Page 39 - Australian Defence Mag Sep 2020

SEPTEMBER 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
LAND WARFARE LAND 400 PHASE 3 39
Missing was any explanation for the move, its method, or its timing, which came five years to the month since Brig McGlone was appointed Director-General Armoured Fighting Vehicles, and eight months into Risk Mitigation Activity (RMA) for what is officially titled the Mounted Close Combat Capability aka Land 400 Phase 3.
BUDGET BLOW OUT
This will deliver and support up to 450 Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) and 17 manoeuvre support vehicles. These will replace the army’s expensively-upgraded but now ob- solete M113AS4 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) at an estimated cost of $10-15 billion – a remarkably broad varia- tion in potential expenditure.
Officially-forecast Phase 3 expenditure has remained at that figure since release of the 2016 Defence White Paper - that is, until 22 June and publication of the 2020 Force Structure Plan, in which the forecast soared by an extraor- dinary 80 per cent to $18-27 billion.
Defence subsequently told ADM that the additional in- vestment included an increase in the initial procurement of spares and a larger stockholding of munitions to support greater operational readiness, together with increased in- vestment in supporting infrastructure and training ranges specific to the IFV capability.
“A longer, more feasible and sustainable vehicle build sched- uled in Australia also impacts the out-turned cost of the proj- ect,” the spokesperson added without further explanation.
Released five months after the Boxer’s Phase 2 success, the Phase 3 Request for Tender (RfT) noted that a key aspect of potential cost efficiency could be commonality with Phase 2. Important or not, Defence subse- quently emphasised that the IFV bids would be assessed entirely on their stand-alone merits.
“ALONGER,MOREFEASIBLE AND SUSTAINABLE VEHICLE BUILD SCHEDULED IN AUSTRALIA ALSO IMPACTS THE OUT-TURNED COST OF THE PROJECT, ACCORDING TO DEFENCE.
CONTENDERS
Shortlisting in September 2019 saw RDA’s Lynx KF41 and HDA’s Redback, both tracked IFVs, move to the two-year RMA process, which includes destructive testing to assess survivability.
Bidding through their Australian subsidiaries, the Ger- man and South Korean contenders had defeated proposals by General Dynamics Land Systems, which pitched an IFV development of its AJAX armoured fighting vehicle, and BAE Systems Hägglunds, which proposed its CV90 IFV.
Informed sources said the Ajax was deemed not fit for purpose in relation to its internal capacity for dismounts, while the CV90 was assessed as too expensive.
Eighteen months’ earlier, RDA’s Boxer 8x8 Combat Re- connaissance Vehicle (CRV) was selected under Land 400 Phase 2 to replace the army’s ageing fleet of 247 Australian Light Armoured Vehicles (ASLAVs) at an acquisition cost for 211 platforms of $5.2 billion. Sustainment over the ve- hicles’ 30-year life is estimated at $10.5 billion.
Land 400 Phase 1 covered the project’s definition study, while Phase 4 involves an inte-
grated training program for Phas-
es 2 and 3.
Unusually, the RfT listed only
three essential requirements.
These were the proposed vehicle’s ability to carry at least six dismounts, the ability to be strategically deployed by the RAN’s two Canberra-class Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) amphibious ships, and the ability to be carried by RAAF C-17A Globemaster III strategic airlifters.
The Phase 3 RMA program commenced in the final quarter of 2019, with one year allocated for the contend- ers to each manufacture and configure three trial vehicles ready for evaluation.
REQUIREMENTS
The full Phase 3 requirement comprises 281 turreted plat- forms and 119 non-turreted variants. Only turreted vari- ants, each mounting a 30mm cannon, are being used in the RMA and both contenders have confirmed their test platforms will include Australian-manufactured Bisalloy armour steel; in the Redbacks’ case, covering the entire hull and turret.
Hanwha’s three Redbacks are being built in Changwon on the southeast coast of South Korea; the Lynxes are under
ABOVE: Both the Lynx (left) and Redback (right) would fulfil the Land 400 Phase 3 requirement.