Redfin's mobility requirement sparks interest

A key element of Project Redfin is the search for new and improved tactical and patrol vehicles for Australia's special forces.
Project Redfin was established to ensure Special Operations Forces, including the SAS and Commandos, were suitably equipped with capability enhancements to enable them to continue to respond effectively to operational demands well beyond those of other ADF elements.

The capabilities cover the spectrum of Special Operations and include offensive operations (eg strike), mobility and special reconnaissance, special recovery, support operations and counter terrorism. And according to the DCP, opportunities for industry in the first phase of this multi-phased project lie in the provision of sensors, electro-optics, C3I, land mobility and systems integration.

The land mobility aspect covers the replacement of a number of Long Range Patrol Vehicles (LRPV) Land Rover 6x6 Perenties and Land Rover 110 4x4s. The six wheel drive Perentie was a unique Australian design, loosely based on the Land Rover 110 (later Defender 110). It shares the 4-speed LT95A transmission and Isuzu 4BD1 3.9L 4-cylinder diesel engine with the 4x4 Perentie, but in this case the engine is turbo-charged. Age and the severe operating conditions have exposed weaknesses in the vehicles including lack of power and excessive weight over the front axle.

In addition to the long range patrol (LRPV) variant there were various 6x6 models including winch, air defence, ambulance, electronic and comsec repair. The LRPV is open without doors and carries spare wheels recessed into each side of the bodywork, a 12.7mm machine-gun, and a rear-mounted 250cc motorcycle.

Built at Wingfield, Adelaide, under subcontract to Jaguar Rover Australia by BAE Systems Australia, now Tenix Defence, the planned life of individual vehicles was ten years and the production of vehicles under Project Perentie was spread over five years. Some of these vehicles were further upgraded by Westrac (WA). Based upon these figures the vehicles would have a Life of Type (LOT) of 15 years. Of the 27 LRPVs delivered from 1987 onwards, we believe 24 are left and are approaching - or have passed - their LOT.

While Tenix Land Systems division is more than capable of rebuilding these vehicles in their entirety at their Wingfield and Bandiana (Vic) plants, and the LRPV has won high praise from its operators, a multirole replacement is being sought that will meet the requirements not only of the SASR's three squadrons but also those of a similar number of the three 4RAR Commando companies, and the Tactical Assault Group East, which together with other specialist groups make up this country's Special Operations Forces.

Special Forces need to operate autonomously and with a very high degree of tactical mobility. And to meet the different missions of SAS and Commandos, which might range from deep covert surveillance, target designation for air strike, deep raids against enemy targets or rescue sorties, a hybrid vehicle may be the answer with mix and match weapons, range, and airmobility capabilities.

Air mobility is a major feature of most SOV requirements. In the case of Australian SF this refers specifically to CH-47D but in the US a new requirement is being progressed by the USMC and USSOCOM for an Advanced Light Strike Vehicle that is V-22 transportable. Now in its early prototype design stage minimum requirements for the ALSV include diesel power, able to carry a minimum of three Marines, serve as a vehicle mount for employment of heavy machine guns and prove transportable aboard the MV-22 aircraft.

Missions include amphibious raids, heliborne raids, noncombatant evacuation operations, reinforcement operations, limited objective attacks, Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel (TRAP), airfield/port seizure. The standard mission distance for the ALSV is a round trip of 150 miles.

Since some form of Anti-Personnel Mine protection is likely to be mandated for the Australian requirement and the likelihood that future SF missions will not be limited to the desert environment, a vehicle with some degree of protection may well be on the cards. However this must not limit their ability to be transported by CH-47D.

We are not privy to the requirements being developed for new vehicles for Special Forces included in the DCP under Project Redfin however much will be dictated by common sense and of course knowledge of their roles and likely missions.

The role of the SAS is highly specialised and ty
For Special Forces, the keynote to operational success depends on four main factors:

* teamwork within a small, highly trained, dedicated, superbly fit group of soldiers who are capable of independent action,

* reliable, covert short and long range radio communications,

* a weapons inventory that matches the operational requirement, and

* a range of extremely mobile, high speed, reliable vehicles that are capable of carrying the soldiers, fuel, weapons, ammunition, water, food and first aid and spares in sufficient quantities to match the operational requirement which might be of up to four days duration without airlift support (at least one Australian SAS patrol spent several weeks behind enemy lines in Iraq in early-2003 - Ed.).

It will be immediately evident that the characteristics of the vehicle will be a major determinant for success of any mission and if the various environments in which the vehicle may be required to operate are considered it will also be evident that a single vehicle is unlikely to satisfy all of them. The other major Special Forces component, the 4RAR Commando, have a different role to that of the SAS and their vehicle requirements will differ correspondingly. Again, the two Tactical Response Groups (TAG) are likely to need specialised protected vehicles.

As we have noted Special Forces vehicles have been drawn from an Army fleet that has been designed using an 'all things to all men' approach and, as is frequent with such a specification, it is short on specific capabilities. The Army's Perentie program is a case in point where Land Rover developed an AWD vehicle from the commercial Land Rover which was an excellent mule for general use in many fairly benign applications and the mission successes of the six-wheel drive LRPV, despite its many limitations, is due largely to the involvement of its future operators in its design. However it is still a long way short of many of the critically important criteria for SAS operations. Notably, being heavy in the front and difficult to handle in swampy conditions. It is also without any protection against high velocity small arms.

In an ideal world our Special Forces would need several layers of complementary vehicles. However, for the vehicles needed it is more likely that they will be restricted to an improved version of the LRPV 6x6 for SAS operations and highly mobile 4x4s for Commando operations. And while Land Rovers have performed reasonably satisfactorily in the fairly arid environments that seem to have characterised their more recent deployments, their operators would surely seek a more robust vehicle for service in more severe climatic conditions and terrain.

Since some form of Anti-Personnel Mine protection is likely to be mandated for the Australian requirement and the likelihood that future SF missions will not be limited to the desert environment, a vehicle with some degree of protection may well be on the cards. However this must not limit their ability to be transported by CH-47D.

It can safely be assumed that some degree of commonality with vehicles acquired under Project Overlander will be a feature of vehicles purchased for Special Operations although we suspect this may be due more to chance rather than policy. Thus many contenders for Land 121 will be offering soft skinned military 4x4s and 6x6s that are also available as variants adapted for special operations.

The Pinzgauers proposed by ADI include an armoured variant which New Zealand has acquired, and we know that Tenix will not only be offering militarised versions of 4x4 and 6x6 Land Rover Defenders, possibly built under licence at Wingfield, but will also be developing an improved version of the Perentie LRPV as an SO variant. Greater load capacity, more powerful engine (Ford is a possibility) and landmine protection would be some its features.

The Light Tactical Vehicle (LTV) Eagle IV 4x4 based on the Duro chassis which GDLS will offer for Overlander can readily be up-armoured for the special forces mission.

However another serious contender for the special operations requirement has emerged, in the form of the HMT Vehicles Supacat 4x4 and 6x6 series of vehicles. The Supacat is a new and novel design that has been developed using advanced air suspension and engine technology originated from the commercial sector.

Lockheed Martin announced in September that it had entered into a license agreement with HMT Vehicles to manufacture and sell light (4x4) and medium (6x6) tactical wheeled vehicles directly to military and government markets in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Lockheed Martin can also pursue international sales via the US FMS program.

For LMCO's unsuccessful bid for the UK's Watchkeeper TUAV program Supacat was to provide the 6x6 air portable vehicle upon which the UAV launch ramp was mounted. This same vehicle was also to carry the ground station operating the UAV.

The selection of new vehicles for the ADF, and hopefully a separate procurement for Special Forces, will be of considerable interest to Australian and overseas companies. It is to be hoped that Defence will recognise the significant differences between the requirements for this class of vehicle compared with those that do the 'milk runs'.

By Tom Muir, Canberra