Page 104 - Australian Defence Magazine September 2018

LAND FORCES
SOLDIER SYSTEMS
Continued from page 95
Tender timeline
Overall support for Land 125 Phase 4 is the responsibility of Paul Grant, Direc- tor of the Soldier Modernisation Systems Program Office in CASG’s Land Systems Division, who discloses that a tender to establish a prime vendor arrangement for the long-term supply of field equipment will be released in Quarter 3 of this year.
This will provide for a constant sup- ply of field equipment from early in 2020 through to the completion of Tranche Three in 2031-32 via a performance-based contract, initially for five years.
“These larger, longer-term arrangements are a key part of the First Principles review in revising our supply engagement mod- els, maximising the support we get from industry, and reduce CASG’s contractual management workload,” he explained to ADM. “The key is to develop an industry capability partner who is across the whole market in terms of what technology is out there and whom we can work with in terms of defining our requirements.”
Diggerworks have have been working with users since they began.
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As the name suggests, field equipment covers a broad range. Initial deliveries in 2020 will involve eight equipment types including an individual artificial illumi- nation system (helmet torches), urban breaching system, parts of an individual sleeping system (sleeping mats), and indi- vidual emergency water purification.
Of the other capabilities involved in Tranche One, live instrumentation for large exercises will enhance Army’s current relo- catable system used for collective training at Shoalwater Bay and other exercise areas.
Enhancing combat life jackets for amphib-
ious operations seeks increased functionality to allow troops to operate equipment more effectively as they transition from the mari- time to the land environment.
Finally, upgrading initial targetry seeks more lifelike targets for live firing.
“There have been some significant chang- es in the military shooting continuum, these are to better support the more ad- vanced shooting practices which are being employed within the close combat commu- nity,” COL Fogarty said.
The anticipated cost of the three tranch- es has yet to be disclosed.