Australia will spend $376 million with BAE Systems and Mercedes Benz to improve mobility and capability for its military force, according to a top defense official.
“New threats, new tactics and new technologies will continue to evolve, and we as a Defence organisation need to use gatherings such as this to stay ahead of the game and ensure that the forces we field to meet the threats of the 21st century are the best trained, best equipped and best motivated troops on the modern battlefield,” the Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon, Minister for Defence, said at the Land Warfare Conference in Brisbane last week.
A $231.6 million contract was signed at the conference Oct. 29 with Mercedes-Benz to supply 1,200 new G-Wagons for the Australian Defence Force. About 60,000 of the two-ton, all-terrain vehicles are in use by defense forces worldwide.
The contract part of the about $3 billion Army project called Land 121 Project Overlander, to deliver over the next decade a fleet of 7,000 vehicles, trailers and support modules.
The G-Wagon represents a new capability for Defence and will provide enhanced levels of mobility and operational functionality. They will replace the current Land Rover light capability fleet that began service in the 1980s.
Six different types of G-Wagon will be acquired by Land 121, with the majority going to Army units. The types include: a 4×4 general purpose station wagon, two 4×4 cargo variants, a 6×6 cab chassis variant, a 6×6 dual cab truck, and a specialist 6×6 surveillance and reconnaissance vehicle.
The new vehicles will have detachable unit-specific modules designed for tasks including munitions transfer, field ambulances and troop carriers, reducing the need for purpose built vehicles and increasing the logistical flexibility of the fleet.
Additionally, Fitzgibbon said the government approved a $145.6 million project to upgrade 81 additional M113 Armored Personnel Carriers to improve the protection, mobility and firepower for the Army.
Under LAND 106, delivery is under way for 350 upgraded M113 APC vehicles.
The additional 81 APCs will improve the capability of the Army’s Mechanised Infantry units, 7 RAR, a recently established battalion, and 5 RAR.
The upgrades will include the stretching of the M113 vehicles, add-on armor kit, spall liners, the addition of a new Australian designed and built turret and new weapon, replacement of the drive train and suspension and the adoption of measures to improve the comfort of troops in the vehicle such as heat mitigation measures and better equipment stowage.
“The increased number of vehicles to be upgraded by BAE Systems Australia will see the production line at the Bandiana production facilities in northern Victoria remain open until July 2011,” Fitzgibbon said.
BAE Systems Australia is also opening additional facilities in Williamstown, Victoria and Wingfield, South Australia to ensure all of its delivery commitments are met.