abu Dhabi’s Al-Wathbah suburb. Satellite imagery shows construction of the facility began in 2018 and there is also a new runway and hangar nearby there that were completed in 2019. (Source: Jane’s)
21 Apr 20. Prospeed HiLoad 6×6 launched. The payload, load space, mobility and single rear wheel format of the 6×6 HILOAD is ideally suited to a number of specialist Fire & Rescue applications which includes
the Category 3 Airport requirement and the emerging need for high mobility vehicles to control of forest fi res.
As a chassis supply business model this enables any fi re fi ghting organisation to work with their preferred bodybuilder to produce a vehicle to their exact requirements
using equipment they are trained on and can use effectively.
The chassis has the flexibility to offer the following;
- Double Cabin with Automatic Gearbox
- Space and weight carrying capacity for water and foam
- High level of mobility on very rough / muddy / soft ground to access and operate in remote areas
- Hydraulic power take-off from engine bay
- Stiff chassis for mounting bodies of various types.
- Driving position and driving comfort levels very much like a normal car.
There is nothing in the market-place that has the capability of this vehicle.
Lorne Stoddart told BATTLESPACE, “All the interest so far has been Fire & Rescue for airports, wildfire and volunteer fire fighting teams. It has been submitted into UK MOD with a bodybuilder Prime for a project so that could bear fruit if the wind is blowing in the right direction, they have budget, they like the concept and a multitude of other variables.”
One of the military applications is for a Gun Tractor for the 105mm Light Gun.
21 Apr 20. Taiwanese army begins training with CM-34 IFV. The Republic of China Army (RoCA) has begun using the locally developed CM-34 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) in training manoeuvres, according to a 16 April press report from the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense (MND). The training, which took place at the RoCA’s Southern District Joint Test Centre, included off-road route navigation, engaging static and moving targets with the platform’s 30 mm cannon, and using smoke grenades to obscure the vehicle, said the MND, adding that the primary target of the CM-34 will be wheeled vehicles and fortified bunkers.
The MND report confirms that the RoCA has begun introducing the IFV as planned. A total of 284 CM-34s are expected to be procured. In April 2019 Jane’s reported that the MNDʼs Materiel Production Centre was set to deliver the first tranche of 32 IFVs to the RoCA in late 2019.
Meanwhile, video images have emerged showing a Cloud Leopard II prototype in its M1 configuration conducting what appear to be factory tests. The images were shown on 17 April by Taiwan’s Youth Daily News as part of an interview with Lieutenant Colonel Su Renbao. Su is the deputy director of research and development at the 209th Arsenal, which, alongside the Hsinchu-based Industrial Technology Research Institute, is responsible for the design of the Cloud Leopard II prototypes. (Source: Jane’s)
21 Apr 20. Russia tests Armata MBT in Syria. Russia has tested the T-14 Armata main battle tank (MBT) in an operational environment in Syria, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov told the Rossiya-1 (Russia One) TV channel on 19 April.
He said serial deliveries of the Armata to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) would begin in 2021, after which Russia also plans to offer the tank for export. “Once deliveries of serial [production] MBTs to the MoD have started and we have received a licence for an export version, we will begin working with foreign customers,” Manturov stated.
He added that the Armata tank now has a high price tag as it undergoes additional trials and finetuning to meet the MoD’s request for new technical solutions. (Source: Jane’s)
21 Apr 20. Production has re-started at the Texelis production facility in Limoges, France in support of key customers, such as the French Army which is heavily committed to ongoing operations such as Operation Resilience in France and Operation Barkhane in the Sahel.
As a strategic supplier to the DGA, Texelis has ensured the continuous supply, throughout the Covid-19 emergency, of critical spare parts for the French Army’s operational vehicles and also maintained the Nexter Serval® 4×4 programme schedule. In addition, Texelis was able to re-start general serial production on 6th April and has now added a second shift at the company’s Limoges site. Production for other priority customer programmes, including new axles for ARQUUS and Alstom, and deliveries for key export customers, is well underway.
All work at Texelis facilities complies with official French Government guidelines and is being undertaken in full consultation with the Staff Committee in order to keep all staff and customers safe. This includes adherence to all safety measures, the use of masks, gloves, social distancing, sanitisers and rearranged work flows to minimise risk. Processes have also been put in place to enable remote working where possible across the Texelis business structure.
“Despite the current serious and unprecedented circumstances, our customers, such as the French Army and the DGA, rely on us to remain operational and are in need of the critical equipment we produce here at our Limoges facility,” Jean Vandel, Managing Director at Texelis Defence, said. “We are working to continue production to support them in line with government guidelines, while prioritising the safety of all Texelis staff and customers.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and adapt our processes to suit the evolving situation.”
Texelis remains on track for its new T750/700 production line, opened in February, to reach full rate production in 2021. The production line will be capable of producing 2,000+ axle units per year as part of its work providing the full vehicle driveline – including T750, powerpack, suspension, steering, cooling, exhaust and electrical systems – for the Serval® 4×4 expeditionary combat vehicle selected to fulfil the Véhicule Blindé Multi-Rôle-Léger (VBMR-L) portion of the French DGA’s SCORPION programme.
21 Apr 20. Milrem Robotics and InnoVfoam Develop Robotic Firefighters. Milrem Robotics, the leader of European ground robotics and InnoVfoam, the specialist in foam extinguishing technology are developing robot firefighting systems to assist or even replace firefighters in the most hostile environments.
The jointly developed firefighting solutions combine Milrem Robotics’ unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) Multiscope Rescue and InnoVfoams various firefighting systems, specifically foam proportioning systems and fire monitors.
The firefighting robots are remotely operated by firefighters who remain in a safe distance while receiving a complete overview of the operation area via various cameras, i.e. thermal and infrared, and sensors onboard the robot that can additionally detect gas or chemical leaks.
The fire monitors can be operated independently from the UGV thanks to separate cameras on the UGV and the monitors allowing the vehicle to change position while maintaining a perfect overview of the fire. The system can also be complemented with additional preventive and repressive systems and autonomous functions.
”In addition to fires in urban environments there are large scale forest and landscape fires every year that endanger the environment, the lives of inhabitants and especially firefighters. The systems we are developing with InnoVfoam can alleviate dangers firefighters face and help contain fires faster,” said Kuldar Väärsi, CEO of Milrem Robotics.
The Multiscope Rescue has a maximum payload capacity of 1200 kg and pull force of 21 000 N allowing it to be equipped with a variety of firefighting specific payloads including foam or water tanks, but also tethered drones for better situational awareness.
Robot firefighters can also deliver heavy firehoses to reach areas and enter structures that are inaccessible with bigger vehicles or may collapse on top of firefighters. In case of forest or landscape fires the robot firefighters can be airdropped to start limiting the spread of fires.
InnoVfoams fire monitors can dispense water and foam from 2000 up to 20 000 liters per minute. The first joint product will feature InnoVfoams fire monitor skid unit Hydra on the Multiscope Rescue. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
16 Apr 20. Kia Motors awarded contract to supply thousands of 2.5- and 5-tonne trucks to RoKA. South Korean company Kia Motors Corporation has won a tender for the supply of thousands of 2.5- and 5-tonne trucks to replace the Republic of Korea Army’s (RoKA’s) in-service KM250 and KM500 vehicles. Company officials told Jane’s on 17 April that the company had emerged as the preferred bidder – over rival local company Hanwha Defense – in November 2019 with its 4×4 ‘Medium Standard Vehicle’ and 6×6 ‘5-tonne Bulletproof Kit Vehicle’, the latter of which also comes in an armoured variant.
The following month Kia signed a contract with the RoKA for the mass production of 7,000 units of the 2.5-tonne truck and 3,400 units of the 5-tonne platform from 2024 for KRW1.7trn (USD1.4bn) once development of the platforms has been completed. In addition, the company said it will manufacture 600 units of the armoured variant of the 5-tonne truck along with several other special variants of both vehicles.
The new vehicles, both of which were displayed at the 2019 Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) under the names ‘2½ tonne cargo truck’ and ‘Medium Tactical Vehicle (MTV)’, have a cab-over-engine (COE) configuration; unlike the KM250 and KM500 trucks, both of which are 6×6 and have a bonneted cab and have been in service with the RoKA and a few other countries for more than 40 years.
Speaking at ADEX 2019 about the armoured version of the 5-tonne truck, Yonki Chae from the special-vehicle segment of Kia Motors told Jane’s that this variant features an armoured cabin and armour protected side walls in the rear cargo area, adding that the cab offers STANAG 4569 Level 2 armoured protection. (Source: Jane’s)
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About Oshkosh Defense
Oshkosh Defense is a leading provider of tactical wheeled vehicles and life cycle sustainment services. For decades Oshkosh has been mobilizing military and security forces around the globe by offering a full portfolio of heavy, medium, light and highly protected military vehicles to support our customers’ missions. In addition, Oshkosh offers advanced technologies and vehicle components such as TAK-4® independent suspension systems, TerraMax™ unmanned ground vehicle solutions, Command Zone™ integrated control and diagnostics system, and ProPulse® diesel electric and on-board vehicle power solutions, to provide our customers with a technical edge as they fulfill their missions. Every Oshkosh vehicle is backed by a team of defense industry experts and complete range of sustainment and training services to optimize fleet readiness and performance. Oshkosh Defense, LLC is an Oshkosh Corporation company [NYSE: OSK].
To learn more about Oshkosh Defense, please visit us at www.oshkoshdefense.com.
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