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British Army to trial VBCI
Quote:
British Army to trial VBCI
Nicholas de Larrinaga, London and Guillaume Belan, Paris - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
25 June 2014
The British Army is to conduct trials on the French VBCI infantry combat vehicle. Source: IHS/Patrick Allen
The British Army is to conduct trials later this year on the French Nexter Systems Véhicule Blindé de Combat d'Infanterie (VBCI) 8x8 infantry combat vehicle.
France is keen to market the VBCI to the United Kingdom for the successor to the cancelled Future Rapid Effect System Utility Vehicle (FRES UV) programme. The prospect of an export sale to the British Army is an element of the ongoing Franco-British defence co-operation programme.
Codenamed Project Brittany, the trial programme will see a company from 4 Rifles travel to France in September to be trained by the French Army on the VBCI and to then test the vehicle alongside French troops.
It is understood this work will begin at the Canjeurs military base in the south of France (the main French Army training centre for the VBCI), before later training by the 1st Tirailleurs regiment in Mourmelon in the northeast of France. The entire programme is scheduled to run over eight months and to be conducted in four phases.
The VBCI was a competitor in the original UV programme, alongside the ARTEC Boxer and the provisionally selected winner: the General Dynamics Piranha V.
Speaking to IHS Jane's at Eurosatory 2014 in Paris, Philip Dunne, UK Minister for Defence Equipment, Support, and Technology, said the VBCI had fallen down on three elements in the original competition: accessibility to the vehicle's powerpack, the vehicle's armour protection levels, and its growth potential.
All these issues now appear to have been addressed by Nexter, said Dunne. Since the original UV trials, "VBCI has undergone a significant upgrade", he added.
Nexter unveiled at Eurosatory its new export variant of the VBCI, which featured changes in line with the British requirement. These included the ability to remove the vehicle's powerpack in the field (a British but not a French requirement), and an improved suspension and transmission to increase the VBCI's maximum weight from 29 tonnes to 32 tonnes - meeting the British need for growth potential and improved protection levels.
Other improvements include fourth-axle steering, a repositioned fuel tank, upgraded cooling and engine performance, and small hull reconfigurations to increase the vehicle's internal volume.
However, despite the British Army's apparently warm interest in the VBCI following the vehicle's deployments to Mali and Afghanistan, the prospect of any 8x8 purchase remains distant, while French hopes of a government-to-government sale are likely to be dashed.
Dunne confirmed that there was "no specific schedule for the programme [to buy a new 8x8]", and that the "likelihood is it [the VBCI] would need to compete" in an open tender against rivals.
Alongside the VBCI, talks are also under way for a small group of UK personnel to train on the Nexter Caesar 155 mm wheeled self-propelled artillery (SPA) system, although this has yet to be finalised.
Related article: Eurosatory 2014: Nexter displays VBCI with 30 mm OWS
IHS Janes
Nicholas de Larrinaga, London and Guillaume Belan, Paris - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
25 June 2014
Quote:
The British Army is to conduct trials on the French VBCI infantry combat vehicle. Source: IHS/Patrick Allen
The British Army is to conduct trials later this year on the French Nexter Systems Véhicule Blindé de Combat d'Infanterie (VBCI) 8x8 infantry combat vehicle.
France is keen to market the VBCI to the United Kingdom for the successor to the cancelled Future Rapid Effect System Utility Vehicle (FRES UV) programme. The prospect of an export sale to the British Army is an element of the ongoing Franco-British defence co-operation programme.
Codenamed Project Brittany, the trial programme will see a company from 4 Rifles travel to France in September to be trained by the French Army on the VBCI and to then test the vehicle alongside French troops.
It is understood this work will begin at the Canjeurs military base in the south of France (the main French Army training centre for the VBCI), before later training by the 1st Tirailleurs regiment in Mourmelon in the northeast of France. The entire programme is scheduled to run over eight months and to be conducted in four phases.
The VBCI was a competitor in the original UV programme, alongside the ARTEC Boxer and the provisionally selected winner: the General Dynamics Piranha V.
Speaking to IHS Jane's at Eurosatory 2014 in Paris, Philip Dunne, UK Minister for Defence Equipment, Support, and Technology, said the VBCI had fallen down on three elements in the original competition: accessibility to the vehicle's powerpack, the vehicle's armour protection levels, and its growth potential.
All these issues now appear to have been addressed by Nexter, said Dunne. Since the original UV trials, "VBCI has undergone a significant upgrade", he added.
Nexter unveiled at Eurosatory its new export variant of the VBCI, which featured changes in line with the British requirement. These included the ability to remove the vehicle's powerpack in the field (a British but not a French requirement), and an improved suspension and transmission to increase the VBCI's maximum weight from 29 tonnes to 32 tonnes - meeting the British need for growth potential and improved protection levels.
Other improvements include fourth-axle steering, a repositioned fuel tank, upgraded cooling and engine performance, and small hull reconfigurations to increase the vehicle's internal volume.
However, despite the British Army's apparently warm interest in the VBCI following the vehicle's deployments to Mali and Afghanistan, the prospect of any 8x8 purchase remains distant, while French hopes of a government-to-government sale are likely to be dashed.
Dunne confirmed that there was "no specific schedule for the programme [to buy a new 8x8]", and that the "likelihood is it [the VBCI] would need to compete" in an open tender against rivals.
Alongside the VBCI, talks are also under way for a small group of UK personnel to train on the Nexter Caesar 155 mm wheeled self-propelled artillery (SPA) system, although this has yet to be finalised.
Related article: Eurosatory 2014: Nexter displays VBCI with 30 mm OWS
IHS Janes
Gak salah tuh Royal British Army alias Red Coat yang punya tradisi ratusan tahun melawan Frenchies akhirnya meninggalkan ego-nya dan mau membeli Frenchies Stuff
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