Page 62 - Australian Defence Magazine June 2021

60 LAND FORCES LAND 400
JUNE 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
schedules, and Financial Investigation Service’s analysis of prices and company arrangements.
COVID-19 concerns saw a three-month industry road- show organised by Defence successfully switched from face-to-face to virtual meetings. This enabled some 400 companies across Australia to showcase their capabilities and provide the shortlisted tenderers with the opportunity to identify local businesses able to contribute to their sup- ply chains.
Prior to the start of the user trials, a Lynx and a Redback were displayed side by side outside Defence headquarters on 12 March, both weighing in at more than 40 tonnes and towering over a well-preserved example of the M113AS4 that they’re competing to replace. The user trials will con- tinue until October, when the project will move to a final evaluation phase.
Test locations include the High Range training area out- side Townsville during the wet season, and the 2,100 square kilometre Cultana combined arms training area in South Australia at the height of summer.
According to Defence, the test vehicles will have been delivered to the trials “in a configuration representative of their tendered configuration with any exceptions agreed to
aspect of potential cost efficiency could be commonality with Phase 2.
Important or not, amid the perception that Rheinmetall would have a distinct advantage in bidding for Phase 3, Defence subsequently stressed that the IFV bids would be assessed entirely on their standalone merits.
Unusually, the Phase 3 RfT listed only three essential requirements. These were the proposed vehicle’s ability to carry 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 car- ried by RAAF C-17A Globemaster III strategic airlifters.
“Defence’s aim is to achieve a position from which it could readily contract with either of the shortlisted ten- derers,” a Defence spokesperson said to ADM.
RMA PROCEDURE
Although information on how the trials are progressing is highly confidential, Defence has provided some material to ADM on the RMA procedure itself.
This is being conducted across six sub-trials led by Ar- my’s Land Test and Evaluation Agency, with sub-trials del- egated to the appropriate test agency, including the Land Engineering Agency, CASG, and the Defence Science and Technology Group.
The response to any failure will be dependent on the nature of the failure and the ability of the tenderer to dem- onstrated rectification of such a failure.
Survivability is described as a key consideration, with lessons learnt from Land 400 Phase 2 where survivability, including blast, ballistic and signature management, was sequenced at the end of the RMA test period.
“Land 400 Phase 3 has sequenced the (survivability) test early in the testing window, with exact timings to be dependent on external factors such as the weather and fire danger levels at Defence’s Proof and Experimental range at Graytown, Victoria,” a defence spokesperson said.
“For blast it considers the assessment of IFV protection levels against mines and other explosive threats, and for ballistics it assesses the resistance of the IFV against a range of current and emerging threat weapon systems.
“The detectability, recognition and identification of the IFV by its aural and electromagnetic signatures is assessed in different environments.”
Details of the blast test held early in the RMA program have not been released, but this is understood to have in- volved one 10 kilogram mine explosion under a track and another under the centreline of the hull.
Regarding ballistic capability, the spokesperson point- ed out that the IFV was intended to enter combat zones, withstand high volumes of smallarms, rocket, artillery and mortar fragmentation for long periods of time, and survive.
“At its core the IFVs will operate in combat zones de- stroying or suppressing adversaries to allow infantry to clear defended terrain or buildings,” the Defence spokes- person stated.
Although the mandated ballistic protection level has not been disclosed, turret and hull armour is believed to be STANAG 4569 Level 6, capable of protecting against
“EACH CONTENDER IS RECEIVING $25 MILLION EXCLUSIVE OF GST FROM DEFENCE TO PARTIALLY OFFSET COSTS ASSOCIATED
IN PARTICIPATING IN THE RMA, WHICH INCLUDES ONE OF THEIR TRIAL VEHICLES BEING TESTED TO DESTRUCTION.”
TESTING REGIMEN
by Defence and documented in the RMA contracts that Defence has signed with each tenderer”.
As of April, Defence confirmed to ADM that the project remained on schedule and budget to inform a government decision in 2022 on the preferred tenderer.
Beyond that, Initial Operating Capability (IOC) of the selected platform is set for 2024-25 and fi- nal operating capability (FOC) is anticipated by 2030-31, although these dates are indicative and may well be refined.
The 26-strong Trials Platoon stood up to operate the con- tending vehicles comprises a mix of armoured and mecha- nised infantry soldiers of varying experience, selected to fa- cilitate a broad spectrum of user feedback. Since the RMA is not a comparative trial, the crews have been trained on and are operating the same vehicle type throughout the evaluation process, much like the Phase 2 RMA.
Vehicles are being supported and maintained by the platform manufacturer but basic maintenance and checks are being carried out by vehicle crews.
Testing is being assessed against the technical require- ment set out in Request for Tender (RfT) documentation to verify tenderers’ claims and also to assess vehicle per- formance from a user perspective.
Released five months after Rheinmetall’s Boxer 8x8 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV) was selected under Land 400 Phase 2 to replace the army’s ageing fleet of 247 ASLAVs at an acquisition cost of $5.2 bil- lion for 211 vehicles, the Phase 3 RfT noted that a key