Mud plugging: A Panther being put through its paces at the Army Training and Development Unit Bovington Picture: Graeme Main

Report: Cliff Caswell
Pictures: Steve Dock

PLANS to give the Army’s latest combat wagons new hi-tech electronic underpinnings are moving forward as defence contractors square up to the challenges of the 21st Century battlefield.

Scientists and technicians with leading companies have aligned themselves with the MoD Force Protection Working Group to cut the need for armoured workhorses such as the Mastiff and Warrior to be remodelled every time a new piece of kit is fitted.

The Generic Vehicle Architecture (GVA) initiative – the rights to which would be owned by the Government – will allow troops to literally “plug in and play” with new systems as soon as they are available. The aim is to make any technologies easier to integrate.

Following hot on the heels of prototypes from the likes of General Dynamics and Thales – both previewed by Soldier following the DSEI show last year – Finmeccanica Battlespace Solutions has been the latest contractor to demonstrate its prototype to Army experts.

In an event at the Long Valley proving ground in Aldershot, company representatives unveiled Panther and Pinzgauer command and surveillance vehicles fitted with a new electronic platform and sporting kit including the latest imaging and sniper detection technologies.

Any intelligence gathered from the wagons’ on-board systems can be beamed at will between vehicles and individual crew stations so those at the sharp end of combat logistic convoy operations can tap into the bigger picture.

“The Army is changing its concept of operations to a more flexible approach and the defence industry is getting into that mindset,” Cliff Allum, business development executive with Finmeccanica and veteran of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, told Soldier. “Gen Sir David Richards, the Chief of the General Staff, has said that this will be the way of the future and we are all now moving to provide that technology.

“In our case, the systems we have linked allow all crews in a combat logistic patrol to see exactly what the guys at the front end can see,” he added. “We’re pleased with what we have achieved and have already demonstrated it to the Armoured Trials and Development Unit and Director Royal Armoured Corps.”

The integrated systems fitted to the two command and liaison vehicles are impressive. The kit features the latest Hawk camera, which gives troops a thermal-imaging and daylight capability. The all-seeing eye is mounted high above the convoy and is complemented by the Enforcer remote weapons station and the Boomerang sniper detection system.

Able to recognise the sound of gunfire, this sensitive piece of electronic wizardry relays the direction of a small-arms attack to the gunner, automatically slewing his turret in the direction of the threat and allowing him to return fire under armour. Linked with a host of other features, including global positioning system mapping and video recording, troops have a comprehensive situational awareness capability.

“Our mission is to create a generic architecture across all vehicles, with the aim to address the problem of having to have different solutions across the board,” said Iain Duncan, chief engineer at Finmeccanica’s Land Platform Solutions arm. “What we have done here could easily be fitted to other combat vehicles.

“Last summer, all the main players in the defence business were asked to produce
an example of what could be done,” he added. “We have developed our ideas more and more and have increasingly installed new components.”

With more off-the-shelf equipment being procured under Urgent Operational Requirement programmes, making sure vehicles have a single electronic platform to accommodate any new developments is an understandable priority for British defence chiefs.

While compatibility between new technologies is a key asset on a battlefield where good quality information is crucial to success, putting this kit in the hands of soldiers who have grown up with an instinctive understanding of how to link digital devices makes the GVA initiative an extremely potent, and even war-winning, prospect. Ultimately it has the potential to change tactical thinking as well as save money.