Page 42 - Australian Defence Mag Sep 2020

42 LAND WARFARE LAND 400 PHASE 3
SEPTEMBER 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
shortlisting of the Lynx KF41 and the Redback was based on developmental platforms specifically designed to meet Australian requirements.
Producing fully functional and robust vehicles from prototypes with limited functionality in the
relatively short time available has been ac-
knowledged as a challenge by both contend-
The broad scope of testing will include vehicle weapon systems; protection against mine and ballistic threats (blast testing will occur early in the test period, with one 10kg mine explosion under a track and another under the
ers, particularly given the demanding and largely off-road nature of the RMAs and where they will take place.
Test locations will include the High Range training area outside Townsville during the wet season, and the 2,100 square kilome- tre Cultana combined arms training area in South Australia at the height of summer.
“THE FULL PHASE
3 REQUIREMENT COMPRISES OF 281 TURRETED PLATFORMS AND 119 NON-TURRETED VARIANTS.”
centreline of the hull); vehicle performance and mobility characteristics; electronic sys- tem interference; maturity of sub-system integration; and human factors together with tactical employment of the vehicles in the IFV role.
The response to any failure will be de- pendent on the nature of the failure and the ability of the tenderer to demonstrate rectifi- cation of such a failure.
A 26-strong Trials Platoon stood up to operate the shortlisted vehicles compris- es a mix of armoured and mechanised in-
According to Defence, the test vehicles
must be delivered “in a configuration repre-
sentative of their tendered configuration, with any excep- tions agreed to by Defence and documented in the RMA contracts that Defence has signed with each tenderer.”
ADM understands at this point that the RMA vehicles will have a number of caveats on them to meet the demanding timeline from the Commonwealth. Industry sources also point to COVID19 related delays that may also impact the RMA.
fantry soldiers of varying experience, selected to facili- tate a broad spectrum of user feedback. Since the RMA is not a comparative trial, the crews will be trained on and operate the same vehicle type throughout the evaluation process.
Although vehicles will be supported and maintained by the platform manufacturer, basic maintenance and
Joint Fires Family of Vehic les
READY. RELIABLE. RESPONSIVE.