• The Sentinel II – the vehicle shares very high levels of commonality with the amphibious Terrex 2 fielded for the USMC capability, and this has been offered as an option in the Land 400 Phase 2 RfT. Credit: ELSA
    The Sentinel II – the vehicle shares very high levels of commonality with the amphibious Terrex 2 fielded for the USMC capability, and this has been offered as an option in the Land 400 Phase 2 RfT. Credit: ELSA
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The Sentinel II – a Tasmanian Devil at heart

30 June 2016
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Patrick Durrant | Burnie

ADM inspected Team Sentinel’s Land 400 Phase 2 contender on Tuesday in Tasmania, and in the competition it will surely prove to be as fierce as the Tasmanian Devil emblazoned on its hull.

The first vehicle arrived in Burnie courtesy of an Ilyushin IL-76 recently and was showcased in the workshop at the headquarters of the Elphinstone Group. The manufacturer has been building and exporting heavy mining vehicles (over 5000) for forty years and employs 2000 locals. Elphinstone joins Elbit Land Systems Australia (ELSA) and Singapore Technologies Kinetics (ST Kinetics) as well as Sydney based WE Platt and Marand to make up Team Sentinel.   

The 35 tonne Sentinel II (classified as a Terrex 235) is based on the ST Kinetics Terrex 2 hull and drive train shortlisted for the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the US Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) in Singapore and incorporating Elbit Systems’s MT30 Turret.

ELSA Test and Evaluation manager Justin Olde said the C4I system being integrated into the Sentinel II was an evolution of that used by the Israeli Defence Force Merkava MKIV main battle tank.

 

"Whether or not you are carrying missiles is anyone's guess until it's already too late."

 

It includes Israeli Military Industries (IMI) hard-kill Iron Fist active protection system (APS) and a Battle Management System (BMS). Olde said the systems had not been developed in a piecemeal fashion to suit the interests of partner companies, but had been incorporated from the outset with the intention of developing a fully integrated fighting system. According to ELSA, the Sentinel II was the only contender to be fully C4I integrated at this stage of the tender.

The Iron Fist APS brings a key point of difference compared with the other three Phase 2 contenders. ELSA brings Israel's experience in fielding the systems and the "quite phenomenal impact on doctrine it has when your missile threat is highly negated", according to ELSA’s business development manager Iain Watt.

The turret sports an integrated retractable Rafael SPIKE twin launcher which is part of the turret structure as opposed to being affixed to the exterior.

As Watt said, "whether or not you are carrying missiles is anyone's guess until it's already too late."

The MT30 turret is a descendent of the UT30 MkI variants of which have served in the Belgian, Brazilian, Philippines and Israeli armed forces.

One of the unique features of the turret is that it can be used in either manned or unmanned configurations. The crew basket which accommodates the commander and the gunner can be removed and a blanking plate inserted, opening up the troop compartment for up to another six troops (making a total of 10) and maintaining all the capabilities of the manned configuration. If the ADF wished to switch to an unmanned infantry fighting vehicle configuration at a later date, there would be no need to alter the turret or the hull, in fact Team Sentinel has submitted both options to the Commonwealth.

The turret incorporates an Orbital ATK Mk 44 Bushmaster II 30 mm dual feed cannon and a M240 7.62 mm co-axial machine gun. The cannon has an upgrade path to the 40 mm Supershot if required. It can also be elevated to 60 degrees (see video). For more on the turret – see the Marand contract story.

Watt said Team Sentinel’s Australian Industry Capability offering was different “because we’re not trying to build a factory to build the 225 vehicles”.

“In Elphinstone we’ve got a partner that knows how to manufacture heavy vehicles and runs a very successful business already. So we’re not creating a boom/bust industry where five years from now there’s a shiny factory with no work in it.”

He made it clear that the ongoing evolution of the vehicle had been mapped out, with provision to upgrade to Elbit's Iron Vision System recently launched at Eurosatory 2016, and further development of the BMS and hard and soft kill APS.

For more information on the Sentinel II see ADM’s series of videos taken at the demonstration via our YouTube channel. The vehicle will also be profiled extensively in ADM’s forthcoming Land edition in September.

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