Project LAND 121 Phase 4 will provide the core of the Australian Defence Force's (ADF) light protected vehicle fleet that can be deployed for operations.
They will replace some of the ADF 4,200 Land Rovers with a fleet of protected light mobility vehicles.
The vehicles will perform a number of important combat support roles, including command, liaison and light battlefield resupply.
They will be provided to Army's combat units and will be designed to operate in future conflict environments.
"The new vehicles will improve the level of safety for our troops overseas through an increase in the level of ballistic and blast protection over current lightweight vehicles," Combet said.
"This is a fantastic opportunity for local defence industry, provided they can demonstrate their competitiveness, and I encourage local manufacturers to explore this opportunity."
The solicitation of local industry is being pursued in parallel with the ongoing Australian participation in the US JLTV Program.
These parallel processes will ensure that all viable options available for the delivery of
light protected mobility vehicles to the Army have been considered.
Industry has been invited to submit a proposal providing details of capacity to supply a Protected Mobility Vehicle - Light (PMV-L) capability that is both manufactured and supported in Australia.
The PMV-L goal is a ‘Family of Vehicles' that provide the best possible balance of six fundamental requirements:
• Survivability;
• Mobility;
• Payload and Carrying Capacity;
• Command, Control, Communications, Computers And
Intelligence (C4I);
• Readiness; and
• Usability and sustainability capable of performing multiple mission roles across the full range of military operations.
In each of these areas, the levels of performance sought are at the cusp of current technological capacity.
The PMV-L capability is anticipated to consist of four vehicle types including companion trailers, command, liaison, reconnaissance and utility.
It is also intended for the utility variant to have three interchangeable modes of service: cargo, canine and line laying modes, as described in the RFP SOR.
The aim of this RFP is to determine Australian industry capacity to provide a ‘Family of Vehicles' that will satisfy ADF PMV-L requirements and to gain sufficient information from the marketplace to support a business case for government consideration for the continued development of a manufactured and supported in Australia option for LAND 121 Phase 4.
Responses to this RFP will therefore assist the Commonwealth in understanding the comparative technical, schedule and cost drivers associated with a manufactured and supported in Australia solution and thus shape the future procurement strategy for delivery of the PMV-L capability.
The onus will be upon each respondent to deliver proposals containing sufficient information to provide the commonwealth with a high degree of confidence that:
a. The requirement as specified is understood;
b. the proposed solutions are technically compliant and feasible;
c. the preliminary planning necessary to assess the skills, resources, and effort required to deliver the proposed solutions has been undertaken; and
d. the cost and schedule estimates provided exhibit a high degree of rigour in their development.
While Australia has signed up to the development phase of the US JLTV program, Australian options are now being examined, much to the delight of local manufacturers Thales Australia who have been lobbying hard on this front.
No doubt locals will have to provide a value for money (and low risk) case that can sway the mind and wallet of government to look at a local solution over the US program.