Land Force: Overlander looks at Ph 4 'local' options | ADM Feb 2010

Over a dozen hopefuls answered the call for a locally manufactured option 3 at the end of last year.

But can they compete against the scale, schedule and risk of the US-based Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program?

Katherine Ziesing | Canberra

Land 121 Ph 4 calls for 1300 protected mobility vehicles - light (PMV-L) in the $1.3 billion range.

There are three options being examined by the project office to acquire the fleet.

Option 1 is Australia taking part in the US-developed JLTV program.

This has been approved and where the project office is focussing their attention.

Australia is on track to receive nine test vehicles (three from each of the three short listed contenders) thanks to a Project Agreement (PA) signed by both countries last year.

"In order to reduce JLTV program risk, Australia will also conduct supplementary ballistic testing and tropical environment assessments, both of which were not planned for or affordable during the initial technology development phase," Lieutenant Colonel Ben Garza, JLTV Program Manager for the Marine Corps said at the PA announcement.

JLTV is joint initiative between the US Army and US Marines but the Marines have raised concerned about the increasing weight of the vehicle.

A Congressional Research Service report in May last year confirmed that "the Marines do not rule out removing themselves from the program and modifying current vehicles if developers cannot address their specific requirements."

"Key on this program is its expeditionary nature, its transportability," Col. John Myers, project manager for joint combat support systems at TACOM Life Cycle Management Command said in November last year.

"And so for JLTV, we watch very carefully in their designs are they able to meet the weights that we specify in order to maintain that transportability feature within the program.

"And what we saw with all three contractors was they seem to be on track with that."

Option 2 would see an off the shelf solution sought should JLTV not come together as planned.

Option 3, announced by the government amongst great fanfare last year, sees option 2 revisited with a locally manufactured and supported caveat.

All options have an emphasis on value for money through competition.

But why has there been such avid interest in the unapproved option 3 when it bears such close resemblance to option 2?

"There has been no decision taken on which acquisition strategy to take," Greg Combet, Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, said in a speech to the Australian Business Defence Industry Unit in November last year.

"My own strong view is that whatever option we do take we should be seeking to maximise Australian Industry Involvement.

"For example, if we choose the JLTV option we must ensure that Australian companies are given a fair opportunity to win work in the supply chain of the eventual JLTV manufacturer.

"This would offer Australian companies' opportunities to win work on a production run that some estimate to be at least 60,000 vehicles.

"Equally, an indigenous manufactured vehicle would also provide for opportunities for local defence manufacturers and the SMEs that support them."

Supporters of Australian industry have also questioned the decision to support a US developmental program over a locally developed solution.

Australia has contributed millions to the JLTV effort and has yet to invest in a local developmental option and has no plans to do so at this time.

There is nothing to stop the JLTV contenders, short listed or otherwise, from offering their solutions under option 2 or even option 3.

ADM understands that 13 contenders answered the Request for Proposal (RFP) for Phase 4 Option 3 but cannot name all the players for commercial in confidence reasons.

Those that have put their names in the public domain include Thales Australia with the Hawkei, General Dynamics Land Systems with the Eagle IV, Force Protection with the Ocelot, Oshkosh Defense with two offerings (Sandcat and M-ATV), and Protected Transport Systems (PTS) with the Protector II.

ADM has looked at the offerings from both the Thales and GDLS in past editions and has provided more detail from the other contenders listed below.

ADM also understands that an announcement from Government on option 3 could appear in the March/April timeframe.

Oshkosh Defense
Oshkosh Defense and JLG Australia have submitted two proposals that combine fielded vehicles with Australia-based manufacturing capabilities to fulfil the Australian manufactured requirement.

The team is submitting its M-ATV and SandCat vehicle for the program.

The SandCat was built around commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components to make maintenance and repairs easier globally while the M-ATV has seen deployments with US forces in Afghanistan with more deliveries scheduled.

Under the teaming agreement, JLG Australia would provide the in-country vehicle assembly if awarded the contract for either vehicle.

The JLG plant in the US is currently building 500 M-ATVs per month for the current contract.

JLG Australia also would be responsible for providing aftermarket service and support.

The team also has on its team Plasan SASA, Ltd.

Plasan is responsible for the development of the advanced armor systems for both the M-ATV and SandCat.

Plasan in Australia would produce most of the armour for both of Oshkosh vehicle submissions.

The M-ATV was built around the Oshkosh Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) chassis and the company's patented TAK-4 independent suspension system.

Several MTVRs, which also use the TAK-4 system, have exceeded 70,000 operational miles in Afghanistan, with readiness rates greater than 92 per cent.

The M-ATV also features parts commonality, such as the drivetrain, suspension and other components, with the MTVR, which Oshkosh submitted for the Land 121 Phase 3.

The base model M-ATV, which seats five (four passengers and a gunner), has a payload capacity of 1,814 kg.

The vehicle uses a Caterpillar C7 276-kilowatt engine and an Allison 3500 SP transmission, and has a maximum speed of nearly 105 kilometres per hour.

Its two-channel central tire inflation system has four terrain settings, which the vehicle can switch to automatically, and includes an integrated driveline lock control system.

The vehicle also uses run-flat tires, allowing it to travel a significant distance at a high speed on flat tires.

Like the M-ATV, the SandCat features an armour system developed by Plasan.

Armour sections used on the SandCat are integrated into the vehicle's design, allowing for a higher payload capacity than a standard vehicle its size, and are made from metal composites for protection from multiple hits.

Other protection features include a high-energy absorbing belly deflector, ballistic steel roof, collapsible seat base and suspended seats.

PTS
In 2008 Koos de Wet, an Australian armour designer who was involved with the Bushmaster project during its troubled developmental phase, identified a US vehicle, the Protector 1, that could be redeveloped to more than meet the emerging needs of the ADF.

de Wet worked for Mobile Armoured Vehicles LLC [MAV] of South Carolina to redesign the armour and Australianise the vehicle's capability and compliance.

Protected Transport Systems (PTS) then acquired the license for the Australian markets.

The product development with MAV also considered the needs of other potential global customers.

The hull design progressed and a steel hull readied for blast testing.

The pre-cursor vehicle platform, the Protector 1, continued to test the driveline and suspension to confirm stability, grade ability, off-road performance and reliability covering more than 40,000 kilometres by November 2009.

While the joint development continued in the US, Australian manufacturing processes were reviewed and local component supply capability was assessed for vehicle production.

Manufacturing a blast resistant vehicle in Queensland involves the systematic acquisition of contractors, material, components and services to form an integrated supply chain.

Sourcing would be Australia wide and also tap into Queensland's established defence and transport manufacturing capability, potentially generating purchases and contracts worth more than $1 billion and 250 Toowoomba manufacturing jobs through Great Western Manufacturing for five years.

The Queensland Government has thrown their support behind the bid.

The review of manufacturing capacities also established that the prototyping should be performed by PTS sub-contract in the US where the program can access the MAV design team, available factory capacity, specialist personnel and established supply lines.

"This would enable the timely and cost effective completion of the short term, high-activity prototyping process under the control of PTS, fast tracked, avoiding start-up and supply delays," Derek Andrews, executive chairman of PTS said.

Force Protection Inc
US based Force Protection Inc has formed Force Protection Australasia, proposing their Ocelot vehicle for Land 121 Ph 4 Option 3 consideration.

The company was at the Pacific2010 naval show last month exhibiting a mock-up of the vehicle complete with C4I suite.

Several operational prototypes are undergoing evaluation in the UK at the Millbrook test facility.

Leveraging off the work the company has performed in the US with the MRAP program (Buffalo and Cougar) and the UK's Cougar variants (Wolfhound,Ridgback and Mastiff), the company has offered an Australianised variant of the Ocelot family that will be entirely manufactured and assembled in Australia using both local and overseas manufactured components.

"The vehicle was developed for the UK's Light Protected Patrol Vehicle (LPPV) program, which is very close to Land 121 in terms of requirements," Mike Moody, president and CEO of Force Protection told ADM.

This LPPV program aims to have 400 light protected patrol vehicles production-ready by 2010, and delivered by 2011.

The company has been keen to emphasise the modular nature of the Ocelot, with its tilting pod design and common ‘skateboard' frame.

The pods for each variant can be readily interchanged, resulting in enhanced mission and deployment flexibility across the fleet.

UK testing teams have demonstrated that change of pods can be undertaken in less than two hours at unit level.

"The modularity of this approach helps enormously in the maintenance and servicing of the vehicle," Moody explains.

"An engine can be swapped out in less than an hour."

FP held industry briefings late last year, after the RFP had closed, gauging the local capability on offer.

"We had great feedback from that process and we are confident that the vehicle can be built and supported, within the timeframe outlined, here in Australia," Moody said.

FP estimates that they can produce 10 vehicles per week once volume production is reached.

Full plastic jacket

By Katherine Ziesing | Canberra

An urgent requirement existed in 2004 for the US Army to prevent and/or minimize fuel leakage on fuel tankers due to small arms fire from insurgents.

In order to solve this problem in the field, the US military investigated other means of protecting the fuel tankers from small arms fire.

These solutions were primarily based on using steel or composite armour for the protection.

These options came with significant drawbacks.

Armour is heavy, difficult to attach and remove, slows speed and dramatically reduces the ability of the tanker to carry a full load.

A self-sealing/self-healing external fuel tanker membrane system was developed to meet this urgent need.

The BattleJacket Fuel Containment System (FCS) utilises technology developed by High Impact Technologies (HIT) and Rhino Linings US.

The membrane uses a spray polyurethane elastomer and a proprietary additive, which combine to expand and seal permanently the undesired holes from ballistic penetration.

Since the FCS technology is sprayed on, it is conforms to the contours of the areas being sprayed and adheres directly to the metal.

The Battle Jacket FCS protective lining can be applied to protect any vessel containing or moving hydro-carbon based liquids.

Specific thicknesses of the lining have been developed through testing with the US military for various tank geometries, tank substrates and ballistic threats.

A specialised application process was also developed to allow the US military to apply the system to fuel tankers in the field and in theatre.

Based on the excellent results obtained in US military testing, this system has been implemented on all Oshkosh HEMMT fuel tankers in deployed service.

Rhino Linings Australasia, which produces spray on protective linings for the Chinook helicopter and Special Forces vehicles, has just signed an alliance agreement with HIT to provide the technology to the Australian Defence Force for numerous vehicle fleets.

"Rhino Linings Australasia already supplies the Australian Defence Forces with specialised protective coatings," Mark Teakle, managing director of Rhino Linings Australasia said.

"BattleJacket is a natural synergy between our two companies and the Australian Department of Defence, particularly in light of the commitment to Land 121 and our countries overseas troop commitments."

New MAN on the block

Katherine Ziesing | Canberra

As announced in ADM last year, MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG and Rheinmetall AG are to form a joint company for military wheeled vehicles and the two companies have now signed a contract to this end.

The new company, which will be known as Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles GmbH (RMMV), will provide solutions for military wheeled vehicles, covering the entire range of armoured and unarmoured transport, command and role-specific vehicles for the international armed forces.

Rheinmetall will have a stake of 51 per cent and MAN 49 per cent in the new company, which will be headquartered in Munich.

The plan is still subject to approval from the competition authorities.

"For the Australian/NZ Defence environment this is only good news as it will ensure that the capacity of both companies is enhanced to provide better support to the market place and enable the local team to enhance the information flow as well as product or systems support in the wheeled vehicle business sector," Mike Riley, MAN Military Vehicle Systems chief executive officer said.

"Clearly the existing close cooperation with Rheinmetall Ag and the existing MAN organisations will remain to ensure a complete local capability is available."

Queensland-made means A Grade

Queensland is rapidly forging a reputation for its support to the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

In 2007-08, Queensland's defence industry achieved annual revenues of $1.4 billion and employed 13,000 people, and has showed continued strong growth since then.

After nearly a decade of growth, Queensland's defence industry has become a significant contributor to the State's economy (currently one per cent of Queensland's Gross State Product).

The second largest State for defence employment, Queensland is home to 21 per cent of ADF personnel, due to its geographic location complementing the ADF's strategic need to base and deploy forces in northern Australia.

This substantial ADF presence in Queensland has provided the drive for a significant local defence industry, characterised by commercial success.

The Queensland Government has identified defence as a priority industry with a key role in the ongoing development of value-adding industry in the state and one that will be nurtured via its Advanced Manufacturing Plan.

The Government's vision for the defence industry includes consolidating Queensland's pre-eminent position as Australia's Defence destination.

This vision is based on a globally competitive, innovative and sustainable industry sector.

Queensland is now recognised as a developing hub for heavy vehicles to support defence requirements.

Vehicles supplied to the ADF either manufactured or supported from Queensland include those made by Drake Trailers, Ekebol Engineering, Haulmark Trailers, MAN Military Vehicles, Mack Trucks and Thales Australia.

These companies provide the distribution, manufacture, modification, maintenance, repair and overhaul of heavy vehicles, recovery vehicles, trailers, equipment and special purpose modules to the ADF.

Queensland's ties to the ADF are set to grow even stronger if a bid to manufacture the new protected light vehicle in Toowoomba is successful.

The Treasurer and Minister for Employment and Economic Development Andrew Fraser has applauded the proposal by Protected Transport Systems (PTS) to bid for Land 121 Phase 4.

"If successful, this project will generate 250 plus jobs in the region and would be a major boost for Queensland's manufacturing industry," Fraser said.

"Queensland's manufacturing industry is internationally competitive and highly skilled.

"The PTS proposal offers the ADF a vehicle with better than the required level of blast protection and vehicle performance.

"It is aimed at increasing the survival chances of soldiers in combat situations."