By Ann Roosevelt
General Dynamics UK [GD] ASCOD SV vehicle was selected over a BAE Systems entry as the winning design for the U.K. Ministry of Defence’s demonstration phase of the Specialist Vehicle (SV) competition.
The program potentially could be worth as much as $6 billion.
GDUK will provide the Scout vehicle and Common Base Platform for as many as 580 SV vehicles.
In announcing the preferred bidder, U.K. Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said: “I am pleased to announce the successful outcome of the Specialist Vehicle competition. This represents a very important milestone toward replacing the aging CVR(T) [Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked)] and is one of the highest equipment priorities for the Army.”
As preferred bidder, GDUK will now negotiate a contract with MoD.
Development of the Common Base Platform will allow the delivery of other vehicles to meet requirements that have been informed by the Strategic Defence Review, Ainsworth said.
This is the first block of the Future Rapid Effects Systems (FRES), a family of medium-weight armored vehicles, replacing an aging series of current force vehicles. One vehicle likely to be replaced is the Scimitar reconnaissance vehicle, built by Alvis, now BAE. It was first fielded in 1971 and has served British forces from the Falklands through Afghanistan (Defense Daily Nov. 9).
The announcement of the first of the SVs comes after the commitment to order an initial batch of 200 new Light Protected Patrol Vehicles (LPPVs) for Afghanistan.
“We are determined to provide the Armed Forces with the capabilities they require, and the Specialist Vehicle decision follows the announcement of our commitment to order an initial batch of 200 LPPVs that we will get to Afghanistan as quickly as possible,” Ainsworth said in a statement.
Chief of Defence Materiel Gen. Sir Kevin O’Donoghue said: “The Scout is one of the Army’s highest equipment priorities and will be the cornerstone of its reconnaissance capability. To have reached this point in a complex program so soon after the assessment phase began in summer 2008 reflects highly on the Defence Equipment and Support staff involved.”
ASCOD SV is the latest generation of a proven European design that has been significantly redesigned by General Dynamics’ UK engineering team and is expected to provide military capability for the British Army over the vehicle’s 30-year life, the company said.
Sandy Wilson, president and managing director of General Dynamics UK, said: “The General Dynamics UK team won this competition to provide the British Army with its next generation of Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFV) because it answered the requirement set by the MoD. We offered the best growth potential over the life of the vehicle, the best integrated solution, the best value for money for the British taxpayer and the best deal for the U.K. industrial base.”
The ASCOD SV program will deliver a Military-off-the-Shelf vehicle that will be immediately able to deliver load carrying growth potential of up to 42 tons with its modern, proven drivetrain rated at 45 tons–meaning the vehicle can be equipped to meet future threats over its service life without the need to upgrade the engine or transmission during that time.
Additionally, 80 percent of ASCOD SV’s full-rate production will be based in the United Kingdom, securing or creating over 10,600 jobs for British workers.
General Dynamics UK has sub-contracted Lockheed Martin UK’s [LMT] INSYS to produce the turret of the Scout variant of ASCOD SV, and will transfer full-rate production of the entire ASCOD SV program to DSG in Donnington U.K., ensuring that 80 percent of ASCOD SV production occurs in the United Kingdom.
Lord Peter Levene, chairman of General Dynamics UK Limited, said: “We are delighted that the MoD has selected ASCOD SV for its SV program, a decision we believe will sustain the British tank industry for future generations.”