Overlander tenders close

The DMO's Land Systems Division by now is weathering a blizzard of paperwork as it sifts through tender responses for Project Overlander.
As ADM closed for press the tender response deadlines for Project Land 121 - Overlander were drawing near. While some players hadn't yet declared themselves fully as many as 20 different companies were expected to submit tenders to provide over $3 billion-worth of B-vehicles for the ADF: trucks, light vehicles and trailers.

While not as complex as the deeply troubled Super Seasprite helicopters which have kept senior naval officers awake at night, the field vehicle and trailer project is worth three times as much and will contribute to ADF capability right across the three services.

Evaluating the tenders to determine the best value for money will be a challenge, according to the Overland project director, BRIG David O'Brien. He told ADM that the Overlander project office will be augmented by extra staff from both the DMO and Army to carry out the tender evaluation and write the Source Evaluation Report.

The ADF is looking for three categories of vehicle: a family of medium and heavy trucks to replace its current fleet of Unimogs and heavy haulers; a family of light and lightweight vehicles to replace its 4x4 and 6x6 Land Rover Perenties; and trailers in a range of sizes.

A significant proportion of these vehicles must be 'fitted for but not with' bolt-on armour, or Survivability Enhancement Kits (SEK), to protect their crews. Iraq has shown that in a modern insurgency campaign there is no safe rear area - everybody is vulnerable and so must be protected. The SEKs will deflect land mine blasts and stop small arms rounds and bomb and artillery fragments.

The strategic guidance from the 2000 Defence White Paper still applies: the ADF wants to be able to deploy a brigade group and a battalion group simultaneously on separate operations, and so have sufficient SEK-equipped (or SEK-capable) B Vehicles for each force, O'Brien told ADM. This could amount to around 1,400 vehicles, though exact numbers won't be determined until the tenders have been thoroughly assessed. These vehicles will be acquired in Phase 3A of Project Overlander, with the balance following in Phase 3B.

Defence's requirement for SEK protection are based on the NATO STANAG 4569. For the light/lightweight vehicles the tender specifies:

* For projectile threats it is 'Very Important' that the vehicle be protected to Level 1 - i.e. can withstand a 7.62mmx51 NATO ball round fired from an assault rifle from a distance of 30m and 155mm artillery burst at 100m.

* It is 'Important' that the vehicle has Level 2 protection - i.e. can withstand 7.62mmx39 armour piercing round fired from an assault rifle from a distance of 30m and 155mm artillery burst at 80m. Note that Level 2 projectile protection will NOT defeat rocket-propelled grenades.

* For mine blast threats, it is 'Very Important' that Level 1 mine blast protection is achieved - i.e. the vehicle can withstand small anti personnel explosive devices detonated anywhere under the vehicle

* It is 'Important' that Level 2 mine blast protection is achieved - i.e. the vehicle can withstand a 6kg blast anti-tank mine detonated under a wheel or in the centre under the vehicle.

For the Medium/Heavy category of vehicles the expected projectile protection requirement is the same as those for Lightweight/Light vehicles, while for mine blast threats, the 'Very Important' mine blast threat protection requirement is Level 2, and therefore by default, Level 1 mine blast protection is achieved with a Level 2 protection solution.

In the meantime, Australian troops in Baghdad and Al-Muthanna province already enjoy the protection of armoured ASLAVs and Bushmasters. And the cabs of ADF Unimog and Mack trucks deployed there have also been fitted with SEKs developed by Melbourne-based armour specialists Valir Pty Ltd.

Most of the likely Overlander contenders have already developed SEKs for their vehicles and many have been tested in action.

The ADF may need as many as 7,000 vehicles and trailers overall. The exact number isn't certain, O'Brien said, because much will depend on the prices and fleet mix options offered by the bidders.

Given the need to provide accurate cost and schedule data to the Cabinet, and in particular to get accurate cost and other data from supplies and sub-contractors in Australia and overseas, the project office extended the RFT deadlines by five weeks. The medium-heavy truck tender closed on 14 June; that for the light and lightweight vehicles a week later; and that for the trailers a week after that.

The evaluation process by O'Brien's team needs to identify the ADF's options - and ensure traceability of the decision process, he added. The Australian Defence Simulation Office and DSTO are assisting the evaluation process through the use of modelling tools to develop real-world scenarios and study force structure, fleet mix and pricing options.

The initial tender evaluation should be complete by 30 November, O'Brien told ADM. The first draft of the Source Evaluation Report should be complete in February. This will form the basis of the eventual Cabinet Submission recommending a shortlist of two contenders in each category.

By the middle of 2007 the Federal cabinet's National Security Committee will use this to consider and, hopefully, approve a shortlist of two contenders in each category.

The so-called Offer Definition Phase will then run to the end of 2007 and will include a three-month demonstration and compliance testing program for the vehicles and trailers at the Monegeeta proving ground. Defence will also test manufacturers' claims for the level of protection their SEKs provide, O'Brien told ADM.

At the same time, Defence will conduct parallel negotiations with the shortlisted contenders before signing a deed of agreement with the winner in each category.

Early in 2008 the winners will be announced.

A compliant bid is a complete bid, O'Brien told ADM: any company putting its hand up for any of the three categories must be able to satisfy all of Defence requirements in that category. The DMO won't 'cherry
However, the DMO reserves the right to make an exception in the case of the field trailers, he added, give the significant differences between light and heavy trailer designs.

The first deliveries of vehicles and trailers under Project Overlander are scheduled for December 2009, O'Brien said. That should be achievable because most of the ADF's requirements can be met by existing vehicle, trailer and SEK designs - the ADF hasn't asked for anything radically new.

Most of the big names have put their hands up for at least part of Overlander: MAN, Mercedes Benz, Mack, Land Rover, AM General (who make the US Army's Humvees), General Dynamics, Pinzgauer and Stewart & Stevenson, to name a few. O'Brien won't know which companies have thrown their hat in the ring until tenders close, but noted that nine companies were shortlisted for the restricted RFT for the medium/heavy vehicle category, while six companies were known to have put their hands up for the open tender for the light/lightweight vehicle RFT.

And he won't know exactly how many vehicles he can afford, and what mix of types, until next year. The Overlander budget is believed to be tightly capped so the DMO must somehow find the right balance between numbers, capabilities (such as SEKs) and schedule. However, O'Brien told ADM all of the ADF's vehicle requirements can be met by Military Off The Shelf (MOTS) designs - Defence does not require developmental solution.

The same isn't necessarily true of some of the trailers and payload modules, though: in particular, ambulance, command and control, recovery, tanker and other payload modules may need some development work. But none of these requirements will drag the ADF to the bleeding edge of vehicle technology - the technical risks are not potential show-stoppers.

By Gregor Ferguson, Adelaide