Australia Taps Winners for $2.6B Vehicle Program
By Gregor Ferguson, SYDNEY
BAE Systems, Daimler Chrysler and local firm Haulmark Trailers Australia have been chosen to replace most of the Australian Defence Force’s current fleet of trucks, trailers and utility vehicles in a program worth $3 billion Australian ($2.65 billion).
Defense Minister Brendan Nelson announced in Brisbane on Oct. 5 that the Australian army will acquire approximately 1,000 Mercedes Benz G-Wagen four-wheel-drive and six-wheel-drive utility vehicles, 2,400 Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) trucks from BAE Systems Mobility and Protection Systems (formerly Armor Holdings), and 3,000 trailers of different sizes from Brisbane-based Haulmark.
Exact numbers and configuration remain subject to contract negotiations, which are expected to take about six months. The vehicles will be acquired under Phase 3 of Project Overlander, which also logged an order in August for 250 armored and mine-protected Bushmaster Infantry Mobility Vehicles (IMV), worth $300 million Australian, from Thales Australia here.
“Many specialist vehicle modules, trailers and all the Bushmasters will be produced in Australia,” Nelson said. “This Australian portion is worth approximately 800 million [Australian dollars].
“When deployed on operations, the vehicles will be capable of being fitted with enhanced protection to reduce the risk to our service men and women from threats such as suicide bombers, improvised explosive devices, land mines, bullets and other projectiles,” he added.
The new trucks will progressively replace the Australian Defence Force’s current inventory of Mercedes Benz Unimog 4-ton trucks and Mack and International heavy trucks and semi-trailers.
Phases 4 and 5 of Project Overlander are slated for funding approval in 2010 and 2012, respectively, according to the head of Project Overlander, Brigadier David O’Brien.
Phase 4 will see the acquisition of a further 1,200 armored light vehicles in the 1- and 2-ton payload class worth an estimated $1.2 billion Australian, he said, while Phase 5 will see the acquisition of about 2,000 unprotected, commercial off-the-shelf trucks and utility vehicles worth about $300 million Australian. These will be used for training and low-risk logistics tasks, he said.
“Protection is a key aspect of Overlander,” O’Brien said. While the G-Wagen four- and six-wheel-drive vehicles will be only lightly protected, many of the 5-, 10- and 16-ton payload FMTVs and semi-trailers will have armored cabs or be capable of carrying Survivability Enhancement Kits (SEK) to protect their crews and occupants in high-threat environments.
The 1,200 protected vehicles to be acquired under Phase 4 of Project Overlander, along with the 1,000 G-Wagens to be ordered under Phase 3, will replace the Army’s current fleet of soft-skinned Landrover four- and six-wheel-drive vehicles. However, O’Brien said, the Special Forces’ long-range patrol vehicles, which are based on the Landrover six-wheel design, will not be replaced under Project Overlander.
A separate, classified procurement program, Project Redfin, is charged with re-equipping the Special Air Service Regiment and the Army’s two commando regiments with new and upgraded vehicles, weapons, communications and other mission equipment, O’Brien said.
Sources at BAE Systems Australia, Adelaide, and DaimlerChrysler Australia/Pacific, Melbourne, said the exact number and configurations of the vehicles to be ordered in Phase 3 would be subject to contract negotiations. The value of Project Overlander to BAE Systems is estimated to be between $1 billion Australian and $1.5 billion Australian, the company said in a statement Oct. 5, and includes payload modules, technical services and spare parts.
It’s likely that most of the vehicles ordered under Phase 3 of Project Overlander will be imported fully assembled and fitted with specialist role equipment such as winches, radios and specialized payload modules in Australia.
