Supacat, a company with operations in Melbourne and Devon, UK, has signed a Teaming Agreement with Soucy International based in Quebec, Canada, a provider of Composite Rubber Tracks (CRT) for defence equipment.
CRTs reduce the noise and vibration levels generated by steel and improve crew safety, durability and system life while lowering fuel and life cycle costs. Rubber tracks also benefit programs with weight restrictions, such as the Mobile Fires Platform (MFP).
The teaming offers Soucy’s CRT systems to meet the requirements of the UK armed forces, and others, to upgrade their new and legacy armoured fleets from steel track.
The integration and support for Soucy tracks could be provided by Supacat, an established prime contractor to both the UK and Australian Defence departments.
Soucy says that CRTs surpass the performance of steel track systems in all measurable areas, from mobility and traction to cost per Km. The company has supplied CRTs for platforms such as M113s, Warthogs, Broncos, BVS10s, BAE Systems MPFs, CV90s and Redbacks.
The value of the UK armed forces’ requirement is estimated at £500m in track sales over 25 years. The company says it can deliver potential savings to the UK MoD of £330m from just four platform configurations transitioned to CRTs based on current track mileage allocations.
"We are delighted to be teamed with the world leading rubber track manufacturer, Soucy," Nick Ames, CEO of Supacat parent SC Group said. "We have had experience with tracks over the years for both military and civil applications, most notably the RNLI Launch and Recovery System.
"This teaming takes our exposure to rubber tracks to a new level and we look forward to working with Soucy on bringing the undeniable benefits of rubber tracks to the relevant UK and Australian vehicle fleets in the coming months and years ensuring the economic benefits are retained in both countries."
"This teaming agreement between Soucy and Supacat is directly linked to the global positioning strategy of Soucy," Normand Lalonde said. "It will allow us to enhance our value proposition offer of CRT to the UK MOD and to the different European and Australian armies while supporting local employment."