Tracked Or Wheeled? Denmark Deliberates Over New APC

Tracked or wheeled? Denmark deliberates over new APC

September 2012

The old argument rears its head again as Denmark looks to award a key procurement contract, while some of the competing manufacturers look to gain an edge by showcasing their solutions for the Nordic military in Oslo…

Eight international defence companies are in the running to win potential contracts to meet Denmark’s newly announced requirement for a brand new armoured personnel carrier fleet.

The Danish Ministry of Defence has made the call out for the companies to submit bids for an estimated 360 vehicles to help replace the Army’s mechanised capability previously dominated by the ageing M113 fleet, which is already being phased out with the country’s CV90 variant.

As yet, the Army cannot decide on whether the vehicle should run on tracks or wheels, and has decided to find a solution by pitting the competition against four specialist suppliers from each side of the spectrum, all of whom qualified for consideration through an evaluation process at the start of the year.

Previous tests by other militaries to ascertain the merits and shortfalls of either type have yet to show any definitive benefit of choosing one over the other when vehicles are required for a variety of missions and environments.

Recognising that budget constraints are still of highest consideration for most European nations, the answer may fall into the strategic realm, relying on whether the Danes believe themselves to need an all-terrain/all-weather fleet, or whether they will streamline for specialist expeditionary situations.

According to early studies, “tracked vehicles offer the best solution for a versatile platform that is required to operate over diverse terrain, including extremely difficult ground, because tracks inherently provide a greater surface area than wheels, resulting in a lower VCI(Vehicle Cone Index)… [whereas] wheeled vehicles inherently attain faster road speeds” i, so while overall mobility may have been benefitted by tracks in a traditional combat zone, the transition to greater urban and irregular environments may demand wheels. However, limiting vehicles to primarily on-road use would be a risk.

Likewise, wheeled platforms have progressed in leaps and bounds since the beginning of the campaign in Afghanistan, where operational requirements for once vulnerable tyres and axels have pushed innovative upgrades from mine-resistance to traction over sharp slopes. That said, tracked vehicles possess the tighter turning radius and greater route flexibility – even if that involves rubble or other urban obstacles.

Also significant to the argument is the wheeled vehicle’s lower noise signature and ease with which repair and maintenance can be supported, should for example, an IED disable one or more of the wheels, yet the tracked option allows for greater weight spread and could potentially be scaled to carry heavier weapons and other equipment, which could otherwise sink a wheeled vehicle on soft or loose ground.

As the debate continues, the industry players competing for the Danish deal are as follows:

Wheeled

General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) MOWAG has provided its entire current portfolio to Denmark in recent years. This includes 18 Piranha IIIH 8x8 multi-role vehicles and 115 Piranha IIIC 8x8s, all equipped with the Lemur 12.7mm overhead weapon station; 36 Eagle I light tactical vehicles and 90 units of the upgraded IV variant; and 29 tailored DURO III 6x6s used primarily for medical transport. Given its history with Danish forces, MOWAG may have the best opportunity should the MOD opt for wheels.

Nexter presently exports the VAB APC, primarily in use with French forces; and the more modern Aravis, the 4x4 MRAP introduced in 2009 and set to arrive in Saudi Arabia, but which dropped out of the Canadian Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle project, which was won in June by Textron.

Patria has to its name its 8x8 multi-role Armoured Modular Vehicle, which as its name suggests can be refitted for combat or transport roles, and numerous versions of its Patria Pasi APCs, such as the XA-200 boasting upscaled armour. The Finnish company has previously leased 11 of the older XA-185s to Danish UN troops, chiefly as ambulances. Jukka Holkeri, Patria’s Chief Marketing Officer, will be discussing the optimisation of armoured vehicles in the local region at Armoured Vehicles Nordic.

2 ARTEC currently offers the veteran Boxer multi-role armoured vehicle, favoured by German and Dutch forces, and of which the APC variant unveiled in 2010 offers integration for modernised soldier systems.

Tracked

FFG Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft has unveiled a new armoured multi-mission vehicle currently in development under the title ‘G5’. At 25 tones and a payload of up to 6.5 tons, FFG is pitching the platform as a flexible and ideal successor to the M113s coming to the end of their utility across international fleets.

BAE Systems Hagglunds, was awarded a £149 FFG’s new G5 in action. million contract with the Danish Army at the Image: FFG end of 2005 for 45 bespoke CV9035 vehicles, beginning its mechanised rehaul, and so already has a working relationship with the MOD. The vehicles have seen frontline action in Helmand where in 2010 it successfully protected all crew from two out of three major IED incidents. It is anticipated that the Hagglunds branch will look to put forward its Armadillo version, built on the CV90 Mk III chassis. Both the President of Hagglunds, Tommy Gustafsson-Rask, and the company’s CV90 Platform Manager, Dan Lindell, will be addressing senior officers at Armoured Vehicles Nordic. Meanwhile, an operational assessment of the vehicle will also be presented by Colonel Ragnar Wennevik of the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation.

Rheinmetall Landsysteme has in its arsenal a rich portfolio of armoured vehicles, including NBC reconnaissance vehicles, a light armoured utility vehicle for Special Operations and a wheeled Tpz 1 Fuchs 6x6 all-terrain APC. The company has no known specific tracked APCs, but has developed and deployed the Wiesel light AFV series, as well as the Marder and Puma IFVs which offer strategic mobility.

General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) Santa Barbara, like Rheinmetall, have yet to produce a tracked APC, but has had success in the field with the likes of the ASCOD Pizarro IFV, used by Spanish and Austrian forces, which has seen variants include advanced reconnaissance and engineering.

Timeframe & Deliberation

A decision is expected to be made by mid-2014, and demands that the contractor provides all variants for command and control, mechanical, ambulance, mortar, engineering and infantry.

The unconfirmed Danish requirement falls between 206 to 450 vehicles, and is likely to be affected by the manufacture and lifecycle costs of the chosen platform, as well as the level of disrepair in the M113 fleet.

Key decision makers and industry will be discussing the potential for future vehicle acquisition and ground combat strategy at Armoured Vehicles Nordic, taking place in Oslo

3 from11-13 December, including Major Steen Holm Iversen, the Chief of Lessons Learned for the Danish Army Combat Centre.

Click to view the agenda or register today!

New Armoured Personnel Carrier programmes will be on the agenda at International Armoured Vehicles 2013. More information can be found by visiting www.InternationalArmouredVehicles.com, by emailing [email protected], or by calling +44 (0)207 368 9300.

Click to register today!

More information and booking forms

www.InternationalArmouredVehicles.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0) 207 368 9300