Navantia Australia and Rheinmetall Defence Australia (RDA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the Army’s next generation amphibious vehicle.
“We are excited to collaborate with Rheinmetall on the Land 8710 Phase 1 CE2 program,” said Alfonso García-Valdés, managing director of Navantia Australia.
The MoU, signed at Land Forces Conference 2021, will see Navantia Australia and Rheinmetall collaborate on developing a 'fast, formidable and future-proof' amphibious vehicle design.
“We look forward to working alongside Navantia Australia to develop an amphibious logistics capability that will meet the requirements of the ADF and has export potential,” Gary Stewart, managing director of RDA said.
Through the project, an Independent Landing Craft will be delivered to replace the Army’s existing LCM-8 vessels. An amphibious vehicle will also be built to replace Army’s current LARC-V, which Defence says will offer 'significant opportunities' for Australian industry in the vehicle’s design, build, maintenance and through-life support phases.