Weapons: Whatever happened to Land 40 Ph.2? | ADM Jul 2010
Nearly three years after the close of tenders to provide what was understood to be a Military Off The Shelf (MOTS) 40mm automatic grenade launcher, no preferred tenderer has been named and it’s not clear when this capability will enter service.
Gregor Ferguson | Sydney
At the time of writing it wasn’t clear whether or not defence had selected a preferred tenderer for Project Land 40 Phase 2 – Direct Fire Support Weapon.
Tenders closed for this contract in October 2007; the two shortlisted contenders were asked to tender for 60 40mm Automatic Grenade Launchers (AGL), based on a Military off the shelf (MOTS) design, with an option for a further 90 systems.
The AGLs will equip Army infantry battalions and RAAF Airfield Defence Guards as well as the Special Forces.
This isn’t a capability that the ADF had fielded before 2001; the Special Forces acquired a number of US Mk19 40mm AGLs in 2003 under a Rapid Acquisition Project (RAP) for service in the Middle East, pending delivery of a mature capability under Land 40 Ph 2.
There has been no official announcement, but it seems to be an open secret that the DMO has selected the Heckler & Koch Grenade Machine Gun (GMG) put forward by Melbourne firm Point Trading.
The loser was NIOA Defence in Brisbane, which offered the General Dynamics Mk47 AGL.
Neither company would comment to ADM on the project.
The 2006 Defence Capability Plan (DCP) stated that 2nd Pass Approval for Land 40 Ph 2 was scheduled for 2007-08 and that in-service delivery would take place in 2008-10.
The estimated budget for Phase 2 was $150-$200 million.
However, it’s not clear at this stage that contract negotiations with a preferred tenderer have even begun; and given the lead time for manufacture of certain items such as fire control systems, how long will it take for a contractor to deliver the first weapons after contract signature?
The RFT for this phase was released in mid-2007, closing in October of that year.
The tender evaluation process included live firing trials which began in March 2008 and contenders had reportedly been promised a source selection by June 2009.
Open source information has been scarce; much of what is in the public domain emerged before and during the 2007 Land Warfare Conference.
Since then the contenders have been bound by DMO confidentiality agreements as a condition of tendering.
According to the industry briefing for Ph 2 held back in 2007, the Army is looking for a MOTS solution: a lightweight weapon that is fully qualified and in active service, that’s able to fire all natures of 40mm ammunition used by the US forces, and with a night vision and airburst capability.
The RFT called for the gun, a Fire Control System (FCS) incorporating a day/night optical sight, a Thermal Weapon Sight (TWS) and the ammunition for the weapon, though the requirement to supply ammunition was reportedly dropped later on; it’s not clear if this has been reflected in the project’s budget which stood in 2006 at over $150 million for an initial by of just 60 guns.
As noted by Tom Muir in ADM’s Defence Week newsletter back on 1 September 2008, direct fire support is the essential element in the effective prosecution of close combat operations.
In the past, the Australian Army has lacked dedicated organic direct fire weapons with the necessary range and effect to adequately support manoeuvre at infantry battalion and rifle company level.
The weakness in the current capability is that rifle companies are equipped with small arms with an effective range of 400 metres.
To conduct effective close combat operations, they need direct fire weapons to neutralise, suppress or destroy designated targets to a range of at least 2,000 metres.
This is to allow manoeuvre groups to close with the enemy in the assault, or to prevent the enemy from either closing in or standing off and engaging from a safe distance.
Like the Javelin missile acquired under Ph 1 of Land 40, the AGL is likely to be issued to Direct Fire Support Weapon (DFSW) Platoons in all regular infantry battalions, as well as to RAAF Airfield Defence Guards and the Special Forces.
As noted earlier the Ph 2 requirement was for 60 guns, with an option to acquire a further 90 later.
Such a small order by global standards (the US Special Operations Command orders by the thousand) really dictates a MOTS approach with, at most, some very minor integration of components such as sight and fire control systems.
So it’s hard to understand why the source selection and contract negotiation process has taken so long.
That said, a source at Point Trading told ADM that he was “happy with the way the project is progressing”, though he declined to discuss any aspect of the project.
Similarly, a source at NIOA Defence stated only that the price validity of the company’s offer has been maintained since the tender closed.
It’s not clear whether the night vision and airburst capabilities are deemed ‘essential’ or simply ‘desirable’; it’s not even known whether the tender actually requested either a night vision or an airburst capability, though these were on the list of user requirements briefed to industry in 2007.
ADM understands, however, that the tender evaluation trials didn’t include night firings.
The Mk47, dubbed ‘Striker 40’, weighs 18 kilograms (compared with General Dynamics’s older Mk19 which weighs in at 35 kilograms), and 44 kilograms all-up including the tripod, vehicle adaptor kit, ammunition box, Lightweight Video Sight (LVS) and batteries, and is in service with the US Special Forces and other operators, including Israel and Sweden.
It is also integrated with the CROWS 1 (from Electro-Optical Systems) and CROWS 2 (from Kongsberg) Remote Weapon Stations (RWS), both of which are in ADF service.
It is integrated with the Raytheon AN/PWG-1 LVS, a day/night optical sight and laser rangefinder.
This is an essential part of the weapon’s airburst capability: the sight unit measures the range to the airburst point, calculates the time of flight of the projectile and then programs the fuze before firing.
So far it is the only 40mm AGL with a programmable air burst capability: there is currently only one type of qualified 40mm airburst ammunition (the Mk285 40mmx53, manufactured in Norway by NAMMO), and the Mk47 is the only gun qualified to fire it in this role.
It is also integrated with the Raytheon AN/PAS-13 Heavy Thermal Weapon Sight (TWS).
At the time the tender closed, ADM was told the Mk47 was probably the only MOTS solution – that is, fully compliant with both the tender specification and the user requirements (including night vision and airburst capabilities) and requiring no further development or qualification work.
The Heckler & Koch GMG is far heavier at 29 kilograms (the tripod weighs 11 kilograms more, and sights, ammunition box, batteries and other accessories will add significantly to this weight), but is also in service with a range of operators, including New Zealand and the British Army and the Royal Marines who have integrated it with optical and thermal imaging sights and a laser rangefinder.
While Point Trading declined to discuss the project and the GMG’s configuration, ADM understands Australia could have a configuration very similar to that reported to be in service with elements of the NZ Army.
In this case the GMG uses the Norwegian-designed Vingmate FCS sighting system along with the BAE Systems AN/PAS-13C(V) Thermal Weapon Sight which is already in service with the ADF.
The Vingmate FCS, marketed in Australia by VingTech Australia Pty Ltd in Melbourne, was developed by Vinghog which, in cooperation with fellow-Norwegian company Kongsberg, designed the Protector RWS which is also in ADF service.
VingTech Australia was established in October 2008 as a joint venture between Vinghog’s parent company Simrad Optronics ASA and HK Systems Research and Development Pty Ltd, which was already the Australia and NZ representative for Heckler and Koch.
Company representatives declined to comment to ADM, so it’s not clear why HK Systems Research and Development itself hadn’t primed the Heckler and Koch proposal for Land 40 Ph 2.
Point Trading was the Vinghogs distributor in Australia at the time of the Ph 2 RFT, but it’s not clear what GMG configuration it offered the to the ADF.
Point Trading is also the local representative for a number of overseas manufacturers of sighting and fire control systems and it’s possible that the GMG was offered with a different FCS and/or thermal weapon sight.
However, if the ADF insisted on having the PAS-13C(V) for reasons of commonality then because it is an ITAR-controlled US product, a Technical Assistance Agreement (TAA) would be required for the technical data necessary to integrate this with the FCS or gun; this would complicate maters somewhat.
In the absence of hard information it’s fruitless to speculate.
Suffice it to say that Vinghogs established the new VingTech Australia joint venture with Heckler & Koch’s representative very soon after the RFT closed for Ph 2.
At the end of the day
The point is, Defence wanted a MOTS 40mm AGL and had a choice between two good though very different weapons.
Each had a range of fire control and sighting systems associated with it and the Mk47, at least, was fully compliant with all of the requirements set out at the industry brief in 2007 and, so far as ADM can determine, the RFT itself.
It’s not clear whether or not the GMG was integrated with the VingMate FCS and PAS-13C(V) at the time the tender closed, though Norway qualified and fielded this combination quite soon after.
Furthermore, it’s understood both of the shortlisted contenders passed the technical and user trials conducted during 2008.
So if both contenders were deemed compliant back then how come it has taken so long to get through source selection and sign a contract for a paltry 60 weapons?
And when will the new capability enter service?
Depending on the solution chosen and the lead-time for critical items such as the FCS, this could be up to 18 months after the contract is actually signed.
And details on when a contract will be signed are still nowhere in sight.