Page 12 - Australian Defence Magazine July-August 2021

12 NEWS REVIEW INDUSTRY UPDATE
JULY-AUGUST 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
BOEING INTRODUCES TRAILER- MOUNTED SATCOM SOLUTION
and seamlessly connect to both military and civilian satellites far exceeds any SAT- COM capability currently available to the warfighter.
The MST taps into the Currawong sys- tem’s enhanced multi-security bearer and networking services, control and manage- ment capabilities.
“The MST is managed via the Curra- wong Mission System Manager (MSM) which automates network planning, con- figuration and control of all communica- tions components within the system. This optimises connectivity and enables net- work managers to focus on higher-level tasks in support of the mission.”
“Army welcomes the introduction of such a rapidly deployable SATCOM ca- pability,” Brigadier Warren Gould, the Director General Systems and Integration within Army Headquarters, said.
The MST is an Australian capability which was developed and tested through a chain of Australian and US suppliers.
24 MST units will be deployed to Army Combat Signal Regiments across Austra- lia along with the Defence Force School of Signals and RAAF.
ABOVE: Boeing’s trailer-mounted Medium SATCOM Terminal towed by a Hawkei PMV.
BOEING Defence Australia’s (BDA) trail- er-mounted satellite communication (SATCOM) terminals which provide combat communication capability to de- ployed warfighters have achieved accep- tance by Defence.
Developed as part of Land 2072 Phase 2B ‘Project Currawong’, the Medium SAT- COM Terminal, or MST, is a trailer-based earth terminal comprising a 2.5 metre sat-
ellite dish. It is reportedly the only secure SATCOM system of its size with dual band certification for the military’s Wideband Global SATCOM X and Ka Bands, in ad- dition to the civilian Ku Band.
“The MST is versatile, flexible and ro- bust and takes communications in the field to the next level,” BDA’s Project Cur- rawong director, Ian Vett, said. “Its ability to go anywhere a Hawkei vehicle can go
RHEINMETALL TO MODERNISE UK TANK FLEET
THE British Ministry of Defence has con- tracted with Rheinmetall to modernise the British Army’s main battle tank fleet.
In all, 148 Challenger 2 main battle tanks will be upgraded with the 120mm smooth- bore main armament from Rheinmetall, together with a completely new turret struc- ture, including a ‘state of the art’ digital sys- tem architecture.
Forming part of the British Army’s Chal- lenger 2 Life Extension Project, or LEP, the modernisation program is poised to convert the tank into the new Challenger 3, keep- ing it in service ‘for decades to come’
The program will take place during the 2021-2027 timeframe and is worth around £665 million (A$1.2 billion).
“The latest generation L55A1 smooth- bore gun from Rheinmetall will place the modernised Challenger at the forefront of NATO tank technology,” the company said. “The Challenger 3 will be a network- enabled, digital tank featuring unsur-
passed lethality and greatly improved sur- vivability on the battlefield.
“It will be able to fire current and future Rheinmetall 120mm kinetic energy rounds and programmable multipurpose ammuni- tion. Combined with the latest fire control technology and sensor systems, this will significantly boost the vehicle’s combat ef- fectiveness, resulting in remarkably accu- rate firepower.”
Much of the upgrade work will be car- ried out in the UK at the Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) plant in Telford in the West Midlands. The com- pany delivered the first Challenger 2 tanks to the British Army over 25 years ago and is a joint venture between Rhe- inmetall and BAE Systems, with Rhein- metall holding 55 per cent ownership.
RIGHT: The Challenger 3 turret demonstrator, seen here during trials in Germany.
“We’re proud to be taking charge of one the UK’s most important army technology programs here in the cradle of the British tank industry,” Armin Papperger, chief ex- ecutive of Rheinmetall, said. “To make this happen, we’ve amalgamated the longstand- ing expertise of RBSL with Rheinmetall of Germany’s unsurpassed know-how in large-calibre weapon systems, digitization and advanced turret solutions.” ■
UK MOD
BOEING