Page 40 - Australian Defence Mag March 2020

40 LAND WARFARE VEHICLE SAFETY
MARCH 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
ARMY PIONEERS NEW APPROACH TO HEAVY VEHICLE SAFETY
The ADF’s Land 121 program, much like the vehicles it is acquiring, is a large project that has been rumbling on for well over a decade.
PHASES 3B and 5B have seen the ADF acquire 3,580 medium and heavy trucks from Rheinmetall, with the former con- tract signature in 2013 and the latter in mid-2018. It is a huge number of vehicles, with deliveries running until 2024.
A little-discussed side effect of the program is that the ADF now owns over 9,000 trucks, making it the largest op- erator of heavy vehicles in Australia. As fighting vehicles are becoming more numerous and more capable, so too are the vehicles that transport them and associated supplies.
To effectively manage this growing fleet, the ADF is pioneer- ing new technologies and approaches to heavy vehicle safety. According to Brigadier Todd Ashurst, Director General Logis- tics for Army, the approach is driven by Chief of Army Lieuten- ant General Rick Burr’s concept of Accelerated Warfare.
“Accelerated Warfare not only describes the operating environment, but it also describes how we respond,” BRIG Ashurst said to ADM. “That response is providing the concept
ABOVE: The Land 121 vehicles are a massive step up in every sense for the ADF.
for how Army thinks, trains, prepares and organises for war. “Army’s equipment is becoming better protected, more flexible and longer ranging, and that includes our new heavy vehicle fleets. These fleets are the safest and most
advanced heavy vehicles we’ve ever had.”
The law defines a heavy vehicle as a gross weight over 4.5
tonnes, which covers plenty of vehicles in Army’s stable. The Hawkei, which is on the lighter end of the military spec- trum, weighs in at seven tonnes unloaded. Even a 6x6 G- Wagon with trailer could weigh in at over 4.5 tonnes, whilst Army’s heaviest vehicles, such as HX-81L tractors, weigh up to 21 tonnes and are designed to tow up to 140 tonnes – al- most the weight of an unloaded C-17A Globemaster.
EWEN LEVICK | SYDNEY
DEFENCE