Nigel Pittaway | Anglesea
General Dynamics Land Systems Australia (GDLS-A), Thales Australia and Kongsberg became the second team to unveil their Land 400 Phase 2 offering locally during a presentation on June 7.
The GDLS team presented the LAV(CRV) to media at the Australian Automotive Research Centre (AARC) near Anglesea and it was on display again two days later at Thales Australia’s facility in Bendigo, as part of an industry engagement event.
The LAV(CRV) is a MOTS+ vehicle which uses the MOTS GDLS LAV 6.0 as the reference, but is enhanced with equipment such as the remotely-operated Kongsberg Protector MCT-30 turret, with Bushmaster Mk.44 30mm automatic cannon, Thales’ SOTAS-based open-architecture C4 system and integrated Elbit Torch BMS.
"GDLS-A is the prime contractor for the bid and GDLS Canada (GDLS-C) is the chassis OEM."
GDLS-A is the prime contractor for the bid and GDLS Canada (GDLS-C) is the chassis OEM. Thales Australia is the principal Australian supplier, responsible for SOTAS integration, mission role kits and final fit out, simulation, ammunition and support and Kongsberg is the weapons systems supplier.
GDLS-C’s international programs manager David Tunney said that the three Risk Mitigation Activity (RMA) vehicles were diverted off the LAV 6.0 production line for the Canadian Army and modified to LAV(CRV) configuration.
The vehicle on display at Anglesea was Vehicle No.2, which arrived in Australia on May 13 and after a period of time at Thales’ Bendigo facility was due to be shipped to GDLS-A’s plant at Pooraka in South Australia this week. Vehicle No.1 has been retained in Canada pending down-select and No.3 has been with Kongsberg in Norway since March, undergoing MCT-30 integration and testing.
Tunney said that a decision on where the vehicles will be built if the GDLS-A team is ultimately successful has not yet been made and will depend on the Commonwealth’s Australian Industry Content (AIC) requirements.
“There will be some work in Bendigo, because that’s where Thales has their armoured vehicle division (and) we have an industrial footprint in South Australia with GDLS-A that we’ll also make use of,” he said.
“To some extent it’s up to the customer how much risk they want to take, in terms of schedule. We are committed to industrial activity in Australia (and) there will be Australian content in these vehicles.”
The team will hold a further industry day in Pooraka on June 22.
This article first appeared in ADM's Defence Week Premium No.401 dated 16th June 2016.