Land Force: From the Army in being to Force 2030 | ADM March 2012
Katherine Ziesing | Canberra
In June of 2010, then Defence Minister Senator John Faulkner announced over a billion dollars of Force Protection measures for troops in Afghanistan. Now 18 months later, many of the 48 recommendations from the report have come into being or are in the process of being delivered. These include:
- the C-RAM system against mortar attacks;
- a range of counter-IED technologies ranging from more dogs to Self-protection Adaptive Roller Kits (SPARK roller) to mitigate the risk to vehicle mounted troops;
- increased ISR assets;
- enhanced electronic counter measures;
- more Bushmasters;
- upgrades to body and vehicle armour and;
- finally increased health support for troops returning home from service.
Army has gone through a number of training changes, shortening its learning loop and changing the way it approaches the Raise, Train and Sustain paradigm. The changes to the structure of Army announced under Plan Beersheba in recent months will also start making themselves felt in the near future. This will help shape Army into the organisation it needs to be to deliver Force 2030.
While many see Army as being behind the other services in terms of technology acceptance, iArmy has been a wonderful tool in this regard, offering diggers the opportunity to share their experiences through a communal digital portal.
The digitisation of the battlespace through C4I measures that are occurring on a rolling schedule are also beginning to take shape under various projects like JP2072 and Land 200 among others.
On the go
In terms of getting people where they need to be vehicles and helicopters have both come along by leaps and bounds. The Tiger ARH performed well in exercises in 2011 but still faces some additional air safety issues before final sign off. Hopefully these can be addressed in 2012 along with the myriad of issues the MRH90 still faces.
There still seems to be a sentiment that Army would have preferred the latest Black Hawk variant but the New Zealand Army seems to be going great guns with their NH90s. Time will tell how this capability comes together, particularly as these choppers will also be operating off the LHDs in the years to come, a big challenge for operators and maintainers.
The various phases of Project Overlander under Land 121 are also finally coming together. The G-Wagons and associated modules and trailers under Ph 3A completed contract neogotaitions as this edition of ADM was being written.
“The Australian Government has completed negotiations to acquire 2,146 G-Wagon four wheel drives and 1,799 matching trailers,” Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Defence Materiel said.
“This will provide the Australian Army with enhanced training capability to prepare for operations in protected vehicles, ensuring that Australian soldiers are better prepared and equipped.”
The G-Wagon vehicles are being manufactured for Daimler AG, and then supplied to Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific Pty Ltd in Mulgrave, Victoria, to fit Australian-made modules and tray bodies.
“The modules and tray bodies for these vehicles, as well as the trailers, will be designed and manufactured by Australian companies – Varley and Haulmark – in contracts worth approximately $196 million,” Senator Carr said.
Approximately 540 modules and 810 tray bodies are being designed and manufactured by G. H. Varley Pty Ltd in Newcastle in a contract worth approximately $100 million. There are 1,799 trailers being designed and manufactured by Queensland-based Haulmark Trailers, to the approximate value of $96 million, including initial support.
The main roll-out of the new vehicles and trailers to Defence units is scheduled to commence in July this year.
As mentioned in our From the Source interview this month, Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) was announced at the end of last year as the preferred tenderer for the medium/heavy segment of Ph 3. The interview provides an interesting perspective on the challenges involved in the projects to date.
Ph 4 is also moving with Thales’ Hawkei downselected under the Manufactured Supported in Australia (MSA) option. More can be read about this on P20. Though how the program office will cope with the changing schedule on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program is anyone’s guess. There will be some interesting milestones and decision points to watch for in the coming year ahead, particularly if other options are truly explored.
Of course the big change on the horizon for vehicles is Land 400. As many in industry have already noted, the vehicles under this project may be the easiest part of the program. The Combines Arms Fighting System will very much change the way Army operates.
Contenders for the vehicle side of the equation have been positioning themselves for some time now, both tracked and wheeled, with the program office clearly stating their preference for an off the shelf solution. The evolution of this project will be closely watched for some time to come.
Weapons
Weapons procurement under the DCP framework has been a mixed bag recently. Land 17 has seen the towed M777 come into service quite easily but the self propelled element is still in limbo. The 40mm Light Weight Automatic Grenade Launcher under Land 40 was cancelled though the other phases have seen the delivery of 437 M3 Carl Gustaf with a Heavy Weapon Thermal Sights for fitment.
Defence has now taken delivery of all 437 weapons and sights with roll-out to entitled units completed in October 2011. Australia is the first country to use both the weapon and sight as an integrated weapon system providing an effective firepower and night fighting capability. The evolution of the F88 Austeyr also continues with Thales recently announcing more work being done on the staple firearm for the ADF.
Weapons projects that were identified under the Force Protection measures or acquired under a Rapid Acquisition seemed to have fared much better schedule wise it seems.
All in all, Army has a lot going on at the moment, both in terms of operations and capability projects. Stay tuned.