14 Jan 21. TEK Military Seating is a global supplier of ProTEK OEM vehicle seating to the Military vehicle sector, designed and manufactured in the UK to the highest standards of safety and protection. The ProTEK brand includes a wide range of Driver, Commander, Crew, Gunner, Turret, Loaders, and bespoke seating for most types of military vehicles, both legacy and new build. With modularity and flexibility at the core of each seat design, ProTEK seating can be modified to offer maximum fit and function without the need for additional tooling or major design changes, utilising innovative modules which can be added to most seats to create the customers’ requirements. Most ProTEK seats are available in Stanag 4569 AEP55 conforming blast protection and feature integrated harness restraints.
2021 will see a significant increase in demand for our ProTEK HTM (ROPS) which is a troop transportation system offering occupant safety to European safety regulations along with NATO conforming seat ergonomics. ROPS Units are available in 8, 6, or 4 person units which can be fitted and removed with ease, to offer flexibility across truck fleets. Our newly developed Modular HTM (ROPS) allows the user even greater flexibility as the kits come in 2 person units which can be bolted together to create the optimum configuration and is simple to assemble. The modular system is currently on trails with a major NATO country and expected to be popular with customers as shipping costs are significantly lower than the welded version. As with most ProTEK products the system comes with several optional modules such as various fold up seat types, adjustable integral weapon mounts, stowage bins, anti-vibration matting, environmental covers and intercom integration
TEK has an unrivalled reputation for quality products which are in service across the globe and fully tested and certified to the relevant international safety and protection standards. TEK believes that listening and understanding our customers’ requirements is fundamental to offering the most cost effective solutions, our ability to create products which meet the demands of functionality, space limitations and good levels of ergonomics for vehicles operating in some of the most demanding environments across the globe, has enabled us to become the supplier of choice for our many customers.
Paul Fleming CEO of TEK Military Seating is a candidate for this year’s BATTLESPACE Businessman Of The Year, we will interview him for the September DSEI issue.
13 Jan 21. Production begins for Italian Army’s Centauro II MGS. Consortium Iveco – Oto Melara (CIO) confirmed on 8 January that production of its latest Centauro II 8×8 Mobile Gun System (MGS) for the Italian Army is under way, with first deliveries due in the first quarter of 2021. The Italian Army’s initial contract was for 11 Centauro II 8×8 MGSs comprising one prototype brought up to full-production standard, 10 new-production MGSs, and a two-year support package. According to CIO, the latest Centauro II MGS prototype has a number of improvements that have now been tested by the Italian Army and will be incorporated into production vehicles.
These improvements include an identification friend-or-foe (IFF) system; latest-generation radios; new grenade launchers; new hatches for the driver, commander, and loaders; and a repositioned roof-mounted Leonardo Hitrole remote weapon system (RWS) armed with a 12.7 mm M2 machine gun (MG).
There has been some delay in production due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and the current delivery schedule is one vehicle in the first quarter of 2021, three in the second quarter of 2021, two in the fourth quarter of 2021, and the remaining four in the first quarter of 2022.
In December 2020 a contract was signed for an additional 86 Centauro II MGSs plus an option for another 10 units, with these expected to be delivered from 2023 onwards. This brought the order book to 106 units, including options.
The total Italian Army requirement is for up to 150 units, provided sufficient funding is available.
Giovanni Luisi, commercial director at CIO, told Janes, “After this terrible Covid pandemic period, the new contract for 96 units ensures a long-term stability … and guaranteeing the production continuity.” (Source: Jane’s)
14 Jan 21. State-of-the-art robot seeks out chemical agents. Dstl scientists have successfully trialled a fully autonomous robot that will help defence and security personnel dealing with hazardous scenes. Dstl, the science inside UK defence and security, has developed a prototype robot so that humans and machines can now share the burden of detecting and report dangerous chemicals over large areas.
The Merlin Robot, developed by industry partner HORIBA-MIRA with funding from the MOD and the Home Office, autonomously carried out simulated chemical reconnaissance tasks over test areas covering up to 10,000 square metres. Currently a single prototype, the Merlin robot operated continuously on tasks for several hours with ease, allowing personnel to monitor and manage the test incident scene from a safe distance, away from potential harm.
Chemical reconnaissance (recce) on foot and in specially modified vehicles is currently carried out by specialist personnel in the event of suspected or confirmed use of chemical agents, both in military battlefield and homeland security scenarios. It is a dangerous and laborious task requiring high levels of specialist training. In the future, however, autonomous systems could enable the task with significantly less burden on personnel and at lower risk to the deployed teams.
The trial, run under Dstl’s Project Servitus, was a follow-on to successful previous work conducted under Project Minerva, which investigated the use of ground-based and airborne autonomous systems to tackle hazardous scene assessment in areas contaminated with chemical agents, on behalf of the MOD and the Home Office.
Initially developed as part of Project Minerva, under Servitus the Merlin robot had an off-the-shelf chemical vapour sensor mounted so that it can be accurately positioned close to the ground. The robot’s AI-based object recognition and search and detection techniques were also further developed, including drawing on other Dstl-funded work on MIRA’s Viking re-supply and recce unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), enhancing the system’s autonomous behaviours and capability.
The Servitus trial tested different autonomous behaviours for search and mapping operations in exploring an area, obstacle avoidance and chemical mapping. The operationally realistic trial was undertaken with support from specialist C-CBRN operators from 27 Squadron RAF Regiment RAF Honington. Non-toxic chemical simulants were sprayed onto the ground within a simulated operational activity, and both the military recce teams and the robot undertook the task of searching the areas to find and map the chemicals and plot clean routes.
27 Squadron RAF Regiment operators were provided with basic training on the Merlin and its tablet-based human machine interface, and given the opportunity to operate the robot, setup Merlin missions, monitor progress and re-task the robot as required. The users were quickly able to absorb the training and become proficient in commanding the robot, relishing the chance to work with the system.
Commenting on working with Dstl and MIRA, a spokesperson from 27 Squadron RAF Regiment said, “It was a hugely interesting project to be part of within the early development stages, and it was a pleasure to work alongside the MIRA and Dstl personnel who were very engaged, approachable and keen to listen to our observations and experience. The system has a lot of potential and testing our personnel against the AI of the robot was a good benchmark.”
By the end of the trial, Merlin had successfully demonstrated autonomous operation in area recce tasks that were both clean and contaminated, and had performed tasks to find clean routes through contaminated areas. Throughout the trial the embedded AI was pushed to the limits of object and obstacle recognition and successfully demonstrated its utility within a cluttered environment.
Dstl’s project technical lead, Andy Martin said, “Project Servitus has demonstrated the clear potential to make the job of military and emergency services users safer, more effective and future looking. The technology has significant potential in a number of fields, and work to explore the exploitation pathways within CBR and elsewhere is well underway. Building on Project Minerva, Servitus is another exemplar of cross-department and industry collaboration, with close working between government technical experts, industry and the military user community. It has been highly successful because of that.” (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
13 Jan 21. Britain, France, and Germany Might Build a Super ‘Eurotank.’ Joining forces is cheap, but it comes with hidden costs.
The British Army’s next tank could be a joint effort with France and Germany. The U.K. is in discussions to replace the current Challenger II main battle tank (seen above) with a joint tank designed to replace French and German tanks in the mid-2030s. All three countries would fund and field the notional tank, dubbed “Eurotank.”
The U.K. was the first country to design and build tanks. The British Army built the world’s first tank, the Mark I, as a mobile protected weapons platform meant to support ground offensives. The name “tank,” in fact, comes from the secrecy involved in developing the armored vehicles, which were labeled as water tanks in order to obscure their real purpose.
The U.K. remained a major tank power through World War II and the Cold War. Today, after years of cutbacks, the British Army maintains just 227 Challenger II tanks.
Challenger II, although a very good tank, hasn’t received the same upgrades as its contemporaries. The British Army first introduced the tank in 1998, but it lacks modern features, such as digital networking, updated thermal sights, onboard drones, and an active protection system to shoot down incoming rockets and missiles.
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Unlike the tanks of most countries, Challenger II also uses a rifled main gun barrel to impart a stabilizing spin on tank shells. While useful in its own way, the use of a rifled (rather than smooth) gun barrel leaves the U.K. unable to take advantage of advances in tank shell technology.
The U.K. knows Challenger II has gotten long in the tooth, but faces the dilemma of upgrading the 20-year-old tanks or building new ones outright. Upgrading the Challenger II is clearly the cheaper choice, but stuffing all of the new gadgets into a cramped tank that isn’t designed to carry them is a tricky process.
An upgraded Challenger II must also be compared to the Russian T-14 Armata tank, a new, clean sheet design that is slowly entering Russian Ground Forces service.
Meanwhile, across the English Channel, German defense contractors Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall, as well as the French contractor Nexter, are working to develop the first European tank.
The Franco-German Main Ground Combat System (MGCS)—also informally known as Eurotank—is designed to replace the German Leopard II and French LeClerc tanks starting in 2035. The initiative follows a similar multinational effort that led to the development of the Eurofighter Typhoon, a multi-role fighter jet.
According to Defense News, the U.K. is being granted observer status to the MGCS program, which will allow British representatives to observe the design and development process, but could also lead to deeper U.K. participation, including buying the new tank outright. A major partnership in the Eurotank program would soften the financial blow to the U.K., which recently floated the idea of ditching its tanks completely.
Boarding the Eurotank train would pose its own problems. Germany and France historically have divergent design philosophies when it comes to tanks. German main battle tanks tend to sacrifice armor in favor of mobility, a Cold War consideration that saw the tanks being used for rapid counter attacks to eject the Soviet Army from German soil.
French tanks, meanwhile, tend to focus attention equally on firepower, protection, and mobility. British tanks usually give up mobility in favor of increased armor protection. If the U.K. joins the Eurotank program, it could end up with a compromise tank—a new tank, but not something exactly suited to its needs. (Source: News Now/https://www.popularmechanics.com/)
13 Jan 21. Following our piece last week – Options for UK Defence Review (BATTLESPACE UPDATE Vol.23 ISSUE 02, 11 January 2021, MILITARY VEHICLE NEWS, Options for UK Defence Review) we have received feedback from a number of readers suggesting alternative ways forward to the current debate on the future composition of the British Army armoured fleet AS Jane’s reported this week, WCSP and C2 LEP will not have a decision before the February, March timeframe. Some of the options which could or have been considered is the supplement of the Bushmaster Mk. 44 30mm Chain Gun in preference to the CT40 canon. This would solve one of the biggest problems facing WCSP in particular, the delivery of power through the Rotary Based Junction. CT40 by its very nature under hangs the front of the vehicle, thus it needs a constant uninterrupted power supply to keep it straight and level, Bush Mk. 44 does not. In addition, as we said last week, the ammunition is far cheaper than that for CT40 and readily available and NATO Standard. BATTLESPACE understands that RBSL has already undertaken a Study to put the Bush Mk. 44 on Scimitar and GDUK is believed to have undertaken a similar study for Ajax some years ago. The other possibility which has reared its head since the middle of last year is the now plentiful supply of M1A2 SEP v3 tanks from the ex-USMC stock. These could easily be upgraded by GDUK in Wales and are particularly suited to the British Army requirement given that the UK wants CR2 LEP to have the Trophy APS system and the US M829A4 round and upgraded armour. This would be a much lower risk than building a unique vehicle with the option of a diesel engine rather than the existing gas turbine. BATTLESPACE ran a story in 2018 in our DVD issue that GDUK had made an unsolicited offer of the MIA1 SEPv3 turret for C2 LEP. Now the USMC is ditching their tanks, this might make a good introduction of Anglo -US defence co-operation for Joe Biden! A GDUK source said they were watching developments with interest.
12 Jan 21. UK delays programme decisions on armoured vehicles. Decisions on two major UK armoured fighting vehicle procurement programmes have been delayed to allow them to be considered as part of the country’s ongoing Integrated Security, Defence, and Foreign Policy Review, which is now expected to be revealed in February.
Programmes to upgrade the British Army’s Challenger 2 main battle tanks and Warrior infantry fighting vehicles had been projected to receive their main gate approval to move to contract in December 2020 but senior Ministry of Defence (MoD) sources say this will now not take place until March or April at the earliest. Lieutenant General Christopher Tickell, deputy chief of the British Army General Staff, told the UK parliament’s defence committee in October 2020 that he expected the two programmes to be considered for main gate approval before the end of last year.
Main Gate approval of the Tempest Future Combat Air System (FCAS) and the purchase of a batch of newbuild CH-47 Chinook support helicopters was also delayed by the 11 December 2020 meeting of the MoD’s Investment Approvals Committee, which brings together senior procurement officials to make final recommendations to government ministers.
A senior ministry source told Janes on 8 January that the decisions were delayed so they could be aligned with the Integrated Review process. UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said in a speech at the Royal United Services Institute on 11 December 2020 that the government intended to publish the Integrated Review in February, accompanied by a document detailing how the MoD plans to spend the GBP16.5bn (USD22.4bn) uplift in defence spending announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in November 2020. The defence source told Janes. (Source: Jane’s)
11 Jan 21. British military looks to the ‘Eurotank’ as it weighs its hardware options. The British Ministry of Defence has opened discussions with France and Germany about signing up as an observer on their next-generation Main Ground Combat System program, according to government and industry officials in the U.K. and Germany.
Details of exactly what access the British will get to the program remain unclear, as a possible pact wouldn’t be signed until later this year. “Observer status is being granted to the U.K. for the Franco-German Main Ground Combat System program,” an MoD official in London said.
An industry team involving Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, Nexter and Rheinmetall are in the early conceptual stages of pulling together a vehicle design to replace Germany’s Leopard 2 and France’s Leclerc around 2035.
A KMW spokesman told Defense News that the company is aware of ongoing talks aimed at making Britain an observer, but he referred additional questions to the German Defence Ministry.
For the British, the link is expected to help inform future capability requirements developed by the government’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and others as part of the MoD’s Future Ground Combat System program.
That program is considering a series of options to replace the current capabilities in the mounted, close-combat arena from 2040 onward.
The Franco-German tank is not the only program being eyed by the British MoD, which continues to monitor a number of global programs and developers, British officials said.
The German Defence Ministry was tight-lipped on specifics regarding the U.K.’s involvement, though a spokeswoman stressed the project’s international thrust.
“The MGCS project was created with a European approach in mind, open for other nations to participate,” the spokeswoman told Defense News. An observer status would precede a more formal role for cooperation with new candidate countries, she added.
“Bringing new members on board with MCGS is in line with Germany’s aspirations to push consolidation in the European defense industry,” the spokeswoman wrote in an email.
The British interest in MGCS, depending on how far it progresses, has all the markings of a test case for pursuing large-scale, joint programs in a post-Brexit Europe. Military and government leaders from both sides have vowed to leave defense cooperation unscathed after the laborious divorce proceedings that ended the U.K.’s membership in the European Union. Still, London is formally an outside party in a defense cooperation regime engineered through Brussels.
The way ahead for Britain in a broader ground-warfare context might become clearer if the government goes ahead with a dedicated land-equipment industrial strategy as part of a defense and security industrial strategy review.
A land strategy, to go alongside already complete maritime and air reviews, is being considered, but a final decision is outstanding.
The fact that Britain is keeping tabs on the European tank project is a step in the right direction for those who believe the battlefield behemoths still have a future in the British Army. But it didn’t seem that way in August when national media in the U.K. reported the MoD was considering scrapping the service’s 227 Challenger 2 tanks to afford a pivot to more pressing future requirements in areas like cyberspace, space and unmanned vehicles.
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace ended the speculation in September when he denied the Challenger 2 force would be mothballed. However, he didn’t say how many tanks the British would update.
Lethality and protection upgrades to the Challenger, assuming they are approved, will be led by RBSL, the British-based Rheinmetall-BAE Systems joint venture. It includes the installation of a new turret with a 120mm smoothbore gun replacing the rifled cannon currently installed on the vehicle.
A decision on the program approval is imminent, with the business case for the life-extension program delivered to the MoD’s approval body late last year. The idea is to make the vehicles last through 2035 or even 2040. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
12 Jan 21. Minecorp Australia to support Rheinmetall LAND 400 Phase 3 bid. Minecorp Australia has announced a partnership with Rheinmetall Defence Australia to provide local component manufacturing for the RDA’s Lynx KF41 vehicle as part of the multibillion-dollar LAND 400 Phase 3 program. Minecorp’s in-house engineering team is working to assist the LYNX KF41 assembly with a range of critical bracketry and vehicle components as Rheinmetall prepares for the Risk Mitigation Activity (RMA) trials for the $18.1-$27.1bn LAND 400 Phase 3 program.
General manager of Minecorp Australia Angus McIntyre said joining Team LYNX for LAND 400 Phase 3 was an important step for the company, “Our manufacturing capability and customer solutions focus are well honed to provide the support required for the Rheinmetall program. To be part of an extensive local supplier base here in Queensland proves that production in Australia is still strong, and we intend to continue building our expertise in this area. We are extremely proud of our design and manufacturing capability – supporting sovereign capability is a key deliverable for our business.”
Rheinmetall will deliver three LYNX vehicles to compete in RMA trials conducted in Australia from November 2020. The extensive testing regime, considered world leading, will put vehicles through a range of trials including lethality, mobility and blast tests.
If successful, the LYNX fleet will be manufactured in Queensland at Rheinmetall’s new Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence at Redbank south-west of Brisbane. The signing of the Hungarian Armed Forces as the first LYNX customer also means Australian SMEs will see future potential export opportunities for Australia.
Minecorp has worked hard over the past five years to learn and understand the nature of the Defence sector and adapt to the specific requirements. Utilising Trumpf CNC equipment and certified welding practices, the business understands time critical production ensuring all components meet the specified end use requirements.
With approximately 50 staff, the company has a passion for quality, innovation and integrity and is committed to ongoing investment to ensure a high-quality logistics supply chain for the Australian Defence Force.
McIntyre added, “Our commitment to innovation, expertise, design excellence and supply of quality products enables Minecorp to be a leader in our field. We very much look forward to strengthening our partnership with RDA and extending our support with the LYNX KF41 program into the future.”
LAND 400 Phase 3 is a multibillion-dollar Army program that will recapitalise Army’s Vietnam-era M113 armoured personnel carrier (APC) force, with a combination of a tracked infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) and tracked APC.
The two successful down selected companies, South Korean Hanwha Defense Systems and Rheinmetall Defence present two different options:
- Hanwha Defense Systems AS21 Redback: The AS21 will include the capability to integrate active protection systems into an evolved turret system, the Redback will, like its BAE competitor, be capable of hosting a crew of 11 (three crew, eight troops), a top road speed of 70km/h, cross country speed of 40km/h, an operational range of 500 kilometres, with an armament consisting of a 40mm autocannon and a single 7.62mm coaxial machine gun.
- Rheinmetall Lynx KF-41: The Lynx KF41 will include the capability to support a crew of 12 (three crew, up to nine troops), have a max road speed of 70km/h, a road range of more than 500 kilometres, with an armament consisting of the Lance 2.0 30-35mm autocannon, a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun and a variety of additional close in weapons systems. (Source: Defence Connect)
12 Jan 21. Victorian government signs MoU with Hanwha. The Victorian state government is backing Hanwha Defense Australia to build and maintain Australian military vehicles in Geelong, in a move that stands to create hundreds of highly-skilled local jobs.
Minister for Industry Support and Recovery Martin Pakula today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hanwha, a major South Korean global company, to formalise a long-term partnership which will support the establishment of Hanwha’s defence manufacturing operations in Victoria.
Minister Pakula was at Laverton North to see Hanwha’s LAND 400 Phase 3 vehicle, after the Commonwealth selected Hanwha as one of two final tenderers, along with Rheinmetall in Queensland.
“Victoria is the home of Australian manufacturing and we are pleased to be working with Hanwha to maximise opportunities for more high-value jobs to be created in Geelong,” he said.
Hanwha Defense Australia managing director Richard Cho sees the MoU as a strong platform do develop mutual interests on a range of technologies and establishing an advanced manufacturing facility in Victoria.
A PWC report commissioned by Hanwha estimated that the LAND 400 Phase 3 manufacturing effort would generate $5.7bn in total economic impacts in Victoria.
Hanwha is also looking to build 30 Self-Propelled Howitzers and 15 armoured resupply vehicles in Geelong, and carry out maintenance and repairs during their years of service for the Australian Army, having been recently announced as the sole tenderer for the Commonwealth’s LAND 8116 tender.
The MoU will enable the government and Hanwha to explore investment opportunities in defence and non-defence sectors. The partnership will strengthen Victoria’s relationship with South Korean industry, driving collaboration and creating opportunities for expanded bilateral trade and investment. (Source: Google/https://www.manmonthly.com.au/)
12 Jan 21. Hanwha launches Redback IFV in Australia. Hanwha Defense Australia has officially launched the Redback infantry fighting vehicle ahead of delivering three Redback vehicles to compete in the test and evaluation trials being conducted as part of the Risk Mitigation Activity for Project LAND 400 Phase 3.
Team Redback is the group of companies led by Hanwha Defense Australia that will deliver the best of breed technologies from around the world and Australia. Team Redback currently includes Electro Optic Systems, Elbit, ECLIPS, Milspec, Bisalloy, Soucy, Marand and CBG Systems and continues to expand rapidly.
LAND 400 Phase 3 is an $18 to $27bn project tasked to acquire a fleet of tracked infantry fighting vehicles that will replace the M113AS4 fleet. This is the first time that the ADF will have a dedicated IFV and will be the cornerstone of the Army Close Combat Capability.
Close Combat Capability is the chief contribution of Army to combat operations, the Risk Mitigation Activity involves detailed test and evaluation of the vehicles that will be undertaken throughout 2021 with the aim of providing objective quality evidence to support a government decision on the preferred tenderer.
The aim of Team Redback is to deliver an IFV capability to the Commonwealth that integrates the best of Korean manufacturing expertise and armoured vehicle design with Australian production, supply and integration know-how.
Hanwha’s Redback is a next-generation IFV developed specifically for the Australian Infantryman with advantages literally built into it from the ground up.
Equipped with advanced situational awareness systems normally found on jet fighters such as see through vision and helmet slaved systems, the Redback rides on rubber tracks that reduce noise and vibration while offering superior ride quality for its crew and the soldiers it protects
The vehicle boasts an advanced layered protection system including Elbit’s active protection system, Plasan’s world-class armour and a structure designed to protect occupants from the effects of blast. All this is supported by an independent suspension system which does not use torsion bars thus supplying more space for innovative blast mitigation systems which remove the dependence on old fashioned suspended footrests and other design constraints.
Richard Cho, managing director of Hanwha Defense Australia, said, “The Redback is a highly advanced infantry fighting vehicle and I believe it to be the safest and most lethal on offer to the Commonwealth.”
The Redback’s Australian turret has Active Protection Systems, onboard training systems and situational awareness technology all brought together for the first time in a dedicated IFV turret designed right from the start around the infantry soldier. All integration work needed to prepare the Redback for the Risk Mitigation Activity trials has been undertaken locally by members of Team Redback as part of an unprecedented Australian industry capability component of Hanwha’s LAND 400 Phase 3 bid.
“The Risk Mitigation Activity is a great opportunity for the Commonwealth to become familiar with the highly advanced technology seamlessly integrated in Redback,” Cho added.
Redback’s main armament is a Mk44S Bushmaster II 30mm cannon capable of firing all natures of 30mm x 173mm ammunition in service with 19 nations, including the US, the UK, and other allies and NATO forces.
The cannon fires ammunition from numerous providers, including advanced munitions such as proximity fused rounds. Every cannon is fitted with a fuse setter for programmable rounds such as programmable air burst munition and proximity fused rounds. It can also be rapidly upgraded to the 40mm Supershot by exchanging three parts, giving increased lethality without the need to modify the turret or cannon.
The Redback is also armed with a 7.62mm co-axially mounted machine gun, and the Electro Optic System’s remote weapons station can be fitted with a range of weapons including 7.62mm machine gun, .50 calibre machine and an automatic grenade launcher.
If selected for LAND 400 Phase 3 Hanwha will construct the vehicles at a purpose-built facility in Greater Geelong heralding the return of large-scale vehicle manufacturing to the area.
The three Redback IFVs to be used in the RMA have been built using Australian made Bisalloy steel from the company’s plant in Unanderra, just south of Sydney.
A range of other technologies will be showcased including an Australian developed T2000 turret that will be test fired later this year as part of the RMA trials. Australian owned and operated company Electro Optic Systems will develop, manufacture and support the T2000 turret in Australia. It will combine the proven Elbit MT30 Mk2 turret with EOS’ fire control and electro optic technology.
This would provide a sovereign capability to maintain and update the key turret systems in Australia. The company has focused their integration efforts on improving interoperability between high-tech components while maximising protection, utility and vision for the crew.
The company has focused their integration efforts on improving interoperability between high-tech components while maximising protection, utility and vision for the crew.
According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers report commissioned by Hanwha the company’s LAND 400 Phase 3 Australian industry capability package will generate $9bn in total economic impacts across Australia with $5.7bn generated in Victoria.
“The Redback would represent a huge step forward for the Australia Defence Force in terms of its capability to deliver land forces safely and effectively in very high threat scenarios,” Cho said.
Expanding on the economic and industrial opportunity presented by Hanwha’s offering, Cho added, “Local production of the Redback by Hanwha Defense Australia also represents a significant opportunity for Australian industry and could become the cornerstone of advanced manufacturing and technology transfer between the Republic of Korea and Australia.”
Hanwha Defense Australia is a subsidiary of Hanwha Defense International, which is a division of the vast Republic of Korea Fortune 500 conglomerate Hanwha Corporation.
Hanwha Corporation has been operating in Australia since 2005 in areas including mining equipment, logistics and alternative energy. Headquartered in Melbourne, Hanwha Defense Australia was established in 2019 with an initial focus on Land Systems.
The company has been selected as the sole tender for LAND 8116, a $2bn project which will see the Commonwealth acquire self-propelled artillery to be manufactured in the Greater Geelong area of Victoria. (Source: Defence Connect)
11 Jan 21. US Army Revamps Acquisition Strategy for Bradley Replacement. The US Army has come up with a new acquisition strategy in its decades-long effort to replace the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The service now has a five-phase approach which favors digital designs over building prototypes and more “nebulous” requirements its leaders are calling “characteristics of need.”
The Army released a request for proposals Dec. 18 for the optionally manned fighting vehicle, its latest name for the program.
“We are moving into our actual funded activity that will ultimately result in the design, development, delivery and capability of the optionally manned fighting vehicle and … replace the Bradley Fighting Vehicle,” Brig. Gen. Glenn Dean III, program executive officer for ground combat systems, told reporters in a briefing.
This is the Army’s fourth attempt to develop and field a replacement for the Bradley dating back to 1999 and the failed Future Combat Systems program, which was canceled in 2009. Since then, there have been two other programs and three different names for the Bradley replacement, with little to show for the three decades of efforts. The Army has now made the development of a next-generation combat vehicle one of its top acquisition priorities.
What’s different this time is the elimination of “requirements,” said Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, Army Futures Command’s director of the next-generation combat vehicle cross-functional team.
“In previous programs, the government has said, ‘We want a vehicle to go so many miles on a tank of gas.’ And if that was a threshold requirement and it was the best vehicle in the world, but it could only go two miles less then that threshold, [it] wasn’t unacceptable. So the government had to say ‘no,’” Coffman said.
In the place of requirements are now “characteristics of need,” Coffman said.
“We’ve identified nine broad characteristics to give industry the ability to innovate and deliver their ideas to the government for selection,” he said.
For example, one characteristic is weight. “Rather than saying it must weigh 41.5 tons, we’re saying that it has to cross 80 percent of the main supply routes in Eastern Europe,” Coffman explained.
Other features in the characteristics of need category include survivability, diagnostics, mobility, soldier capacity, upgradability, trainability, the ability to be optionally unmanned, and lethality.
“We have to be able to see and defeat our adversaries beyond the range of their capability,” Coffman said of the lethality category.
Dean said those characteristics of need “will drive industry toward their design.”
There are three components to the RFP, and these “characteristics” are the first. The second part is what Coffman called “non-mandatory items,” requirements that contractors know have been on every military vehicle. “So every vehicle has to be tied down on a rail car. Every vehicle has to be able to take a jumpstart in the same manner.”
The third component is similar to market research where bidders will be able to freely describe any new capabilities they may have to offer.
Based on the information gleaned from the RFP, the Army will put together an abbreviated capabilities development document. Based on that document, the Army will select five contractors in phase 3 to build digital designs, Coffman said. That is new as well. Previous programs would have asked for contractors to build prototypes.
Those digital concepts will be improved by industry and the government working together with soldier input, he added.
Phase 4 calls for three contractors to build and test prototypes. Phase 5 will identify a winner to move into production, Dean said. The competition will be opened up for any team to bid at each phase.
Also new to the program is that there are no classified annexes to the documents. The Army wants nontraditional contractors, including foreign manufacturers, to participate, Coffman said.
The optionally manned fighting vehicle will be built in the United States, Dean clarified. Normally, there is a lot of classified information provided at the beginning of programs, which results in barriers to entry for foreign competitors. That isn’t the case in the early stages of this program. For phase 3 and after, foreign bidders would have to have U.S. partners or a U.S. subsidiary with all the necessary firewalls in place, he added.
Key to the Army’s new acquisition philosophy is that there will be “no decision before its time,” Coffman said.
“Previous programs have required the government to be omniscient, and we all know that we’re not omniscient,” he said.
“We can’t predict what’s going to happen in seven years or eight years or nine years when this program or any program completes fielding. So we are not going to put a nail in a single requirement until we have to,” he added.
That will allow industry to continue to innovate. It allows the government to maximize what the technological advances are. And it also ensures that the Army “does not move the goalposts inadvertently and cause rework or additional schedule on industry,” Coffman said. (Source: glstrade.com/NDIA)