FFG is perhaps one of the lesser known armoured vehicle manufacturers to consider throwing its hat in the ring for Land 400 Phase 2, but it is serious about its product, the Protected Mission Module Carrier (PMMC) G5. It has recently been holding talks with local industry with a view to establishing a local footprint in Australia, should it decide to bid for the initial phase of Land 400.
The Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft mbH is a German engineering company which has been working in the defence business since 1963, firstly with Germany’s Bundeswehr and today with armies across the world.
FFG has been the major Technology Partner in the Land 106 Australia’s M113 Upgrade Program and has delivered the knowhow and hardware to boost the M113 vehicle from its origin to a powerful M113AS4 in the weight class of 18 tons. In total 431 vehicle have been delivered to DMO via Tenix, later BAE Systems, the Prime Contractor of the Land 106.
FFG has been involved in the maintenance, overhaul and upgrade of military vehicles, including a series of upgrades to the M113 armoured personnel carriers of several nations. Over the last 25 years it has been involved in the upgrade of more than 1500 M113s.
Next to the upgrading FFG has a wide experience of developing and producing new vehicles. One of them is the WISENT platform, based on the Leopard MBT. The modular 65 tons platform is available as a Mine Breaching Variant, an Armoured Excavator Vehicle and Armoured Recovery Vehicle, which can be converted to the other capabilities within 5 hours. This innovative concept by operating one platform plus the 3 different kits convinced until now the Armies of Canada, United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Most recently FFG has leveraged its extensive military experience to design develop and manufacture the Protected Mission Module Carrier (PMMC) G5, an all-new product. “The PMMC G5 is a completely new vehicle with a gross weight of 26.5 tonnes which meets the not only the demands of today, but any kind of military and humanitarian operations,” explained Kay Dittloff, project manager PMMC G5 for FFG.
“With its design as a multi-role platform and a payload of up to 8.5 tonnes, the G5 is suitable for integration of any kind of equipment and offers broad flexibility for the user.
PMMC G5
It is a tracked vehicle of modular design which allow it to be configured as an armoured personnel carrier, with three crew and seats for up to eight soldiers, or as a command post vehicle, ambulance, engineering support vehicle, mortar carrier and recovery vehicle and further variants.
“As a key feature, the PMMC G5 can rapidly be fitted with various standardised mission modules to meet different mission requirements,” Dittloff said. “The mission modules are optional and can be changed within a few hours as required.”
FFG has also been working a number of conceptual variants of the G5, including an Infantry Fighting Vehicle, and Air Defence version and a pick-up, capable of carrying a 10 ft ISO container or a crane.
The basic design makes extensive use of MOTS and COTS products and, according to Dittloff again life cycle cost considerations were factored into the original design, resulting in a vehicle that is easy to service and maintain, making for low through life costs.
“With the aforementioned capabilities and the cost-effective and robust design, FFG offers a vehicle with low life cycle costs, maximum cost-effectiveness and a complete life cycle support,” Dittloff said.
Self protection capabilities
The PMMC G5 has unique protection system. Combined with the highest level of protection the G5 provides a decoupled floor in the vehicle suitable to place the foot on the floor instead of using footrest. This features provides maximum combat capability to the Infantry after an 8 hour cross country ride. The driver is protected under armoured glass, which deliver a situational awareness compared to a civil car by protecting him the same time against ambush of small arms up to heavy cannons.
Dittloff also said that the basic design allows the integration of any kind of modern weapons systems, including remote weapons stations or turrets virtually any caliber.
Marketing
The PMMC G5 is currently one of five vehicles under consideration by the Danish Army and
Final offers were submitted last December, with downselect expected in May.
Dittloff said that if FFG is successful, a final assembly line will be established in Denmark and the first production vehicles will roll out of the facility in the autumn of 2017, barely two years after downselect. In fact the first pre-production vehicles will be delivered in the summer of 2016, to allow operational test and evaluation to get underway quickly.
Should Denmark select PMMC G5, and Dittloff says he is quietly confident it will, it will become the launch customer, however FFG also has ongoing and serious discussions with a number of countries.
This article first appeared in Australian Defence Magazine VOL.23 No.4, April 2015
Land 400 Phase 2
As with many other industry representatives, Dittloff was in Melbourne in early March for the Land 400 Phase 2 industry brief.
“FFG is highly interested into the Land 400 program, since the delivery of the Land 106 to Australia over a period of more than 10 years, Australia became a key customer to FFG. The Land 106 project has been delivered to the full satisfaction of the customer. And we are receiving excellent feedback from the user of the new operational capability with the M113AS4.
“Based on this positive experience we would like to extent our footprint in Australia by delivering into the Land 400.”
With regard to Australian Industry Content (AIC), Dittloff said he has been holding meetings with local industry during his visit to Australia. In order to identify suitable local partners.
“Local assembly in Australia is well-known to us with the Land 106 and definitely our objective also for the G5 in the Land 400,” he concluded, pointing to the model established in the Danish competition.